In the pursuit of defining and refining my vision as an artist I have had the opportunity to work in a variety of mediums. Each opportunity offers new knowledge that has helped me continually develop the language in my tool chest as I pass from bronze patterns, ceramic and watercolor. From working on small intimate pieces to public work installations, I have found the importance of building this ever growing library of personal narratives full of symbolic imagery. I am able to identify with more clarity the inspirations I can pull from my life that will become subject matter to investigate for a new piece. With my personal symbolic language as my foundation, I am able to portray inner landscapes that allow me to incorporate fantasy to tell stories of emotional vulnerability. The drama can be as subtle as the wind blowing or as extreme as a woman giving birth to a horse.

I am deeply connected to the raw beauty of nature and the relationship we as humans have to both nurture and destroy that which we globally depend on, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we grow. The mysterious magic that can happen if seeing something touches your mind's eye. There is so much information offered in my sensitivity to the emotional language of animals, which of course incorporates instinct, all which gives rise to the anthropomorphic characters that weave in and out of the narratives that develop within my work. How and where does man and beast connect? Without controlling the mysterious ambiguities that evolve as I am creating, I find at completion a discovery of intent, that I might not have started with. This is the profound dreamlike quality I experience working with ceramics.

Regarding my technical process, I use cone 5 stoneware clay and glazes. I often do enormous amounts of test tiles as the surfaces of my pieces are so integral to the success of my storytelling. I have such utter respect for the fire and the heat that I rely on to enhance my storytelling. Always when I open the kiln there is a thrill of the unexpected which can be so exhilarating. Kathy Ruttenberg