Deborah Shapiro

Shapiro Porcelain

 

Member profile details

First name
Deborah
Last name
Shapiro
Business Name
Shapiro Porcelain
Profile Picture
City
Tigard
State
OR
Program Coordinators
  • Picnic Coordinator
 

Art Work Description

Art Work Example #1
Art Work Example #2
Art Work Example #3
Firing Methods
  • Gas
  • Electric
  • Reduction
  • Oxidation
  • High-Fire
  • Soda
Types of Clay Used
  • Porcelain
Forming Methods and Techniques
  • Wheel Thrown
  • Slabs
Finishing Methods and Techniques
  • Dip or Poured Glazes
  • Underglazes
  • Engobes
  • Oxides
Forms Types
  • Plates
  • Serving Platters
  • Cups
  • Coffee Mugs
  • Vase
  • Flower Vases
  • Decorative Vases
  • Bud Vase
  • Cylinders
  • Bowls
  • Soup Bowls
  • Serving Bowls
  • Figurative
Artwork Description
  • Functional
  • Figurative
  • Abstract
  • Simple
  • Complex
Artist Statement
With a reverence for fine craft, I’ve worked in porcelain for 25 years doing an investigation of subtle, understated utilitarian forms. I pare down my thrown forms to essential curves - shoulder, belly, lip, foot - and fill these curves with the volume of inhaled breath, conscious that all parts share in creating a unified form. The gestural designs in the glazes add an accent to the abstract dance. While my goal remains to infuse functional objects with breath and grace, the work itself is suddenly changing. I want energy, excitement, movement, and surprise. These qualities used to be found mostly in the gestural glaze designs, but have evolved into the clay contours themselves with spirals creating the undercurrent for motion in the forms.

My work is wheel-thrown, cone 10, porcelain with original glazes. I layer the glazes to achieve the decorative abstract symbols, and encourage chrome-tin pink flushes to add richness to the color palette. The nude platters are drawn with “underglaze crayon” over various slips, then soda-fired to achieve the glossy surface and color flashing.

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