K. Allison Ceramics



K. Allison Ceramics

About The Artist

Kimberly Allison • Salem, MA
Ceramics • WHOLESALE AVAILABLE • CUSTOM COMMISSIONS

Hi, I’m Kim! I’m a ceramic artist and instructor from Salem, MA. Even as a child, I’ve always had a tactile imagination that likes to freeze moments in time. I wonder what would it be like to wring water from a cloud like a sponge? To squeeze burned embers back together into a new form? To pluck a puddle from the ground and save its unique shape? This playful urge to capture nature in unnatural ways is something I constantly explore and have fun with in my ceramics work.



Connect

Instagram
Artist website
Email

Q&A with the Artist

Tell us how your work is made.

I work in porcelain and love to create both hand-built and wheel-thrown forms equally. I often make pieces inspired by airy clouds, raindrops, peeled bark, burned wood, and drippy water or sap. I absolutely love texture and carving clay with an X-Acto blade. Any textures you see on my work are hand-carved individually so that no two pieces are ever alike. I also use a limited palette of slips, underglazes, glazes, and most recently gold luster to create both functional and decorative works.


What makes you passionate about the medium you work with?

I have always been drawn to pottery’s ability to convey visual and tactile experiences simultaneously. All too often, people approach ceramics with a “look but don’t touch” mentality that I try to combat in my work. What we see and what we feel when we interact with a piece are equally important. I try to use inviting textures, contrasts between glazed and unglazed surfaces, and more to create works that beg to be touched.

What is something unique about you or your practice?

I am obsessed with making every single pot entirely unique. I need each to have its own quirks and personality. If it has gold drips, I paint the drips individually so that they are designed for the shape of each specific pot. If it has texture, every mark is hand carved with an X-Acto knife. Some pieces have hundreds or thousands. I’m often asked why I don’t create texture mats or stamps to save time, but I can’t bring myself to do it because it would ruin the sense of individuality for me.