Anne Goldberg
BIOGRAPHY
Anne Goldberg has been playing with clay since childhood. Today, she makes wheel-thrown and hand-built ceramics in her studio in Carbondale, Colorado. Anne also teaches ceramics at Colorado Mountain College – Aspen.
Anne has been an Artist-in-Residence at Anderson Ranch Art Center in Snowmass Village, CO, and also studied at Cornell University, Stanford University, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill and Carbondale Clay Center. Her work is included in 500 Cups and 500 Pitchers, both published by Lark Books, and has been shown in exhibitions around the U.S.
Anne was born in Boston and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts. She moved to Colorado in the fall of 2003. From 2004 to 2007, she spent summers as the Head Ceramics Studio Manager at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, where she also taught ceramics to adults and children. Since late 2007, she has been a year-round resident of Carbondale, Colorado.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I make functional pottery out of porcelain and stoneware clays using both hand building and wheel throwing techniques. Many of my pieces are altered or assembled in some way. I focus on movement, texture and pattern, using both clay surface manipulation and glaze and slip application. My inspirations include patterns found in riverbeds, on the beach, in geometry, and in my mother’s textile work. I’ve recently been interested in how glazes and soda flow over my carved surfaces.
Much of my work is soda fired to cone 10, approximately 2,350 degrees F. I spray a soda ash solution into the kiln at 2,350 degrees. It flows through the kiln on the flames, catching edges and rims of pots. The soda ash reacts with the clay and glaze surfaces in a way that highlights forms and creates its own pattern of flame on my pieces. Due to the high temperature of the firing and the formulation of my glazes, all my work is food, dishwasher and microwave safe. My work is intended to be part of everyday life: the mug you reach for every morning, the fruit bowl gracing your kitchen counter, the bud vase for a single flower from your garden, the soap dish on your bathroom sink, the water pitcher on your dining room table. I hope that people find a little joy the daily rituals of their lives when using one of my pots.
Q&A WITH THE ARTIST
Carbondale Clay Center (CCC): What’s your favorite beverage recipe?
Anne Goldberg (AG): Dry Cappuccino
Smooth, strong espresso, extra foam on top, with lots of shaved dark chocolate. Served in a homemade mug, of course!
CCC: Where does your creative process begin (i.e. sketchbook, specific routine, image reference, etc.)? What considerations do you think about when creating drinking vessels?
AG: I think about the lip of the vessel, to make it so that it is comfortable to drink out of. And the handle (if it is a mug) to make it so that it is comfortable to hold. My inspiration comes from images: sand patterns, historic pots, trees and other plants, and more!
CCC: Do you have a certain type of vessel that you prefer to drink from? Does it vary based on the beverage?
AG: I think about the lip of the vessel, to make it so that it is comfortable to drink out of. And the handle (if it is a mug) to make it so that it is comfortable to hold. My inspiration comes from images: sand patterns, historic pots, trees and other plants, and more!
CCC: When creating a mug, I often hear about the detail and time taken for the handle. Do you have a handle size and type that you prefer to use? Why? Does that directly inform your creative process?
AG: The handle can take me as long as making the mug! Generally I like two to three finger handles, so that is what I typically put on my mugs. For me, the handle has to balance the size of the mug. For an espresso or macchiato cup a one finger handle is perfect.
CCC: What makes handmade pottery unique to you? Why use a handmade object to sip your coffee, tea, water, etc.
AG: All my dishes at home are handmade, some by me but many by others. When I drink out of a handmade mug or eat off a handmade plate, I think of the maker. It is just so much more personal to use handmade dishes!
CCC: What influences your pots? What are you looking at or thinking about when making specific beverageware?
AG: I want my vessels to be equally beautiful and functional at the same time. To have the perfect heft and lightness at the same time. And to show off the food or drink they are holding.
CCC: Is there a certain type of drinking vessel that you prefer making? Or one that seems to always be sought after by customers?
AG: Mugs and more mugs.
CCC: How do you define art within your functional pottery? Do you consider pottery to be a form of art?
AG: Pottery is absolutely art. It is just art that we use as well as look at.
CCC: When creating pottery, do you work in a series or body of work? At what point do you transition from one series to another?
AG: I work in series. Probably ten to twenty for smaller forms like mugs, and maybe six or eight for larger forms such as large serving bowls or tall pitchers. Sometimes I transition because I run out of shelf space😉. I also think mixing up making smaller and larger forms is better for my body.
CCC: What keeps you inspired in the studio?
AG: I just love to play with dirt.
CCC: How do color, surface, and form influence your work? Does each of those design elements play equal roles in your making process? Is one emphasized over others?
AG: When color, surface and form all work together equally, those are the best pots! I try to consider all of them in my making process.