Ariana Heinzman
Ceramicist
Vashon Island, WA, USA
Recommended by Nest
Stinky bugs, flower dogs and birds being intense
- Ariana’s work intertwines ceramics and illustration
- Coil building is a form of drawing to her
- She draws inspiration from literary nonsense
At the crossroads of illustration and ceramics, Ariana Heinzman's character-like sculptures playfully blur the line between the imaginary and the real. Her creations, made purely, simply and with joy, give shape to the unseen dimensions of everyday life, from daydreams and memories to inner narratives and the divine. Ariana primarily works with the coil building technique, which she closely relates to drawing. Emerging from quick sketches, the long rope-like coils of clay turn into lines that bring her drawings to life. "My expressive sculptures are built around the feeling of glimpsing a shadow when your mind has briefly suspended disbelief," she says. For Ariana, the real magic lies in this process of turning thought into form.
INTERVIEW
At Rhode Island School of Design, I was first introduced to the potential of clay as a medium for storytelling. I was interested in pursuing illustration, but on a whim, I visited the ceramics department. I touched clay and decided that it would be my medium. I am not sure I have gone a week without touching clay ever since.
The first turning point came when I decided to make my living by selling pottery. I prioritised my time in the studio and improved the quality of my craftsmanship. The second was when I moved away from working with clay for the purpose of selling my pieces. This has helped me step back and improve as an artist.
The fragility of clay is quite the challenge. However, it is good for my character to be regularly confronted with loss. I cannot take myself too seriously, or the time I spend making a piece that ends up breaking would be too painful to bear. Artist Katy Schimert told me, 'If it is worth making once, it is worth making twice'.
Place has greatly influenced my evolution as a ceramicist. While living in rural Ohio, I was interested in the folk aesthetic around me and began selling my pottery at the farmers’ markets, the area’s cultural hub. Now that I reside in the Pacific Northwest, my work has become more figurative, drawing from Funk art.
Ariana Heinzman
Ceramicist
Vashon Island, WA, USA
Recommended by Nest
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Vashon Island, WA, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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