Collection: Bonnie Lynch

Artist Statement:

I realized years ago that the heart of what I am after, what I am intrigued with, is a pursuit of beauty, simple as that. Of course it is subjective, but I find great pleasure and ground when these forms come together, inspired by the desert southwest, by stones, beetles, horizon lines and the details in nature.

The forms are vessels. They are often abstractions of the vessel - a universal, timeless reference they stem from, but then become abstracted elements of the original.

The characteristics that are left on a finished vessel show evidence of the process from beginning to end - the marks from one's hands and tools remain, as well as flashes of carbon and stars from each unique fire - an evincing of each piece.

The smoke fired finishes leave more of the clay's basic characteristics verses a glazed surface that covers and seals the original material. The elements, materials remain evident.

Biography:

Bonnie Lynch hand builds her vessels with thick coils of coarse clay followed by measured steps of shaping and using a 40 year old wooden paddle to achieve thin walls and smoothed surfaces.

Coiling vessels is a slow, meticulous process that involves waiting for the clay to lose moisture before one can continue to build.  For this reason Lynch usually works in sets of 3 – 5 large vessels being constructed at the same time, moving from one to the other as the clay sets up and holds its shape.

The pieces are carefully dried over 6 – 8 weeks.

Once the clay is “bone dry” it goes through an initial bisque firing that solidifies the vessel and sets the physical strength of the clay.  After this stage the pieces are completely white and ready for the second, smoke firing.

The second “saggar” firing is at a lower temperature than the first.  Saggar is pronounced “sag are”.  It is a smoke firing that involves loading the vessel in a gas kiln, within a container (the saggar) and filling it with combustible materials.  These include sawdust, manure, pine needles and pecan shells.

Saggar firing originated in Japan hundreds of years ago.  Firing the combustibles around the vessel inside a container, inside the kiln creates an oxygen reduced environment that yields beautiful blacks, soft greys and iridescent silver marks.  These marks are not under the artist’s control, the fire decides what the results are.

Lynch has always preferred a more raw, natural finish to these clay forms as opposed to the smooth glossy finishes achieved with glazes.  The quality of the clay surface shows the artist’s hand and the organic nature of the clay itself, earth.