Barbara Gittings’ combination of the ancient Japanese ceramic techniques of Nerikomi and smoke firing, alongside her unusual modern shapes, places her work in a unique position within her field. Nerikomi often features very regular geometric repetition, whereas Barbara’s work embraces abstraction, asymmetry while still referencing the geometric.
Barbara’s smoke-fired Nerikomi porcelain vessels are quiet, contemplative and sensual. She hopes that viewers will want to touch and be drawn in by these pieces. She says, “I’m fascinated by the geometry in nature, especially as growth and random chaotic forces skew and distort the initial perfect symmetry. In my work I’m constantly exploring the lines between order and chaos, control and spontaneity, symmetry and asymmetry, and perfection and imperfection.”
Largely self-taught, Barbara is always striving to create larger pieces, which is not easy with the Nerikomi technique. “My mind is full of new shapes that I would like to explore.”