The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: How do you incorporate experimentation into your practice?
Laura Dirksen: I feel that experimentation in one’s studio practice is rooted in their willingness to be vulnerable with the medium. For real growth, you have to be comfortable with the weird and the frustration that comes with
confusion. When introducing new concepts in my practice, I typically work in multiples of 4–8 to allow creative flow. This ensures nothing feels too perfect, when I’m stuck or fixating I can just jump to another vessel that shares this
same objective, making room for new and foreign shapes in my studio. Coming back to the forms to rework them is always a treat because I get to discover the form all over again, working out the details that are innate to each piece in front of me.
It’s important not to be afraid to cut, flip, alter, or paint on a piece that is testing you, make sure to get as much information from it and document the exciting and new discoveries, then recycle and move on.
1 Laura Dirksen's Composition w/ Teal + Orange, 28 in. (71 cm) in height, stoneware, slip, underglaze wash, glaze, fired in oxidation to cone 6, 2024. Photo: Austin Coudriet.
CM: What excites you most about the field of ceramics?
LD: I love the intensity, fragility, and versatility of clay. I love how far contemporary ceramics has come as a medium, what has been discovered about the material in the last 60 years is truly inspiring. I think that field has gifted
us with some of the best natural-born teachers who emerge through their dedication to the medium. I have always found it fascinating the roles we and our peers find ourselves in for the sake of sharing what we love, it’s unique and something
to celebrate.
2 Laura Dirksen's Edgar Surprise Lux Tempo, 4 ft 1 in. (1.2 m) in height, stoneware, slip, underglaze wash, glaze, fired in oxidation to cone 6, 2021. Photo: David Kruk.
CM: How do you develop the forms or surfaces that are prevalent in your work?
LD: I paint on the majority of my color as I build my larger works, a process that allows me to react and dissect the form as I respond to the colors and lines that can potentially break up or accentuate the body. I have a clear vision
of sketches and titles before I even begin sculpting, but I’ve found following sketches too closely can inhibit the work by flattening them. My favorite angle of a piece is almost always the “back” in which I have filled in the gaps
of the designed, existing half to which I must react. I am notorious for abandoning original concepts especially when clay as a material is the motivator. That’s why clay is so powerful, its materiality informs real responses in us. I think
it is important to lean into clay when it is revealing something to us, I think of it as a way of documenting my life. How I show up in my studio is very honest, and sincere. I think it’s intriguing when I can see the pivotal point in the form
that shifted its entire concept, like it was inevitable.
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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: How do you incorporate experimentation into your practice?
Laura Dirksen: I feel that experimentation in one’s studio practice is rooted in their willingness to be vulnerable with the medium. For real growth, you have to be comfortable with the weird and the frustration that comes with confusion. When introducing new concepts in my practice, I typically work in multiples of 4–8 to allow creative flow. This ensures nothing feels too perfect, when I’m stuck or fixating I can just jump to another vessel that shares this same objective, making room for new and foreign shapes in my studio. Coming back to the forms to rework them is always a treat because I get to discover the form all over again, working out the details that are innate to each piece in front of me. It’s important not to be afraid to cut, flip, alter, or paint on a piece that is testing you, make sure to get as much information from it and document the exciting and new discoveries, then recycle and move on.
CM: What excites you most about the field of ceramics?
LD: I love the intensity, fragility, and versatility of clay. I love how far contemporary ceramics has come as a medium, what has been discovered about the material in the last 60 years is truly inspiring. I think that field has gifted us with some of the best natural-born teachers who emerge through their dedication to the medium. I have always found it fascinating the roles we and our peers find ourselves in for the sake of sharing what we love, it’s unique and something to celebrate.
CM: How do you develop the forms or surfaces that are prevalent in your work?
LD: I paint on the majority of my color as I build my larger works, a process that allows me to react and dissect the form as I respond to the colors and lines that can potentially break up or accentuate the body. I have a clear vision of sketches and titles before I even begin sculpting, but I’ve found following sketches too closely can inhibit the work by flattening them. My favorite angle of a piece is almost always the “back” in which I have filled in the gaps of the designed, existing half to which I must react. I am notorious for abandoning original concepts especially when clay as a material is the motivator. That’s why clay is so powerful, its materiality informs real responses in us. I think it is important to lean into clay when it is revealing something to us, I think of it as a way of documenting my life. How I show up in my studio is very honest, and sincere. I think it’s intriguing when I can see the pivotal point in the form that shifted its entire concept, like it was inevitable.
Learn more on Instagram @laurjanedirk._studio.
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