Jennifer D. Martin

Atlanta artist and soda kiln guru Jennifer D. Martin will unveil her latest work at MudFire Pottery Center in an exhibit from July 11-30. An artist reception will be held Friday, July 11 from 7:00-10:00 pm. The show is organized into four series of objects: stacked form vases, bottles, platters, and cups. The show will also include a fifth mystery series that Jennifer will not reveal or discuss prior to the opening party.

About Jennifer Martin

Jennifer is currently a visiting instructor in Ceramics at Georgia State University, teaching alongside Kathy King and Don McCance. Jennifer fires in the giant soda kiln she built for the ceramics program. She has spent two years seasoning the kiln and experimenting with glazes, clays, firing schedule, soda level, kiln atmosphere and other factors. After throwing away thousands of test pots she has achieved something truly special.

Martin's distinctive style includes heavy soda flashing. Imagine a densely packed jumble of platters, bottles, and vases stacked together in the kiln, glowing red hot in the extreme heat. Near the peak of the 2300 degree kiln firing, the artist sprays in heavy doses of soda dissolved in water, this vaporizes instantly, hitting the pots head on as it courses thru the kiln, reacting with the superheated stoneware and depositing a glaze textured like orange peel. The result is known as flashing. Jennifer heightens the effect by carefully managing oxygen levels in the kiln.

As a potter and educator, Jennifer enjoys sharing information and helping others along the journey of expressing artistic intention through clay. Her work celebrates the vast history of functional clay without being inhibited by tradition. She works in series of objects, and throws loosely, revealing in the final piece her caress of the silky and sensual clay. The results are twisting forms which demonstrate a wonderful fluidity and visual strength.

"The relationship between the richness of the surface and form with the effect of this type of firing produces irregular and rhythmic spotting and blushing on the forms. This harmonizing of form and flame creates a movement and energy that inspires my investigation into the infinite number of variations that can occur while one is creating," says Martin.