WENATCHEE — After decades of development, a display of ceramics by Ruth E. Allan, artist and instructor at Wenatchee Valley College (WVC), is at the MAC Gallery. “Looking Forward, Reaching Back” shows until March 22 in the Music and Arts building of WVC, 1300 Fifth St., Wenatchee.
A master of her craft in the style of saggar and Raku ceramic techniques and forms, Allan uses clay as her main medium. She said in a 2023 artist’s statement that it is “constantly challenging, exciting, frustrating, satisfying, and, yes, at times it can be very humbling.”
Saggar refers to a ceramic container that holds the pottery in the kiln while it fires, and is itself filled with beds of combustible materials, such as sawdust, salts and metals, to produce a decorative finish.
The Raku process similarly involves taking a glowing hot, fired piece of glazed pottery and then placing it in sawdust or shredded newspaper to deprive the piece of oxygen and produce unique colors.
Allan said in the statement that “working in art has been a main focus, expression, recreation, means of contributing to the community and enriching my family.”
The artist, who reared five kids, develops her personal practice by also creating paintings, carvings, jewelry, museum exhibits and even backdrops for a ballet.
As a Washington State native who grew up on a small farm near the Puget Sound, she has remained devoted to the arts from an early age, according to the release from MAC Gallery.
Allan attended the University of Illinois for a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting as design. Currently, she teaches the ceramics classes at WVC and manages the studio.
An artist’s bio notes: “The subtle yet striking saggar color effects are ‘conjured’ onto the pots during the firing by the placement of minerals and combustibles on or near the surfaces, or it can result in striking black, gray and white patterns without the use of glazes.”
The bio also states that these dynamic surfaces and shapes “inspire the viewer” and “create splendid surfaces that speak a narrative more flamboyant.”
Allan is beloved in the Wenatchee community, as evidenced by her winning the inaugural Stanley Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, and the 2011 Wenatchee’s Living Treasure Award.
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