featured potter of the month

Juanita Kehler

Juanita Kehler is a multimedia artist whose practice has ranged from creative director, graphic artist, animation, painting, drawing, wood and soap stone craving and paper mache. Since retiring to the island when it is taken up wet felting, wire sculpture, free motion embroidery, Zentangle and now pottery has been her passion for pass four years.
Nature plays a large role in my inspiration for both the design and decoration of the pottery. I am primarily inspired by my natural environment which includes a birds, plants and of course my imagination. I enjoy using multi-layered colours and patterns to decorate the surface of my pieces. It is my intention for each pottery piece to be unique and one of a kind. This uniqueness, I hope, reminds the user that it is handmade and not part of our mass produced world.
Each piece is hand built. Once my pottery piece is dry I move to painting, decorating with slip or carving than it will go for the first (bisque) firing. I paint with food safe ceramic color stains and glazes using brushes and applicators. They are then dipped in glaze and in for the final firing at 2100 degrees. 
To me art has been the air that I breathe, without it life is not complete.

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