Artisan Profile

The Art of Brushwork is comprised of three elements. The brush is a magician’s wand, and if handled correctly, can create a world out of thin air. The ink is the blood; it holds the possibility of Ch’I yun, or the living spirit of a painting. And the paper is the skin, the texture that accepts the ink and absorbs the energy of the brush. It is the dance between these three– the brush, the ink and the paper guided by the hand and the heart– that makes brushwork.

As a potter I combine clay, paper and wood together to create a canvas for brushwork. Whether it becomes a two-dimensional wall scroll, a piece of functional pottery or a clay sculpture, I try to keep the same theme in mind: basic materials and mindful strokes, efficient, but never lacking, deliberate yet also spontaneous. These are the elements of art that are important to me. I aim to reduce every part of a piece down to its simplest form. For in it’s simplicity is the beauty of its essence. It is this quality I try to create in every piece.

-Pat Marsello