Randy Johnston

Twenty-Two Ways of Clay
A National Ceramics Invitational
Curated by Gary C. Hatcher
October 26th, 2001-January 8th, 2002
The Meadows Gallery
Cowan Fine & Performing Arts Center
The University of Texas at Tyler
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Randy J. Johnston - Artist Statement

Wood firing and the types of ceramic pieces which emerge from the process create surprise. The delight in looking at and touching these pieces come from this surprise. This is both an advantage and disadvantage for the artist. It is not a random process, as some might believe: There is a direction toward control within our chosen and learned parameters. It is also an observation, and act of attention, that leads to our growth, acquired abilities and talents for various techniques. Every firing is a new attempt to extend our knowledge of this elusive material and process. The fire is an essential way of marking the surface and transforming the object giving it life. I work because of aesthetic necessity, sharing influences of many times, places, techniques and types of art. I fire my work with wood because of aesthetic choice. This is a huge investment of time and energy, but it is a process justified by its unpredictability, by the mysteries which lie beyond our control. There is a sense in this process of the nourishable accident and often it is the flaw, the scar, the unintended mark that becomes interesting. The fire in and around the pieces facilitates flawed things of beauty, and often the beauty resides in the flaw itself, the accident around which the idea of the piece gathers itself and becomes unique.