Photo by Jonathan Wade
Statement
Making ceramics makes me feel connected to the Earth, connected to my ancestors, to indigenous ancient people, also through my spiritual practice, I have come to understand that imagination is our direct connection to other realms of consciousness, a link to the cosmos.
The process of making ceramics is in many ways a ceremonial act for me, through clay I connect to the Earth, through my hands I connect to my ancestors, and through my imagination I connect to the cosmos.
As I touch the clay, I discover what it would like to become, my mind becomes empty, in this stillness I welcome that which wants to come through my vessel. In this numinous space, there is peace, there is expansion and elation, all happening simultaneously.
The dichotomy between something abstract versus something concrete, being on the Earth and being of Spirit, is very fascinating to me. My sculptures are the direct representation of bringing something from the realm of imagination (spirit), to the material world.
Voluptuous forms convey the expansive state of imagination and creation. All sculptures are hand-built with porcelain. Developing my own glazes, textures and colors, is crucial for my sculptures because it adds to the unique personality of each piece.
Bio
Born in Los Angeles, California
Johanna is a Ceramics Artist based in Decatur, Georgia.
Her work has been exhibited at the American Museum of Ceramic Art in California and recently at the Museum of Contemporary Art GA in Atlanta.
In her latest work: MULTIDIMENSIONAL, she explores the different facets of the self: such as the outer, the inner, the shadow and the collective self, including the physical and the spiritual self. Although we don’t see these parts, they belong to us nevertheless.
The sculptures are smooth and voluptuous forms that resemble stylized seeds or sometimes fetuses. All sculptures are hand-built with porcelain and all the glazes or slips are mixed and developed by Johanna; this means an ongoing glaze study and testing to achieve the desired textures, glaze fluidity, and colors.
Themes of creation and existence, are fascinating to Johanna and she further explores these concepts in her ceramic work, her spiritual practice, and in her writing.