Mary Grout is a ceramic artist living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She combines her love of ceramics and her love of gardening to create one-of-a-kind, truly unique garden decor.
I have always been drawn to figurative ceramic sculpture. I design my sculptures by combining my love of gardening and ceramics to create garden art. My work is not delicate, I want it to be used in the garden. In my sculptures, I want to show emotion, especially in my garden totems.
Clay is very satisfying as a creative medium. The process is relaxing, using my hands, making each piece unique. Clay is a very forgiving medium; you can continue to shape and form it until you are satisfied with the result. Many times when I start a piece, I have no idea what emotion it will show; I begin with fresh clay and see what emerges.
I use stoneware clay. Everything is one of a kind. All my work goes through at least a 2 fire process in the kiln. The sculptures are finished with underglazes, oxides and stains. Sometimes a piece will go through several firings before it is complete because I need to add more oxides or stains to get the desired result.
Mary’s Studio in the Woods
Mary in her studio.
Mary Grout is a ceramic artist living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She combines her love of ceramics and her love of gardening to create one-of-a-kind, truly unique garden decor.
I have always been drawn to figurative ceramic sculpture. I design my sculptures by combining my love of gardening and ceramics to create garden art. My work is not delicate, I want it to be used in the garden. In my sculptures, I want to show emotion, especially in my garden totems.
Clay is very satisfying as a creative medium. The process is relaxing, using my hands, making each piece unique. Clay is a very forgiving medium; you can continue to shape and form it until you are satisfied with the result. Many times when I start a piece, I have no idea what emotion it will show; I begin with fresh clay and see what emerges.
I use earthenware clay. Everything is one of a kind. All my work goes through at least a 2 fire process in the kiln. The sculptures are finished with underglazes, oxides and stains. Sometimes a piece will go through several firings before it is complete because I need to add more oxides or stains to get the desired result.
Mary’s Studio in the Woods
Mary in her studio.