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About The Artist…

My purpose as a
ceramic artist is to create objects that are both beautiful
and functional. My sense of beauty is strongly influenced by
the beauty I see in nature -- in its colors and shapes, its
textures and rhythms. A key aspect of nature's esthetic for
me lies in its imperfections, its asymmetrically, its
randomness, its unpredictability -- all qualities I endeavor
to capture in my work.
A rural
dweller, I am the lucky and joyful witness daily to the
local landscape in northwestern Virginia, with its lush
vegetation, its rolling terrain, its rocky outcroppings, its
streams and woods and earthy colors. The natural beauty here
offers a constant source of inspiration.
Clay is
itself of-the-earth, of course, and for me it is the perfect
medium for creative expression. Because I am working with
natural ingredients, which are inherently imperfect, my
purpose is not to try to make perfect forms. I want my forms
to be dynamic, interesting, alive. The shapes and textures I
create out of wet clay are done as quickly and with as
little conscious thought as possible. Imperfections are not
only allowed, they are valued. |
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Glazes made
from ash and other natural ingredients are sometimes poured
and allowed to drip down areas of various forms, like water
trickling over rock. When brushwork is applied, that too is
done with rapid gestures rather than following some
carefully planned design. And finally the vessels are fired
in a salt kiln, where the sodium vapors react chemically
with the silica in the clay body to form a natural glaze on
exposed areas of raw clay, and where random colors and marks
appear unexpectedly, as if by magic -- gifts from the kiln
gods.
The entire
process is in and of nature, and for whatever artistic
success I have achieved I can thank nature itself for
providing me with the stimulus, the materials, and the sense
of esthetics that guides me as I explore the visual and
tactile possibilities of my chosen medium |
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Click
here to view interactive on-line map with Richard
Busch's location
Directions:
1)
From Washington, DC/Route 495 (Beltway) and points east
(2 possibilities):
First possibility: Take Route
7 west toward Leesburg. Before entering town, take
the exit for Route 7/Winchester. (It's opposite a
Ford dealer on the left.) Go 5 miles to the exit for
Route 9/Charles Town, WVA. At the end of the exit
ramp, take a left. Go approximately 200 yards to the
'T' intersection, then right on Business 7/Colonial
Hwy. Go 0.5 miles to first left on Canby Road (Route
662). Go 0.7 miles to the lane on the left (#17642).
The pottery is 0.5 miles down the lane.
Second possibility: Take the Dulles Greenway
toll road (267) west to the end. Take the left exit
to Route 7 west. Go 4.5 miles to Route 9, left at
the exit ramp, etc (see above).
2) From Maryland and points north:
Take Route 15 south to Leesburg. 15 becomes Route 7
west. Continue to exit for Route 9, etc....
3) From Warrenton, VA and points
south:
Take Route 15 north to Route 7 west at Leesburg.
Continue to exit for Route 9, etc....
4) From Winchester, VA and points
west:
Take Route 15 east to the exit for Route 9. Go right at
the exit ramp, then right to Business 7, left on Canby,
etc....
Next closes studios/artists in area:
Lavonne Donohue - Hamilton. Jan Blacka -
Hamilton, Janie Jones - Hamilton,
Beth Goldsmith - Lincoln, Eric & Linda Trueblood
- Lincoln, Dan Williams - Leesburg
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