Just before facing an empty nest, I started ceramics at Spokane Art School about 15 years
ago. I made an instant connection working with clay. Shortly after the Spokane Art
School closed its doors, I joined The Clay Connection and created a lot of art pieces with
passion for 4 years. As a child, I was totally fascinated with nature, so it came naturally
that I started expressing my love and admiration for any type of beautiful, little creatures
through ceramics. In order to portray animals, birds, and amphibians realistically, I first
researched all the images from different angles, thanks to the Internet. Then, I challenged
myself to transform hard and heavy clay to look light, warm, rough, smooth, or fragile.
During the coloring process, I always painted eyes first and painted layers of glazes with
my hope that each piece would come alive with a soul.
After spending countless weeknights and weekends at the kitchen table as an amateur
ceramic artist, I eventually became burnt out and stayed away from clay for a long time.
My production became limited to a single piece for Art on the Green every year, where I
was lucky to be awarded cash prizes 4 times at the Juried Show.
Five years ago, a strong urge to create returned to me. All of a sudden, the idea of
humanized animals popped into my mind. My dog started playing the violin, and a moose
started playing the guitar. Two years ago, which was the zodiac year of the wild boar, a
face-painted Kabuki boar started to dance.
I eventually attended a raku firing at The Clay Connection. I had previously avoided raku
because I wanted to have as much control as possible over my process. However, I have
since totally accepted and enjoyed the unpredictability of raku firing. On display, there
are several subjects finished in both regular firing and raku firing so that you can see the
differences in color effects. I also enjoyed making replicas of ancient Japanese Jomon
vases and artifacts in different colors and with some original concepts added on. I have
realized that there is no limit to ceramic creation. Whatever I want to create, there are a
hundred ways to express it. I wish to continue to expand my horizons in art.
My last ceramic exhibit was almost 9 years ago, and some pieces on display were created
during those early production years. Hopefully my assortment of old and recent pieces
will show you my artistic growth. I pray that my delicate creatures can make you smile,
gently speak to your soul, and bring back some warm, sentimental memories of your pets.
Please come and enjoy my enchanting ceramic world.
Yasuko Mayhew
