Joan Carcia “Saggar-Fired Vessel”

15 x 15 x 12 inches, ceramic

Joan Carcia has been an active potter for over 45 years. Her range of work is extensive and she is particularly well known for her large coiled saggar-fired vessels. In addition to these vessels, Joan enjoys building architectural pieces and continues to do functional ware. She taught pottery to children for many years in Reading where she and her husband Peter raised their family.

Still an active member of the Lexington Arts & Crafts Society she, along with Alice Abrams, has coordinated The State of Clay biennial juried show for Massachusetts ceramic artists for the past 20 years. Alice and she were co-founders of The State of Clay in 1996.

Her ceramic’s education includes Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Anderson Ranch, Radcliffe/Harvard Pottery Studios and 10 years at DeCordova Museum School studying with Makoto Yabe. Her works have appeared in Lark Book: 500 Raku; Handbuilt Ceramics by Kathy Triplett, and Low-Firing and Burnishing by Sumi von Dassow.

Artist’s Statement:
As a young girl I loved working with my hands and learned this love from watching my father, a sheet metal worker, who was the most patient person in the world, and who could fix or make anything. So it was only natural that once I touched clay, I would love working with this malleable material.

I have been working with clay for over 45 years and still delight in and get excited by its versatility and tactility. For the past 30 years I have put most of my energy into hand building with clay. I find clay to be a limitless medium in which I am able to express and explore ideas. I love its tactile quality as well as its resiliency and strength.