Terry Griffin - The Empty Vessel - The space within exhibition

 

"Clay is the most marvellous material.  It can be moulded into any shape and any size.  It can be creative and functional, often both".

 

Terry has been working with clay for most of her life.  She works in all sorts of creative media but it is with clay that the deepest, most intuitive work is made.

Over time she has inclined towards using unglazed clay with, maybe, a little oxide.

 

The Empty Vessel

 

"Shape clay into vessel;

it is the space within which makes it useful."    Tao Te Ching

 

"Thumb pots are probably the most basic vessel.  They have been made since man first needed to contain something and found that moulding a piece of mud did the job.  Infants make them at play school, while in Japan they have become a highly treasured art form used in the tea ceremony.

 

Each pot is, by nature of its creation, unique and personal.

There is something essential about taking a small ball of clay and pushing your thumb in; feeling your way into the clay, rotating it in your hand, to form a pot.

For Terry, it is almost a form of meditation.

 

Terry has used three very fine stoneware clays to make these "empty vessels"