The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What role do you think makers play within today’s culture? How do you think you contribute?
Andy Foster: I think the possibility exists today to chart your own path in finding how your work fits into the culture. I think of the many artists who are using their work to discuss societal issues or investigate their personal narratives.
For me, the work is about taking part in a tradition that I feel a deep connection to, while also advocating for its importance in the history of ceramics.
1 Andy Foster's Pitcher, 17 in. (43.2 cm) in height, stoneware, flashing slip, soda fired to cone 9, 2024.
CM: What excites you most about the field of ceramics?
AF: The endless possibilities. We are at such an amazing point in time where there is enough information readily available, both in print and online, that a person can figure out how to create just about anything. So much of what I have
been able to achieve with my work is thanks to other artists being willing to share their ideas and techniques with the community at large. Particularly when I started learning to fire the soda kiln, I could read the research that others had already
done to get a jump start in understanding how to achieve the surfaces I am after.
2 Andy Foster's Plate, 12 in. (30.5 cm) in diameter, stoneware, flashing slip, soda fired to cone 9, 2024.
CM: What inspires your work in clay?
AF: The central pillar of my work has its roots in the stoneware pottery produced in New York state in the 1800s. I work at a living history museum as one of the village potters and that experience opened up a deeper connection to the
history of the pottery that was produced near my home in the early days of the country. Since I began this work, I have been using this history as a main influence for the forms and decorations of my work, while simultaneously exploring ways to add
my own voice to the tradition. This means adding in elements of other influential clay traditions such as Korean onggi and Sèvres porcelain, as well as using modernized techniques like soda firing and 3D printing to develop forms for slip casting.
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The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What role do you think makers play within today’s culture? How do you think you contribute?
Andy Foster: I think the possibility exists today to chart your own path in finding how your work fits into the culture. I think of the many artists who are using their work to discuss societal issues or investigate their personal narratives. For me, the work is about taking part in a tradition that I feel a deep connection to, while also advocating for its importance in the history of ceramics.
CM: What excites you most about the field of ceramics?
AF: The endless possibilities. We are at such an amazing point in time where there is enough information readily available, both in print and online, that a person can figure out how to create just about anything. So much of what I have been able to achieve with my work is thanks to other artists being willing to share their ideas and techniques with the community at large. Particularly when I started learning to fire the soda kiln, I could read the research that others had already done to get a jump start in understanding how to achieve the surfaces I am after.
CM: What inspires your work in clay?
AF: The central pillar of my work has its roots in the stoneware pottery produced in New York state in the 1800s. I work at a living history museum as one of the village potters and that experience opened up a deeper connection to the history of the pottery that was produced near my home in the early days of the country. Since I began this work, I have been using this history as a main influence for the forms and decorations of my work, while simultaneously exploring ways to add my own voice to the tradition. This means adding in elements of other influential clay traditions such as Korean onggi and Sèvres porcelain, as well as using modernized techniques like soda firing and 3D printing to develop forms for slip casting.
Learn more on Instagram @andrew_foster_ceramics.
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