T h r o u g h o u t h e r
c a r e e r , E r t e m a n h a s
S te a d ily m a in ta in e d
h e r S tu d io w o r k ,
w h i c h s h e s e e s as
b r id g in g th e w o r ld s
o f d e s ig n ( p la n n e d ,
in t e n t io n a l) a n d
c r a ft ( s p o n ta n e o u s ,
m a te r ia l d r iv e n ) .
textured outer glaze presents a crusty, expressionist chiaroscuro.
A n example o f Ertem an’s new w ork, such a piece, she explains,
begins life in a fairly usual manner. She throws a form on the wheel,
then “ I pick it up at a certain time and stretch it, guide it into the
basic shape, then take a look at w hat the clay wants to do, and w e
strike a com prom ise.” A slab bottom is created, and the interior
is given a black matte glaze. M ost arresting is the vessel’s decidedly
m odernist surface: multiple firings, the application o f a variety
o f slips, glazes and surfactants, and finally the graphic technique
o f monoprinting, all conspire in the creation o f the painterly result,
albeit one that no mere painter could reproduce. R eflecting on the
piece, Ertem an comments: “ T h ere’s some chance and risk in it.
It’s what I like, w hat I’m interested in right now.”
T h e painter R obert Kushner exclaims over this new direction
in Erteman’s w ork : “ It’s so rich and unique I can’t stand it!” Kushner
has collected Ertem an’s pieces for years and has been encouraging
her “ sense o f discovery.” T he results can be seen not only in E rte-
man’s vessels, but in a series o f wall pieces in tw o distinct forms: flat
panels in the mode o f Japanese sectional screen painting, and sets
o f modular, three-dimensional forms—one a boxlike group o f six-inch
squares, another an arrangement o f small cushion shapes-designed
to be mounted as multiples in a grid to Erteman’s specifications. She
has also been producing w orks on m ulberry paper, w hose fibrous
texture reminds her o f clay. Using tempera and gouache, she is creat-
ing black and white images that relate to her ceramic surfaces, but,
she says, “ now I understand the decisions painters talk about. W hen
you’re w orking, you’re w orking directly. T h ere’s not the chance
to pause as w ith clay.”
Ertem an began to w ork in this mode around 2005, diverging
from the type o f bold, functional vessels for w hich she is well
known: vases, bow ls and teapots w ith carved sgrafitto-like black
and w hite surface treatm ents, typically geom etrical m otifs that>
Pottery on the
Tibetan Plateau
When Kathy Ertemann
arrived at a village in
the Tibetan Autono-
mous Region in Yunnan,
China, as a consultant
through the auspices
of Aid to Artisans/
Mountain Institute/
U SA ID ,
for a two-week
sojourn in 2007 with
local potters, who hand-
built their Nixi black
earthenware the way it
has been done for 2000
years, she first just
watched. “1 couldn’t tell
how pieces were made,”>
040 american craft aug/sep09
