Emerging Potters – 15 Heidi Tarver
July - September 2019
Influences… The way that leads to a lifetime interest in ceramics is often a long road with many different influences. For Heidi Tarver from the United States this is no exception. It started at the age of 15 years and struggling at school when her father built her a potters wheel because he could see that the process of creating was keeping her going during some difficult times. In fact she loved the wheel so much she dropped out of high school to spend hours making funky little pots in the garage. Eventual she did return to school and, later earning a PhD in sociology. She commented, “I think that little home-built wheel gave me my first taste of the joy and freedom that can come with being an artist, and laid the groundwork for all my future creative endeavors”.
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Her work as a maker has been deeply influenced by the Islamic artistic tradition, and in particular by the use of geometric patterns to create two and three dimensional objects that are visually complex, lyrical and alluring. The Islamic artistic tradition is nonrepresentational, however the patterns themselves are meaningful as a reflection of the natural and spirit world. She often works with traditional motifs from this tradition, but also creates her own patterns for her ceramic vessels. She uses a clay that is mostly porcelain with a bit of stoneware mixed in (Bmix cone 5 from Laguna Clay) All of her pieces, including cups, are handbuilt using slab construction techniques.