Brown Marble

Jim Whalen of Paradox Pottery in Horse Shoe, NC 

"The creative impulse is made up of curiosity and desire. It’s manifestation in clay is defined as the process of exploration and refinement. Working both these processes leads to creative evolution - the essence of which is spiritual in nature.

My pots are wheel thrown, burnished, and coated with terra sigillata. After bisque firing, patterns and images are created with wax resist. The pots then go through a two stage firing process:

the first is a low temperature salt firing; the second a sawdust firing. Both firings produce random chaotic markings on the surface of each pot. The wax resist separates the effects caused by each process into distinct areas giving definition to the patterns without losing the vitality of chaos.

The patterns are like songs, each pot, a live performance. The songs are about the mystery and

magic of the paradox, the great void and the creative impulse and the membrane of imagination. My subject matter is not of this world but rather where and how it’s created."