Ruth Trok

My work as a ceramic artist is about connections. I try to reflect the beauty found in nature in my forms and carvings. I draw inspiration from common plants found on nature walks, in vegetable gardens planted by family and neighbors, and in painted or embroidered designs created years ago by my grandmother. I love the lightness and delicacy of porcelain and feel that this material reflects the sometimes fragile but tenacious nature of the bonds and the beauty that hold us together as families, as neighbors, and as fellow humans. My pots are thrown on the wheel and often altered so that the forms are in harmony with the carvings that I create. I love the feeling of working on the pottery wheel as the pot seems to grow under my hands. Seeing and feeling the designs come to life as I carve is both comforting and exciting. I love the fact that ceramics is both visual and tactile and I envision the vessels I make finding a place in homes where they are well loved and often used. My ongoing journey in ceramic arts has taken a circuitous path. As the granddaughter of a painter and the parent of a talented artist, I didn’t see myself as part of the legacy of creating art until I found myself taking art classes to help me develop skills as a ceramic artist. Until that point, I saw a myself as a Chemist by education, a buyer of metal by trade, a mom, a keeper of the peace, a facilitator of relationships, a lover of beauty, and a maker of many things, but never as an artist. I am still finding my place as a ceramic artist and figuring out how that fits in with the complex connections in my life - but I am loving the journey!


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