Collection: Mary Gunyuzlu

Clay

Winston-Salem, NC | Exhibiting Since 2018

When I was a child, I lived in a neighborhood near two creeks: White Clay Creek and Red Clay Creek. During a middle school art class, our teacher, Mr. Adams, told us that we could actually harvest clay from these creeks. That afternoon, I took a large bucket down to the creek and scooped creek bottom into a bucket with my hands. Dragging it the one mile back to my house required setting it down every 50 feet. Once home, I processed the clay through scraps of screen and my mom’s sieves (Sorry Mom! I never told you!). I ended up with enough clay to make a tiny rabbit sculpture flecked with chips of mica. Brave Mr. Adams fired it for me. The magic of turning “creek bottom” into tangible things has never left me.

I create fired clay sculptures that include bas-relief molded tiles and up to 3 foot-tall freestanding pieces for both indoor and outdoor applications. I use both high-fire and low-fire clays as well as electric and raku firing methods. I paint and decorate my sculptures with a lot of color using layers of glazes, oxide washes and carving to achieve an earthy effect.

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