The Brick Presents:
Astrid Wimmer

June 8 – June 30
Reception: June 14, 4-7 pm

Each time I walk up the huge staircase in the Metropolitan Museum, I stop to look at the Chinese porcelain artifacts: vases, bowls, plates, and jars. Most are glazed in one color. It sounds simple, yet it takes time to see the objects, to see how elegantly the shapes flow, how the colors radiate and shift in subtle ways. Since I started doing pottery, pots like these have been on my mind.

My pots are different, yet I think the two elements that the Chinese vessels have inspired in me, simplicity of shape and glaze, can be traced in this show. I hope you can see what I am aiming for. Aiming!

I am a functional potter. Sometimes I make big, heavy platters or sturdy vessels, and at other times I throw very thin bowls that I push to the brink of collapse. Sometimes I use earthy brown clay bodies, and other times I reach for the creamy, finicky porcelain. But no matter the medium, the challenge remains the same: to bring about a clean and honest shape.

At the Craft Center at Stony Brook University, I learned the basics and caught the bug. I have taken many classes in hand-building and throwing on the wheel, and I’ve learned from many different instructors and fellow students. When we opened the Brick, we hoped to keep this cooperative spirit alive. It has worked out well. Learning by sharing is our unwritten rule. I am grateful to my potter friends for their generosity of spirit.

The term “Happy Place” is often heard in the Brick. It certainly is mine. And a happy place is the best environment to make a good pot.

~ Astrid Wimmer