Celebrate the freedom and visit the gallery during July to view our featured artists, Carla Estevane with her paintings, Susan Roth with her ceramics, and Richard Roth with his ceramics.
Carla Estevane – Paintings
Gossamer….Ascend from the pandemic. A mixed media collection of paintings by Carla Estevane. (C.RAE)
Carla Estevane
Wow, what a year! We experienced isolation, heaviness and loss. The flip side was an opportunity to slowdown, get quiet and dwell in the peace and freedom that lives within each of us. I dreamt about emerging from our collective cloister with hope and optimism. I envisioned angelic wings floating freely. Wanting to express that feeling, inspired me to create this collection of white birds.
The paintings were developed using mulberry paper and oil paint on canvas. The fibrous mulberry paper was torn and applied with acrylic medium. The medium acts as an adhesive and sealant. In using this technique, my aim was to create textured loosely representational backgrounds. I painted the white birds by applying the oil paint thickly for an overall textural consistency. Upon completion, each piece was varnished for protection. I had a great time producing this collection. I am blessed to share it with you. Each piece is subtitled with an individual sentiment. My hope is that I have conveyed the spirit from which they sprang.
Snowy Owl
Susan Roth- Ceramics
Susan Roth
I have loved having my hands in dirt and clay since I was a child growing up in southern California. While other little girls were playing with dolls indoors, I was digging in the orange orchard and making mud pies in the sunshine.
Now as an adult living on a farm in Winlock Washington, I still have my hands in dirt and clay. I make pottery in the studio and till the earth in my vegetable garden. I enjoy the appearance and feel of handmade pottery and find enormous aesthetic pleasure serving meals to family and friends on handmade pottery rather than on manufactured dishes. I am an avid cook and enjoy making pots that I can use to serve the beautiful fresh organic vegetables and fruits from my garden.
My work is usually created on an electric wheel and trimmed on a kick wheel. I need the speed of the electric wheel to center the clay but when I trim I like the kick wheel because it automatically slows down which keeps me under control and also because it is so quiet. For me the difference between an electric wheel and the kick wheel is like the difference between motor boating and sailing.
My work has a lot of variety because I use red, white stoneware, and porcelain clays. Some of my pieces are earthy and primitive while others are china white with celadon glazes. Almost all of my work is utilitarian because I like to use hand made items in the kitchen and want others to notice and enjoy the subtle difference between using something manufactured and something hand made.
I would like to thank my husband, Richard who has continued to support me along my journey in the clay studio and because he fires the gas kiln. Without him, all I would have is mud.
Richard Roth – Ceramics
Richard Roth
My fascination with clay began when I discovered how easily and quickly shapes and ideas become alive on the potter’s wheel and are transformed by fire from soft earth into permanent vessels. The focus of my present work is to produce objects that are both functional and beautiful for people to use from hand to hand for many generations.
I have been a professional potter and teacher for over 40 years. After receiving my BA degree in Art Education from the University of Washington and teaching for several years, I established several galleries and studios in California. I now live and work in Winlock, Washington at my Grand Prairie Designs studio and family farm. My work is found in many private collections around the world and is currently shown in several West Coast galleries and at our studio gallery.
I am known for decorative floral sgraffito designs in both porcelain and stoneware clay. Soft clay is either hand thrown on the potter’s wheel or rolled into a slab. When sufficiently dry, the work is trimmed and smoothed ready for the design work. After a low “bisque” firing the pieces are coated with liquid glaze and fired to 2300 degrees making a very durable high-fired functional piece of artwork that is dishwasher and oven safe.
During the past year, I have been fascinated with using ash glazes over carved surfaces to create abstract textural patterns.
