The art of Ilene Kratka

My love affair with clay began in 1960 when I was studying from live models for six years. This discipline gave me a love for the human form and a familiarity with it that stays with me as a tool for my imaginagion. I use the figure to express feelings which are too subtle or fragile to express in words although I do so with my haiku poems which often accompany my vessels. My pieces are fired two and three times and glazes are applied and washes of stains are layered over each other and refired until I see the effects I want. After the final firing I embellish the colors with acrylic washes to lend even more depth and translucency to the colors. It has taken many years of experimentation and exploration to find this method where I have the control I want with colors for my work. I hope you enjoy them!

Ilene Kratka - Slideshow