RICK LOEWENKAMP

For over thirty years Rick Loewenkamp has worked as a full-time professional artist with much recognition and many awards for the skill and perfection embodied in his raku pottery and sculpture. Of choosing this path, Loewenkamp has said, "I enjoy the physicality and hands-on interaction with materials that pottery affords." The potential for spontaneity and the challenges involved in mastering the broad range of skills his work requires keeps the process exciting for the artist. Today, Loewenkamp's pots are primarily wheel-thrown although he has extensive experience in traditional stoneware and salt-glaze firing.

It is the artist's interest in the art of prehistoric cultures that inspires the current designs of his work. Elements such as petroglyphs, animal fetishes, spirit figures and geometric designs find their way onto the sides and lids of his raku pots.

Loewenkamp also uses a process called "wax resist" in which designs are hand painted on a pot before glaze is applied, leaving the area free from glaze and allowing the smoked matte clay surface to provide contrast. Gold, silver and variegated metal leafing appears as design elements on the artist's most recent pieces.

At the core of Loewenkamp's work is the challenging and unique process of raku itself. The pots are glaze-fired in a small preheated kiln at up to 1900 degrees Fahrenheit, then removed while glowing hot and placed in a container of straw or sawdust. These combustibles immediately ignite from the heat, smoking and carbonizing the glaze, and creating an unpredictable array of one-of-a-kind effects.

Embodying a contemporary southwestern sensibility, Rick Loewenkamp's raku pots offer the true spirit of an inspired artist.