Kelly Jean Ohl

Small, delicate and abstract, my art objects reference biological entities throughout the natural world with compelling non-specificity. My work reminds people of things they have found on the floor of the forest, something they have touched in a tidal pool or a single cell organism once viewed under a microscope. My ceramic pieces aren’t any of these things in particular.

My tools and techniques to create these pieces come right out of the kitchens of my two Midwestern Grandmothers (Violet and Inger). I use many of their antique kitchen utensils, household tools, and handmade textiles. These domestic tools provide the foundation of many of my patterns and textures. I press these patterns into my clay, and then each of my ceramic pieces are hand carved with dental tools, burnished, sanded, washed and waxed before the first firing. After completing the building process, I paint each piece with natural oxides. The work then goes through a second high temperature firing at about 2400 degrees to achieve a rich, textural and tactile finish. The result are abstract shapes and patterns that are a treat for the eyes, a treat to the fingers and sometimes a treat for the ears. Hand Carved Oblong Boat Bowl and Rattle Arrangement illustrates these abstract shapes and patterns.