Terri Kern
Birth Date: 1964

Artist Gallery
Terri Kern writes: “I like to think of myself as a hands-on artist. That means that every task from wedging the clay to stacking and un-stacking the kilns are done by my hands. Wheel throwing and hand building are used separately and in combination to create these one of a kind ceramic pieces. After the pieces are dry enough to handle, their surfaces are carved in relief. They are then dried thoroughly. Each piece is hand painted with underglaze before the first firing. The blending of color is done by brush work alone – no airbrushing is used. To achieve the sense of depth and lush color, the underglaze (which is semi-transparent) is applied onto the surface of the clay in many separate layers. Because of the transparent nature of the underglaze, each layer picks up the color from the layer underneath it, which results in very rich colors. It is that same transparency, however, that requires up to ten, fifteen and sometimes twenty layers of underglaze to be built up on the surface in some areas to block out darker background colors. When you run your finger over the surface of the underglaze you can actually feel the built up areas. Each layer needs to dry thoroughly before another can be applied. After the color has been applied, black underglaze is painted on with a detail brush to give definition to the painted images. Some of the detail work is achieved by using a sgraffito technique. Black is painted on in a small section and while it’s still wet, a carving tool is used to carve away the black to reveal the color underneath. It normally takes as long to apply black as it does to apply all the other colors combined on any given piece. Once all the detail work is finished, the pieces are fired for the first time. Clear glaze is then brushed over the pieces (three to five layers depending on the colors) and they are fired a second time. During this firing the glaze saturates the pigment in the underglaze and brings out the rich color." About this piece, Terri says: “Visually, this piece references the memories of beauty, mystery and nobility that I had after an intensive, art related trip to China. I was part of an artist group from Cincinnati that collaboratively made and exhibited a series of drawings with a group of Chinese artists. The connections that I felt with the artists, the natural beauty of the land, the textiles, mythology and ancient culture were the visual inspiration for this piece. Conceptually, Under a Chinese Moon reflects a time of mourning for me because a good friend and mentor had recently passed away. That feeling of loss is symbolized by the empty dress hanging in the trees.”