Anna Eidsvik is a founding member of The Studio Group. Her specialty is functional porcelain pottery. She studied with Leverett Craftsmen in Leverett, Mass., and has been working in stoneware and porcelain since the 1970s.

I enjoy working with porcelain because I find it exciting to both visual and tactile senses. I find it fun to handle in all stages – from the responsively soft clay body to the smoothly finished final pot.

I especially focus on making forms that will be used by people in their daily lives to enhance the beauty of daily meals as well as special occasions. I intend for my pots to be touched, handled, and used; in this way the hand experiences the uniqueness of each piece. This concrete interaction between artist and user confirms the purpose of the piece. The functional pot is, in fact, the place where the artist’s and the user’s hands can meet on a daily basis.

For surface design, I find inspiration in many areas of the visual world around me: natural patterns of trees, branches, leaves, fruits, flowers. But, often I also use found materials, hand-made stamps, or Swedish rolling pins to create textural experience for the hand.

Porcelain pottery goes beautifully and safely from oven or microwave to table, to dishwasher. Transparent non-toxic glazes with smooth, food-friendly surfaces allow the clay body to show while sealing underglaze colors and designs.

Email: aeidsvik@yahoo.com

      

      

©2007 The Studio Group