CAROLYN AUTENRIETH

WE EXPECT little from ordinary things around us, but I am continually fascinated by the ordinary.

Combining realism and abstraction, creating tension, and consideration for the ‘imperfect’ or unexpected, challenge expectations on how I ‘see’ the subject.

In ceramic work, I focus on creating forms that invite a tactile response in the spikes, or in the alterations and negative spaces. The body of work “Touch, Don’t touch” is inspired by living things and shapes in nature. I explore the objects and study them, then reimagine the form: considering how light and space interact, how time and weather alter, and how texture invites and repels. Many of these things are present in the tidal areas I wander, but I continue to explore metaphor and connections to new objects, both local and from travels.

After many years working with realism, my painting is also shifting toward a looser and more immediate response to what I see and experience. Places or found objects often present as metaphors and connect to experiences and running through my head. The subject becomes the mouthpiece, sometimes unexpectedly or unplanned and I scribble sketches to catch that moment before it gets lost. Once an idea becomes clear, I tend to work through a series of paintings until I have exhausted what needs to be said, this may be in a few months, or years depending on the narrative.