Barbara Hanselman Designs

I began clay by wanting to build with it so I could eat off its river rock surface and experience savory soups from the emptiness of the bowl; I longed to fondle each cup with my lips and savor the sensuousness of tea and clay as they mingle on the edge. I then needed to hear the clay as it moves to and fro within itself so I made rattles which memorialize beginnings. Now I strive for a total “Clay Shibumi” where I am the adaptable turtle impressed in the clay’s surface; where I know the power of each individual hand-formed clay object felt by my skin. I want to be what the clay is saying as I wear it, hold it, caress it and use it, so I struggle to compose with the language of clay. Whether the clay is a cup, bowl, rattle or tray, Contemporary Ceramic Clay artifacts have the power to be manifestations of peace, harmony and partnership in a time when dominance & strife seems the norm. By the way, did you know that clay beads worn against the skin absorb our very essence becoming an extension of who we are and what we wish to become; now how cool is that!

My ongoing exploration of engobes & terra sigillata has helped me discover new ways to generate colorful patterns, textures and finishes on all sorts of clay bodies. Whether shaping simple clay beads or fine-tuning a transfer-to-surface process, I enthusiastically explore ALL my clay options, asking myself ‘what if’ every time I’m confronted with clay and its possibilities. But once techniques are mastered it is time to really listen...

CLAY is my voice in this wilderness and I love where it takes me.

Most potters working in stoneware produce cups, bowls, pitchers or vases with a certain similarity. Some mimic classic shapes while others masterfully produce stylized forms. A few make sculptural interpretations of functional pieces assembled in a style uniquely their own. I am one such person. My pots, constructed from slabs or using a pinch-strip method I developed, bear the look of burnished metal, tooled leather or whimsical china. My techniques make building featherweight forms of many shapes and sizes a possibility. In addition, I address how what I am going to make will look before asking the question, what's it going to be - an approach quite out of the norm for most potters. My reasoning is quite simple - "Fashion designers don't envision clothing designs in drab muslin - they employ rich silk textures, tartans and tapestries when fashioning their creations. Why not do the same as a hand builder of clay? Why not let colorfully created engobe plaids or knobby textured clay surfaces have a say in what I end up making?" My signature pieces evolve from the stoneware 'fabrics' I create out of thinly rolled slabs enhanced with patterns, texture and color. It is my unorthodox methodologies coupled with classic hand building techniques - pinching, coiling, extruding - that attract students to my classes. Students who are seldom disappointed with the way their pots look when they retrieve them from the glaze firing because the way they will end up looking is addressed from their inception!