By Robrt L. Pela | Photos by Angelina Aragon
“My family teases me because I’m always bent over, looking at the ground,” says Cave Creek ceramic artist Jeanne Anne Baughman. “I’m searching for pinecones and rocks to use in my work.”
That work includes stunning ceramic totems that incorporate her found objects – driftwood and cactus spikes and rocks – into towering stacks. Her cactus-inspired pots and hyper-textured bowls are stamped with barnacles she applies one at a time using tools she’s made herself.
“I worked with clay in fourth grade,” says Baughman, a mother of teenage triplets. “My mom still has the little alligator I made. But I fell in love with it in college. As a kid, I always loved being outside, sliding down mud hills. I’ve always liked being dirty.”
The Atlanta native has a vision for each piece before she starts it but doesn’t try to force either palette or texture.
“I start by choosing the clay body,” she says. “I work with five different clays, and the glaze looks different on each one.”
She began hand-throwing a few years ago, after her back was injured in a car accident. “I couldn’t use my wheel then, but I could roll out a shape or use a paddle to beat the clay into a shape I want.”
Baughman is looking forward to participating in the Hidden in the Hills tour of artist studios this November 22-24 and November 29-December 1 (sonoranartsleague.org/hidden-in-the-hills).
“People come and tell their stories,” she says. “They’ll look at my pots and say, ‘Oh, I took ceramics in high school,’ or whatever. I love hearing their connection with the clay and the things I make from it.” See more of her work on Instagram @naturesio_art and at naturesio.etsy.com
“I use it to roll out the clay and flatten it, and then form the bowl over different-sized tennis balls,” she says of her rolling pin.
“I couldn’t find a round cutter big enough for cutting bowls, so I just went into my kitchen and got these pan lids. They’re perfect.”
Tennis balls “are great because I can lay clay over them to form a bowl, and it doesn’t stick.”
“These are for making barnacles. I make my own stamps so that my bowls are completely unique.”
“My wheel is clunky and slow, but I’m so grateful to have it. I got a great deal on it, and I thought it was the universe saying, ‘Go for it.’”
