Kathy Lovell Works

I now live in Hillsboro, a small town in southern New Mexico. You’ll find it listed in many publications as one of New Mexico’s ghost towns from the late 1800s gold & silver mining days.

I started working in clay in 1998 after attending a Raku workshop. I was fascinated by the flashy colors & the soft matte blacks achieved from the firing process. Raku is a firing method which originated in Japan in the 14th century. Two young American potters Paul Soldner & Robert Pipenburg studied the process & brought Raku to the United States in a modified form. I mix my own glazes using Pipenburg’s recipes, each blend contains various amounts of chemicals & metals such as copper, tin, iron oxides & others. It is these chemicals & the reduction step that give my pieces their flashy colors & soft matte blacks.
 
I love making animal forms.  Each is hand built & unique. I start with a slab of clay then bend, roll, pinch & squeeze it into the form I want. Horses are my favorite & the arch-shaped running pony was the first style I made.  Do not be surprised if you see elephants, zebras, giraffes or even a lion or two. 

In my barnyard collection, you’ll find whimsical kritters likely to be found on a farm, such as, cows, pigs, horses, goats, sheep, dogs & cats. Over the years I have created a large menagerie of animals which continues to grow every year.

My kritters are low fired so it’s best to pick them up by the body, not the head or tail. You can rinse them off with cool water be sure to allow time for them to dry before placing on furniture.  It is best to keep them out of direct sun light.

As a little girl I loved to play in the mud & that hasn’t changed with the years.
I hope that my kritters make you smile, as I do whenever I look at them.