Karen Fincannon, Clay Artist
Karen Fincannon hand builds whimsical earthenware clay jars, teapots and sculptures out of her Tucker, Georgia studio. Each piece is textured using a variety of tools and stamps before heading into the kiln for firing. The pieces are then finished with underglaze and fired again.
Karen Fincannon
I have always been an artist. My first customers were students on the school bus who paid me for my paper dolls. Over the years, I have worked in a variety of mediums, and now primarily work in clay and acrylic paint.
Eventually, I earned degrees in Photography and Art History from the State University of New York in Potsdam, but after taking a tile making workshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I never went back to the darkroom.
After a couple of years making the relief tiles, I took a workshop with Lana Wilson at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, which changed my entire way of working with clay.
My pieces are all one of a kind, handbuilt ceramic. I like to incorporate both text and texture in my work. I have a large collection of rubber stamps, texture mats and texture stamps, some which I have made myself, and I use these to stamp my pieces. I like experimenting with my own glazes and different commercial underglazes and glazes to achieve bright, happy colors.
My work is primarily whimsical. I like to make art that makes people smile. I have a great job! I get to spend my days making art and weekends sharing it with others.
