Murray ceramicist Wayne Bates of Gallery 121 talks about his Holiday Show and Sale this weekend.
Bates works in the sgraffito style, scratching through layers of color when the clay is soft like a bar of soap. He says elementary school children often perform basic sgraffito by coloring a paper with crayons, painting over the drawing in black, and scratching through the paint to produce a multicolor line.
Most of Bates’s pieces feature geometric designs on porcelain. Bates says porcelain is a thin but sturdy medium whose white base increases the intensity of his colorful designs. He’s been intrigued by parallel lines on compound curved surfaces since he carved a stone chicken and drew parallel lines over it in eighth grade. He says he thinks an affinity for geometric images is hardwired in our brains as the same geometric patterns have evolved in different cultures separately over time.
Bates’s holiday hours run today from 12:00 to 9:00 p.m., with a reception from 6:00 to 9:00. Gallery 121 will be also be open to walk-ins from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. View Bates’s work at WayneBates.com.
