A symphony of irises hand carved into porcelain decorate this rounded vase. Inspired by her garden, Annie has beautifully memorialised her floral delights with a celadon glaze.
Materials: porcelain glazed with celadon
Commission time: 3 Weeks
Care instructions: display mindfully, or behind glass. This piece is dishwasher safe, however cannot withstand extreme temperature changes. Keep clear of open flame or electric burners. To dust, use a dry, lint-free cotton cloth.
6.5” x 5”
The Process
Her creative process begins by saturating herself in nature, and practice of Iyengar yoga. The intimate process of hand crafting and carving her delicate pottery and porcelain takes hours, nurturing distinctive patterns before stages of settling, firing, expert glazing, and re-firing.
The Process
The Maker
ANNIE SCHLIFFER
Ceramicist_Rochester, NY
Annie requires no introduction. A creator and carver of all things ceramic and porcelain, she is a master of her craft, embodying her pieces just as they reflect her. In searching to delve into her skill, Annie joined the Rochester Folk Art Guild in 1972. The Guild offered an apprenticeship in throwing clay, which introduced a new-found level of discipline: once in nature and second in body. Learning through repetition and growth for several years she was given daily tasks of crafting one hundred mugs, two hundred bowls, three hundred handles. This encouraged Annie to refine the minutia of her work. Annie was encouraged to work with more attention, refining working with her hands, with a focus on repetition, meditation, and consideration. In doing so, one draws head, body, and mind to centre, drawing closer to notions of harmony. The symbiosis in development between spirit and work is infinitely practical, facilitating a kind of geist to enter into the earthly clay, enduring fire in order to be transformed into something durable, resilient, true. Through her craft Annie aims to work closer to herself, whether this be going back to basics by throwing clay for mugs or focussing on the intestacies of crafting porcelain. For the latter it can take days to complete a piece, thus producing a physical manifestation which is the epitome of skill, focus and discipline. Annie takes inspiration from the ancient traditions in carvings from the Sung dynasty in China, and Koryŏ dynasty now forming both North and South Korea, allowing interpretations of these traditions to live on through her porcelain. Discipline has carried Annie throughout her life, with Iyengar yoga being a manifestation and expression of that in recent years. By working without absence of flaw, and accepting our embodied condition, Annie’s work with both ceramics and yoga allow for existential concerns to translate into the action of being. Drawing inspiration from her environment, while living modestly as part of the community, are sentiments grounded in Annie’s pieces.
