Richard Schalck, Stoneware Potter of Marblehead, Massachusetts
Depicted increasingly in my sculptural ceramic forms in stoneware is my love affair with the country of Mexico. Annual journeys to the south of that country inspire both my clay pieces as well as the work of Pamela Schalck, my wife and traveling companion. Confronted with the diYculties of setting up to work in clay while there, I chose instead to work in two dimensions. I have tried to bring back something of how I feel about this land in my drawings, paintings, and prints. My warm connection to this part of America, its people and its cu1ture greatly influences my work. Each year I absorb great waves of inspiration from this enigmatic place, where the ancient and modern intertwine.
As an artist and as a human being, I feel also a strong connection to the natural world with its endless perfection, and my work exhibits a powerful pun towards the textures and colors of nature. Yet it is also the alteration of our natural world both positively and negatively by the human animal that is of profound interest to me as an artist. In Mexico, the kaleidoscope of contrasts inspires me to see the beauty and fullness of life more clearly.
Article by Robert Trent and from "Ceramics in America 2002", edited by Robert Hunter, published by the Chipstone Foundation
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