At my studio-gallery on Lena Street in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I produce works in clay that are functional—designed for daily use—but that are sculpture as well. Their beauty reveals itself with time, and with use.
Local clays and glaze materials, simple, spontaneous throwing technique, and an intense high-temperature firing contribute to the look and feel of my pots: rugged stony textures, dark colors, transformed surfaces that you can peer into as though peering into time itself.
Time—a sense of age, a feeling for the past—is central to my aesthetic. I am inspired by the pots of the past, especially by the humble, useful, pots in the Asian folk tradition. Many of these pieces, made centuries ago to meet the basic needs of daily living, are celebrated now for their spiritual presence and sculptural rigor.
Theo Helmstadter
Santa Fe, NM