Barbara Harnack and Michael Lancaster

"We have shared a studio and a common vision for over thirty years. Our collaborative work combines sculptural vessel making with painting and drawing. The result is an introspective look at the dreamlike narrative of life."

Both Barbara Harnack and Michael Lancaster are known for their personal styles of sculptural ceramics. Their new "Collaborations" series expresses the different styles of each artist combined.

Lancaster throws the forms on the potter's wheel. Cutting and altering the shapes, he reassembles them into vessels that are no longer round. In the dance of their creativity, he passes the forms to Harnack, who then incises the wet clay by drawing, and paints the underglazes.

After final over- glazing, the pieces are fired to red heat and pulled from the kiln, then worked in a smoking material such as straw. The result antiques the pieces in a personal style of raku.