Through clay I explore a myriad of interests and curiosities. The material itself invites play; to be stretched, shaped, pulled, cut, smoothed. I’m interested in how clay responds to the action of touch, either on the wheel or when shaped by hand or with a tool . The colors, shapes, lines and shadows within the rural landscape where I live, translate into a visual vocabulary that I draw upon for surface decoration. The finished object, if done well, takes on a life of it’s own and hopefully passes through hands daily as it does the work for which it was made.

Julie Crosby began working in clay as a student at the Hartford Art School, where she earned her BFA in ceramics in 1995. Opportunities to continue her clay education in the form of artist-in-residencies, workshops, kiln building and teaching brought her around the country, until she made Upstate New York her home in 2001. In 2007 she was awarded an artist fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). With funds from the grant, she built her wood/salt/soda kiln, near Trumansburg NY. Julie worked with stoneware clay for many years and now works primarily in earthenware. Her work has been included in many national juried and invitational exhibitions, as well as various publications, including Ceramics Monthly, The Studio Potter and The Log Book. Julie has exhibited at the Smithsonian Craft Show, the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show and the Craft Shows at Chautauqua, where she received the Award for Excellence in 2014. Julie is a founding coordinator of the Finger Lakes Pottery Tour.

My work is made from different types of red earthenware clay. Pots fired in my wood kiln have varied surfaces due to the atmosphere created by wood burning and the introduction of a soda ash solution late in the firing. There are multiple temperature zones within the kiln, which produce a range of surface variations and shifts of color.

I use a thin clay slip and a small assortment of glazes and underglazes to introduce color and pattern.

Pots fired in my electric kiln are made with equal consideration to form and surface design. All pots are functional and food safe.