CLAYTIMES · COM n 20TH ANNIVERSARY • AUTUMN / WINTER 2015 Perspectives I Beneath the Surface
Handbuilding with Chandra DeBuse ( continued from previous page )
the kitchen table with some craft project : wheat weaving , sewing clothes , rug-hooking , embroidery , or macramé . Creative expression was important in our family , but I don ’ t think I ever heard anyone label themselves as artists .
Wilson : Did you come to your current style of work early or did you have to go through various “ periods ” in your work to come to what you are making now ?
DeBuse : Right from the start I was drawn to the vessel . Making functional pieces made the most sense to me and I have never seriously explored sculptural ceramics . I did go through a phase of making gestural teapots and vases that were raku-fired .
Wilson : How long did it take you to find “ your voice ?”
DeBuse : I have been working in clay for 16 years and started really figuring things out about five years ago when I was 2 / 3 finished with graduate school . I was on the verge of panic because I didn ’ t have a clear direction for my thesis project .
Like most college campuses , the University of Florida is overflowing with squirrels . I had been thinking about a squirrel as a metaphor for chasing a goal and I began drawing cartoon squirrels in hot pursuit all over my pots . The project for my thesis show ended up being a playful installation of pottery forms that told a sequential story of achievement through the eyes of a squirrel .
The work I am making now is an offshoot from that core idea . Although I use a variety of characters and looser narratives ,
I am still telling playful stories of determination , desire , and achievement .
Wilson : In a kiln load what percentage of “ failures ” do you have ? How do you handle failures ?
DeBuse : Failure just means I am trying new things and pushing beyond my comfort zone , right ? Recently , I had the luxury to play with a new red clay body . My failure rate in that load was about 60 %, but I was excited about every single piece .
With my current white claybody , I have tweaked my firing schedule and I try to minimize variables to get the maximum success rate from the kiln . Cups have been a reliable form , and I make sure I have around 20 cups in every firing . I experiment a lot with the surfaces of my cups , trying out new surface compositions or new characters and
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