Green River Pottery
a gallery of contemporary stoneware in Chimayo, New Mexico
734 Hwy 76 Box 840 Chimayo, NM 87522
505-351-1174
Theo Helmstadter, Green River Pottery owner, writes: |
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Artist Statement I work in stoneware clay, and fire to cone 10 in reduction. I like the muted color range and the earthy durability of this high-temperature process. I also like making pots that can be used—that play a part in everyday life. I work spontaneously, using clay as a sculptural material. Matte glazes and textured, unglazed surfaces help evoke the sense of time, of transformation, that is central to my work. I think of a really great pot as an object with a kind of inner life: an ability to change, to be different from one day to the next, to continue revealing itself with time, and with touch. My work is contemplative. It is rooted in the past. I am influenced by the Asian ceramic tradition to aim for simple, spontaneous forms that work themselves gracefully into daily life. Of course, I’m also influenced by living and working in Chimayó, New Mexico—for centuries an artistic and spiritual center. Under its green, sheltering trees, Chimayó seems quiet, hidden—a contrast to the wide-open ‘badlands’ of the high desert surrounding it. Together these landscapes seem, like the pots I strive to make, to be constantly changing, constantly revealing and renewing themselves.
Theo Helmstadter |
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