Brainerd, MN ARTIST STATEMENTWhen I first started using clay as a creative vehicle, I did not realize that I had just stepped into an ancient ecosystem, teaming with knowledge, dynamism, and unfathomable depth. I was eighteen, ever the art kid, and clay was one of the last mediums I was interested in. While I was pursuing an art degree, clay seemed like it was always pulling at me: it was the one medium where the creative process, physical interaction, and self expression came together completely. Working in clay seemed to reveal itself to me. Rather than attempting to make it something, I was able to gain a stronger sense of who I was without trying to express myself too directly in the medium. This unintentional process continues in the studio to this day, and I have learned to accept it as an instinctive method, not to be interrupted or forced, but to be nurtured, explored and capitalized upon. I have learned to sense the subtle changes in my work; allowing these changes to guide me while I guide them is the essence of my creative process. I work primarily on the wheel, making forms based in a tradition of function and use. I enjoy finding balance in my work through large areas of subtle texture balanced with small additions, stamps, and details. I also enjoy the challenge of creating tight, direct, unbroken lines balanced by a bit of looseness and spontaneous gestural marks. I often work in a reductive fashion, throwing heavier forms, altering them, and then carving and shaving the pieces away to reveal new forms. I bring all of these elements together with layered satin glazes that unify and accent these textures, lines, and marks. BIOGRAPHYNick DeVries has been working in ceramics for the past 19 years. He studied at St John’s University where, in 2001, he finished a Bachelor’s Degree in Art, with a concentration in painting and ceramics. Since his college years Nick has worked as a production potter for a Minneapolis bases pottery, taught courses at the Edina Art Center and Northern Clay Center, and has pursued his own studio ceramic work. He exhibits his work in galleries nationally. Currently he lives in Brainerd MN where he works full time as a ceramic artist.