413

Barbara Guilmet

Contact the artist

http://www.muddygirlsstudio413.blogspot.com/

I need to create.  The act of creating makes me happy. In general I like to make functional pieces.  I want the work I create to be used by everyday people, and to add pizzazz, interest and value to everyday life.  The mediums I use most often are Warm Glass and Clay.

I love how I start with a hunk of mud and then I can turn that hunk of mud into something useful and beautiful.  The process of transformation has always intrigued me.  How one can start with something so simple that it can be dug from the ground and after working it, one can create an object that can be utilitarian or sculptural. It can be something with a purpose and a meaning, something that is solid and can withstand time, and at the same time is fragile.

It is not only the transformation clay makes that I love.  It is the journey along the way to transformation.  I enjoy the entire process of working with clay, the many different steps involved from beginning to end, and the endless possibilities for the outcome.

At a first glance, glass appears to be such a different medium than clay.  At least in the beginning, glass is hard, sharp and fragile, where clay is soft and malleable.  What I enjoy about working in warm glass is the very same thing I love about clay; the transformation and the journey along the way, with all the different steps between the beginning and end.  With glass my finished piece can withstand time but at the same time is somewhat fragile.  Both glass and clay make monumental changes from start to finish.  For both mediums the big change takes place when it is being fired in the kiln.

I draw inspiration from nature and everyday life.  I work to create something that is (most of the time) functional, interesting and ascetically pleasing.  I work to create art that functions in everyday life and adds interest and beauty to the ordinary.  When working with clay and glass I develop a relationship with the material and the function of the forms I create.  When possible I am interested in creating a similar relationship with people that purchase my work.