​ARTIST STATEMENT

 

In 1969, I settled in the north of the Outaouais, where I built, 40 years ago,a wood-fired kiln to fire my one-of-a-kind hand-built ceramic figures.

​

With their simple and rounded forms, my characters, both by the humor that emanates from them, or by the movement that animates them, convey our emotions and send us the image of utopian societies in search of the same answers we are looking for. Over the years, I have staged my characters in nearly 20 solo exhibitions and, all along, I simply try to give shape to clay, mankind, and life. 

​

Stoneware clay matures at high temperature (2300 F) and that allows ashes, charged with various metallic oxides, flowing in the kiln during the 50 hours firing process, to vaporise and to melt creating a characteristic natural glaze. The presence of flames and smoke contribute to the patina by modifying the level of oxygen in the kiln. But the flames also swirl around the sculptures and flow over interstices or masked areas creating highlights. The kiln is very large and thus uneven in temperature, another factor contributing to the variety of results, highly unpredictable but always earthy and natural.

​

Please visit my website www.raymondwarren.com to view an explanatory slideshow as well as videos of the firing and hand-building processes.