Kristin Bernhardt Conrad

For me, creating art is a way of restoring harmony by transcending the mundane. I think in images. I taught myself to draw, as a child, by drawing hundreds of pictures of birds from a family book. When other people were in the high school plays on stage, I had painted the backdrops and scenery. I studied art in college, but there was no ceramics program—my focus was painting and printmaking. It was afterward that I read flyers posted for a local pottery class and I loved clay from the moment I touched it. I took easily to wheel-throwing and hand building and my mind seemed to explode into the 3-dimensional possibilities of expressing myself with this simple earth ingredient. I study to explore and improve, constantly. My ceramic arts spring from a love of creating new forms inspired by the bursting forth of life potential, and organic shapes, textures, and colors. The shape of each vessel is very important to me—it has to have a beautiful balance, an emotional expression, and to be functional, while being intriguing to look at when not in use. I hope that my work brings lasting joy to others.