Maura Meng

Available at the Alberta Craft Gallery - Edmonton

“The primary medium I use to create my art is clay. I am excited to work with clay because it is malleable in so many ways, can be used to form utilitarian objects, and it is very primordial and elemental. You begin a piece by playing with mud, and you finish it by heating it up to temperatures that feel like the molten core of the earth. I am also very hands-on with this process, as I fire my pottery manually in a propane kiln I built myself. I use terra sigillata and pit-firing, glazes, and hand painting with mason stains to create contrasting textural qualities. My goal with my painted works is to compliment the three dimensional forms. I paint textures and patterns on my pieces and biographical images of nature and events that I have witnessed around me. I use the medium of clay painting to document my observations in nature.”