Bio: Rose Hardesty is a visual artist who was born in Ventura, CA, and is currently living and working in Asheville, NC. She creates functional and sculptural wood fired ceramic pieces inspired by the natural world and informed by imagination. Her work seeks to marry seemingly disparate elements of the art and craft world, blurring the line between high and low craft. A deep love for found materials, a passion for printmaking, utilization of local clay materials, and atmospheric firings are cornerstones in her practice. The process of wood firing is integral to the story of her life and the objects she creates.

Functional Pottery: I have always had an overactive imagination. As a child, I spent most of my time reading or playing outside, always daydreaming stories about the creatures found there and imagining my place in the narratives. This body of work re-visits that child-like wonder through functional pottery. I use wheel throwing and handbuilding techniques to create the forms. The work is made from local North Carolina clays, and is fired in wood burning kilns. I draw, paint and screen print colored slip and underglaze onto the pots before wood firing, then sometimes add decals and china paint in a third firing. The resulting work has a collage feel, where layered imagery interacts with the wood fired surfaces.

Creatures Statement: This series uses wild clay, atmospheric kilns, and found molds to explore the dynamic between high craft and low craft. Clays dug from different areas in North Carolina are minimally processed and blended to create slips that maximize reaction with wood kiln environments. I collect vintage slip casting molds of animals that mostly would have been used in
paint-your-own-pottery shops using commercial low fire slips and glazes. Can changing the clay body and firing atmosphere transform an object from low to high craft, or is the object destined to stay in its original caste system?