Carol Freitag | Ceramic | Munds Park, AZ
Artist Statement
I enjoy expressing my feelings and attitudes through my art. You can see that I am seriously preoccupied with nature in my work. I feel like I am constantly striving for the finished combination of glaze, texture, line, brightness or subtlety that will encourage visual and tactile interaction with the cup, teapot or canister. Sometimes I like to recreate a whole scene or experience of nature, the water or stream, rocks, lichen, mosses, sky and clouds in a single piece. When I can accomplish this, it brings peace.
In another piece, I might just want to express bold color and movement like the experience of water or branches blowing in the wind. Movement or balance, or its fleeting nature, is another theme I enjoy seeing in a piece. I often think I will progress into a large sculpture, but then I find a new sculptural element has been introduced into my piece or method as the clay seems to yield more easily.
Q&A with Carol Freitag
What process/materials did you use to create your artwork? I hand build from clay slabs and sculpt, then bisque, then stain, underglaze and/or glaze with brush or sponge.
What inspires you to create and what inspires your work? The natural world inspires me, but so does color, music and song. A face, a creature and a texture, my experience of it, inspires me.
If you had to describe your artwork in 5 words or less, what words would you use? It expresses texture, movement and color.
What other artists inspire you? What's your favorite art work? I am inspired more by art than a particular artist, I think. But I really like the Impressionists ability to convey the experience or feeling of a scene and its season. I could not name all the art and artists that have inspired me. There is too much.
What do you want your viewers to know about you as an artist (if anything?) I hope my art helps them feel better, as it does me.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Let art express through you instead of trying to force it or replicate something.
What is your favorite artist tool? clay
What is your dream project? I suppose it is to make an integrated, beautiful and big something through the process of sculpting clay with my hands.
What do you like about your work? I feel joy expressed through it. I like the process.
How has your practice or process changed over time? I am more patient with the process. I can enjoy letting it rest or set up a bit before I continue when I am not feeling inspired or connected.
What memorable responses have you had to your work? Delight is my favorite.
Why art? Art seems to tap into and express the connection that each of us has with all and everything, whether we accept and appreciate that connection or ignore it.