Jeff Shapiro Ceramics

       I ‘look’ with the intent of perceiving the artistic elements of what I am viewing rather than the intellectual dissection of information. To that end, I want to be moved and inspired, and respond to the experiences I encounter.
       I approach the process of making as a creative process giving myself the freedom to improvise and discover. I challenge myself to keep the work alive and evolving.
       I believe that if I do not approach the work in this way, then the work stagnates and will precipitate the beginning of the end which leads to a slow downhill slide. Though I am predominantly working in the wood fire genre at present, I choose to utilize whatever technique, tool or process necessary to best resolve the finished work.
       I challenge myself to be in a place or mental state of ‘abandonment’, devoting more energy to understanding the harmony that should exist between the maker, the concept, material, tools, and processes, and then learning to ‘let go’ rather than try to force something to happen. My recent work is the manifestation of this perception whether it be in tea bowls and sake cups, or solid sculpture.
       I respond to the beauty that exists in the imperfections of nature; A torn leaf… a crack in a cement wall… a twisted branch…a shaft of lightning cutting through the night sky, all have the potential to be dimensions of beauty that feed the artistic soul and creative process.