Collection: Tim Christensen

Tim works in black and white sgrafitto (also known as "scrafitto") porcelain, creating his surface designs with layers of contrasting black and white slip. As he carves into the top layer, he reveals the layer beneath. 

Artist Statement
The jump to the black and white work came in December of 2003. I covered the surfaces of a few pots with a black slip I had developed for a steel and porcelain sculpture of a crow, and started to draw through the black to get to the white clay beneath. I spent two days on each pot, and they were the best things I had ever made: specific, timeless, beautiful, and approachable. Except for the occasional panicky return to function, which never lasted more than a few days, I have been making black and white pottery ever since.

My work is narrative, specifically illustrated, sometimes spiritual, often funny, and understandable. I depict the conflict of being a human who loves the earth but needs her resources to live, of coping with animal instincts made irrelevant in today's culture, and of the challenges of balancing the needs of the individual with the needs of the community. Above all, I draw to illustrate the wonder and mystery of living in the world we all share. The North shows up in my work because I spent my summers in Canada when I was growing up. It’s a landscape that holds a lot of memories for me. 
—Tim Christensen