Pottery. I have many pieces of pottery in my house. Before starting to type this, I looked around the room and counted eight pieces of different sizes that I could see without
standing and walking around. Eight pieces from where I sit at the computer.
Several months ago, I came across Rob Rians of Double R Clay Works. Rob attended Knox College in Illinois. While there, he fell in love with the shaping of clay, the thrill of creating something unique through the choice of size, texture, and shape. I consider many of his pieces to be expressionist; I see all manner of forms and roads into the neverlands in them.
I hear music, as if his creations have their own song, when observing some of his pieces.
My son, who has high-functioning autism, sees music in color. Although I don’t have autism, I sometimes hear music while looking at art that seems otherworldly. And I often dream
about colors. Colors bleeding into other colors. Words floating into pools of color. Scenes lifted into air and then painted with a brush. In Rob's pottery, his self-expression forms unique designs. Perhaps, he too, dreams of the creative process. I don't know. But I suspect he does.
I’m a storyteller, a writer, a poet, and a visual artist. Rob creates pottery. Like me, he uses his imagination. He uses solid and liquid materials to create something suggestive and perhaps relevant to what lives inside the heart. He uses clay, earth, to bring his art to life.
His pottery stops me. I’ll spot photos of his works, and I will come to a full stop. The page won’t turn. The page won’t scroll. I halt. I study. I admire. I think. I hum a tune. I long to touch it with my fingers.
This is what Rob says on his website. “I am continually experimenting with new designs,
non-traditional glaze, combinations of throwing and sculpting, unconventional & application techniques, and firing styles. In many circumstances, I begin with one idea in mind, and
then somewhere along the way, the clay moves me in a new direction.”
I remember the first piece of pottery I bought with my husband. It was a small vessel—the perfect size to store pencils and pens—we spotted it at an antique store. I looked for it while walking through the house yesterday yet couldn’t find it. Perhaps I gave it to my son or daughter. It was a small, interesting piece, yet not nearly as intriguing as Rob’s pottery.
Take a look at Rob’s pottery. I think you’ll also enjoy his website. Double R Clay Works.
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