alex kraft
Dahlonega, Georgia, USA
Alex Kraft in her studio in Dahlonega, Georgia, USA
Alex Kraft, Off-Center Gridded Blue with Cookie Flowers Dome, 2017. thrown Jingdezhen middle white, slip-cast super white, colored slip, clear glaze, fired to 2255 degrees F, slight reduction. 21 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm
Reading the narratives from QI Round 1, I was struck by the artists’ fortitude and hope. They overwhelmingly carry optimism for a transformative future.
Pálma Babos’ paired words—“tension and leisure”—resonate for me. For the first three months this was my experience. With the end of spring semester online, weekly Zoom meetings were an unexpected solace providing marked intervals. Normally, my life was chock full of schedule. Then suddenly, in required solitude, I had quasi-leisure time paired with a deep state of unease. I had not yet grown comfortable with new norms.
During this surprising break, I pieced together a makeshift home studio. It has taken time to develop life and studio rhythms that cushion a state of constant simmering flux. My first endeavors reiterated life past, and then the focus changed. Why was I baking so much? How could I fill that garden patch? Newfound domesticity brought me pinched functional experiments. I don’t know where it’s heading nor how it will be resolved. New curiosity has arisen, devoid of some old self-imposed constructs.
At the mercy of clay, I’ve learned patience and detachment from expected outcomes. This emotional toolkit is helpful in my daily life and in my teaching. I continue to relearn acceptance of change.
Now neck-deep in preparations for an uncertain Fall semester, I stumble through a new online learning platform. I figure out how to socially distance my classroom for hybrid teaching. I create more safety measures. I remind myself to take one bite at a time with fortitude and hope.
Alex Kraft, Longing Together, 2020, mono-printed midrange stoneware, oxidation fired.each square approx. 14 cm x 14 cm x 6cm
During the Lockdown, Alex Kraft has been finding her way with new pinched forms while cuddling three kittens that appeared in her woodpile.
Alex Kraft, Blue Pinched Trays, 2020. Midrange hand-built stoneware with glaze and underglaze. Oxidation fired. Dimensions variable, from 12 cm to 35cm L
Alex Kraft, What Next, 2020. Midrange slip cast porcelain with glaze, oxidation fired. Each 18 cm x 17 cm x 5 cm
Alex Kraft, Pinched Pourers, 2020. Midrange hand-built stoneware with glaze and underglaze; oxidation fired. Each approx. 13 cm x 9 cm x 7cm
Alex Kraft, Butter, 2020. Midrange hand-built stoneware with glaze and underglaze. Each 9 cm x 20 cm x 11cm
Alex Kraft, Gold and White Pinched, 2020. Midrange hand-built stoneware with glaze and underglaze, oxidation fired. Dimensions variable, from 13 cm L to 32 cm L