Guest, Lesley Bevan

Chicago, IL

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I come to ceramics through the lens of a long career in theatre. It’s an actor’s best kept secret that everything she touches on stage informs her character and helps her tell a story. A sturdy, flatbottomed stein might put her in mind of a rowdy Shakespearean pub. The refined delicacy of a porcelain tea cup straightens her spine and transports her to Edwardian England. I still play with these “portals” to another time and place through considerations of weight and texture, and with the use of textile patterns from around the globe. The ornate designs which characterize my work are made by slip-trailing—the process of piping liquid clay onto the surface of a vessel, much like decorating a cake.
Each piece is painstakingly piped freehand, resulting in raised patterns into which I lay a second, third or fourth glaze. My desire is to create tactile, flowing designs which are a joy to touch and perfectly express my love of Art Nouveau, Arabesque motifs, Asian textiles and the repetitive geometry found in nature. I used to get frustrated when my delicate, free hand designs would get obscured or obliterated in the soda kiln, but I’ve come to embrace the chaos of soda as another layer of the story. My hope is that everything I make transports the beholder in a small way, begging the question, “What’s the story…what happened here?”