LOUISE REDING lreding1@san.rr.com |
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| Louise Reding began working with clay in 1969 while a student
at the University of Alberta, Canada. She learned basic handbuilding and
throwing techniques at the Student Union Crafts Center between classes and
on weekends. This pastime became a passion, and later, the focus of her
Bachelor¡¦s degree in Art and post graduate work at Chico State and San Diego
State Universities. At Chico State, she studied with Jack Windsor, a glaze chemistry professor, who had himself been a student of Herbert Sanders. With his guidance and encouragement, she began working on more and more challenging glazes including crystalline glazes and smoked Arabian lusters. These were calculated by hand using empirical formula. There was not much information available on these techniques at the time, so it took many firings over the course of several years to develop formulas that could be fired with some consistent results. It took many more years to refine the process to what you see in her work today. Anyone who has worked with crystalline glazes understands that these glazes do not easily lend themselves to production work. Because the patterns are entirely random, there are many pieces that do not result in gallery quality pieces. The overall effect can be spoiled by too many or too few crystal formations. Small variations in firing temperatures can make a significant difference in the texture of the crystals, which can be rough or smooth to the touch. A full time studio potter since 1974, Louise has focused her attention almost exclusively on mastering the elusive crystalline glaze, creating a line of porcelain vases with beautiful crystal formations that seem to float in the matrix of the glaze, and are often mistaken for glass. Her business is largely wholesale, and she shows her work in many fine craft Galleries and Museum Stores across the United States. |
