Artist Statement

 

David W. Bolton

 

 

I believe ceramics or any artwork should work on many levels.  It should be visually stimulating, but it should also have layers of meaning.  Even if it is not apparent to the viewer there should be some underlying intent or philosophy that could be understood after viewing and reflecting on the work.

 

In my work I address modern issues in a traditional medium.  Through functional pottery, I deal with ideas of what is and what is not natural and the conflicts that occur with the use of both.  In this day of labor saving machines come hard choices between the things we appreciate and find important.  We depend on our machines and their products, but we also hold what is natural as unexpendable and precious.  Living in the city, one gives up the open unspoiled countryside for an industrial environment where culture thrives but nature is reduced to parks, niches, and potted plants.  The manufacture and use of machines edge away at the natural world.  The choice to use our machines is made subconsciously by all of us.  My work evokes my personal dilemma within myself as a lover of things made and things natural.