Christine Herron
Red Chair Studio
Kingstown, Rhode Island
https://www.facebook.com/redchairstudioclay
Artist Statement
Christine Herron has designed original, handmade products for her company Red Chair Studio for over 26 years. She studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design where she honed her eye for detail and developed her love of color and form. In all of her creative endeavors, it is the uncommon use of color and love of the natural world that remains central to Christine's work. Her work has taken many forms over the years. Hand-painted garden products, fiber-reactive dyed silk, beaded gemstone and leather jewelry, egg tempera, watercolor and oil painting, and handbuilt clay vessels are all part of her creative output. New materials always present an exciting challenge for this creative spirit. Currently, she is busy creating various functional pots, painting, and teaching classes in handbuilding pottery as well as watercolor. Her handbuilt pots are like the rest of her work, colorful, quirky, and reflecting her love of nature as does her botanical watercolors.
Studio Description
I live in Rhode Island and my studio is in a separate building on our property My husband and I both work there, each on our own spaces. From our studio windows, we regularly are graced with a visit from deer, fox, a variety of birds, and occasionally a bob cat.
What type of clay do you use?
Laguna #65 white stoneware and occasionally use #50 sandy with grog and #16 Porcelain.
What temperature do you fire to?
Cone 5 and 6
What is your primary forming method?
I am a handbuilder
What is your favorite surface treatment?
I use a variety of floral press plates and spring molds that I have made. I use these with mishima and underglaze painting as well.
Do you make any of your own tools?
I do! I create textured stamps, small sprig molds, and floral texture plates.
What one word would you use to describe your work?
Colorful. I studied illustration in art school and I am a plant fanatic so color and natural forms are always showing up in my work.
What is your favorite thing about your studio?
I love a clean studio on a sunny day.
What is the one thing in your studio you can’t live without?
Tyvek paper. It has so many uses!
What are your top three studio wishes?
I would like to make a few more higher-end pieces suitable for gallery shows. I would also like to master using slips in ornamenting my pots, and I would love to host a few in-studio workshops.
How do you save money on materials and supplies?
I recycle clay, make my own tools, and reuse all the cardboard boxes and packing materials I can. Padded envelopes are perfect for transporting dishes to shows.
How do you recharge creatively?
Galleries and museums are always inspiring as well as being in nature, especially gardens!
Do you have any DIY tips for studio efficiency?
I create patterns starting with online cone template generators. They are a great way to flesh out a form and compare proportions before cutting them out in clay.
What challenges have you given yourself to overcome?
Sticking to a few "me" elements and expanding on them to create a body of cohesive work. Also to stop when I am tired so I am mentally present when making work.
What did your first piece look like?
Tiny! My first handbuilding teacher had me work small in order to get a feel for how clay works as well as how to construct pieces.
What ceramic superpower would you have and why?
People always comment on my use of color so I will claim that superpower!
What area of skill do you most look to other artists to learn?
Developing one’s own personal style or vision.
Who is your ceramic art mentor and why?
I have so many, it's hard to say.
What is on your studio playlist?
Well, podcasts figure heavily in my day-to-day and I am a fan of This Jungian Life and Creative Pep Talk as well as others I am too embarrassed to mention.
Why do you create art?
I love the process of taking inspiration and seeing it to its fruition.
Who is your favorite artist and what do you admire about that artist?
A. Blair Clemo really shines as an artist who seems to perpetually evolve and I so admire that tenacity and vision.
What is your best studio tip?
Clean as you go.
If you could change one property of clay, what would it be?
I would like clay scraps to magically reform into new bags of clay.
