Pat started making functional pottery as a student at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto,
and has always had clay and a potter’s wheel at hand. In the early ’80s, Pat decided she
needed a change in her art and started making masks. “I’ve always been fascinated with
faces and bodies because they’re so individual and different,” she said. She notes that
people aren’t perfect and that it’s the imperfections she likes. The masks evolved into
more three-dimensional pieces with bodies.
Pat always starts with clay. First, she makes and fires a kiln-full of clay body parts –
heads, torsos, arms and hands – at low temperature so they’ll absorb paint and other
coloring she applies later. Then she starts combining clay pieces with objects she and
others find, such as driftwood and pieces of metal. Then she colors the clay using oil and
acrylic paint, and stain.
“I like to try new things all the time,” Pat says. She’s been experimenting with encaustic
because she can polish the surface, which gives it depth, and can embed objects like
pieces of fabric. “It’s almost a three-dimensional medium.”
and has always had clay and a potter’s wheel at hand. In the early ’80s, Pat decided she
needed a change in her art and started making masks. “I’ve always been fascinated with
faces and bodies because they’re so individual and different,” she said. She notes that
people aren’t perfect and that it’s the imperfections she likes. The masks evolved into
more three-dimensional pieces with bodies.
Pat always starts with clay. First, she makes and fires a kiln-full of clay body parts –
heads, torsos, arms and hands – at low temperature so they’ll absorb paint and other
coloring she applies later. Then she starts combining clay pieces with objects she and
others find, such as driftwood and pieces of metal. Then she colors the clay using oil and
acrylic paint, and stain.
“I like to try new things all the time,” Pat says. She’s been experimenting with encaustic
because she can polish the surface, which gives it depth, and can embed objects like
pieces of fabric. “It’s almost a three-dimensional medium.”
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| Pat Biggs pbiggs@vom.com 707.938.3787 |
