Member Artist: Amanda Martorana

Artist Statement

Every artist seeks to project a unique visual name in their work, whether through medium, method or madness. The signature within my work is the element of adapted Thai carving introduced into a clay surface.

The basis of my carving is rooted in an ancient, national Thai tradition, in which artisans carved native plants and fruit letting new beauty emerge from an already appealing form. Through adaptation of Thai master teachings and adjusting their traditional forms, I can seek my own effects in another earth-material — clay. Through this tradition-influenced approach to the clay surface, I can achieve both intrinsic and functional artistry in the form — a truly subtractive element in an additive medium.

This relationship of expressive-subtractive on a structured-additive medium begets an original style of ceramics. By intruding on the surface of the clay during the creative process, I am able to give the surface of each piece, however repetitive in form, a sense of uniqueness and surprise not easily captured in thrown work. Each piece can achieve a sense of motion independent from that which is created in the initial rendering of the soft clay.

This adaptation frees me from the boundaries of the traditional potter, without leaving my medium behind. The wheel remains my avenue to many beautiful forms, but the subtractive process allows them to move beyond the limitations of structured pottery.

The plains and textures that I create through this technique are uniquely mine. They cannot be thrown or spun, cast or stamped. Each object, like a finger print, is individual and part of me. I have chosen this method so that each of my pieces are both familiar and distinct. Within this I am seeking my visual name.