Process
On Anna’s Ceramic Art
Wood Fired Ceramics
Wood‑firing is a 5th‑century ceramic tradition still practiced today. In my work, these limited‑edition pieces are created in an anagama wood kiln that holds 300–400 pots. Preparing for a firing, loading the kiln, tending the fire, and finally unloading the work is a labor‑intensive process that spans well over a month. During the firing itself, someone must be at the kiln around the clock, stoking wood into the firebox roughly every five minutes for seven straight days. The temperature slowly climbs to 2400 degrees using wood as the only fuel source. As the fire burns, wood ash settles onto the pieces and melts in the high heat, forming natural glazes and drips unique to each vessel. Depending on the type of wood used, the subtle colors can range from yellow to green (oak or walnut) to pink or purple (cherry or mulberry). I construct these vessels with careful attention to volume and form so they can fully receive and reveal the effects of the wood kiln.
Earthenware Ceramics
I handbuild with red earthenware clay using slow, tactile techniques such as pinching, slab work, and coiling. After the forms are made, I brush on a layer of white slip, creating a surface for sgraffito—a carving method that must be timed precisely with the clay’s moisture level. It allows me to draw through the slip with crisp lines and reveal the red clay underneath.
The handbuilding and sgraffito together shape my aesthetic, creating subtle textures, marks, line variations, and imprints across the surface. I choose red earthenware for the warmth it brings through the layered slip and carved imagery, leveraging the material’s inherent character to build surfaces with depth and variation. Once the carving is complete, I finish each piece with two to three coats of bright underglazes for color and contrast.
All of my pieces are limited edition, shaped through handbuilding and precisely timed surface techniques that produce the distinct results of a practiced ceramic process.
On Anna’s Paintings, Murals and Tile Murals
Landscape Paintings
Anna’s paintings, murals and tile murals are created in response to her observations of nature, especially of the Loess Hills landscape. She celebrates the wildlife and wilderness of the Tallgrass Prairie, in which she works to show the region’s abundant biodiversity. She uses beautiful colors and paints in a whimsical style. These paintings often highlight specific locations where public and private land meet in order to show the results of alterations and conservation of the land.
Pottery Classes
Experience the process of building pottery first-hand. Anna offers hand-built pottery classes at her studio in Malvern, Iowa, travels to your spaces to teach, and teaches monthly workshops at Lauritzen Gardens.