About Lisa Katzenstein
I have always had a love for European Ceramics and been fascinated by the
way the culture of a particular era is reflected in the painted wares of the age.
I see ceramics as a unique art form in the way it intersects with the personal
domestic sphere and the grander ideas of art and culture.
With my practise I want to push the possibilities of surface decoration to
create something new while still being a continuation of tradition. My medium is tin-glazed earthenware, also known as Maiolica or Delft, a technique used
throughout Europe. It is full of possibilities for re-invention as it has great receptivity to colour, which I use layered with oxide lines. I have been developing my techniques for over 20 years. I paint directly on to an un-fired white glaze using wax resist and inlay techniques. The vase is then fired, incorporating the colours directly into the glaze. My subject matter are plants, not as botanical illustrations, but as an exuberant expression of nature and our relation to them both as gardeners and cooks. Influences are as disparate as the Baroque and Rococo to mid twentieth century design.
My work is concerned with reviving the status of floral decoration in ceramics. It is floral - but with a modern twist - with the emphasis on wildflowers and seed heads. I try to convey the thorniness and invasiveness of plants, as well as their natural beauty. My approach can be summed up as a walk in the country, not in the park.
My work has sold in such varied outlets as the Yorkshire Sculpture Park,
Contemporary Ceramics in London, and the Sussex Guild Shop in Lewes, as well as through craft fairs in the rest of Sussex. I have exhibited widely: Slimbridge Wetland centre in Gloucestershire, The Lund gallery in North Yorkshire, the Leach pottery in St Ives, being just a selection from the past year. I have also exhibited at Ceramic Art London at the Royal College of Art in London.
I am a member of the Craft Potters Association as well as The Sussex Guild.