Richard & Celia Swanson

"Inspiration comes in many forms. Awesome natural beauty like we have in Arizona. Music, theatre, traveling, other artwork. Just a variety of experiences inspire me", says Richard about what gives him the great ideas for his work. The setting he creates his work in he feels are unique due to the mountains, high mesas in the distance, and clear blue skies. This is a perfect setting for Richard.

Richard has always been involved in some creative endeavor. His first experience with clay was in high school. In college he was a painting/drawing major but because more intrigued with clay and its possibilities. That's when Richard decided to become a ceramics major. That was 20 years ago.

Raku
Fire, smoke, beautiful colors, lustrous surfaces, occasionally a pleasant surprise, and a hint of danger are a few of the reasons Richard and Celia Swanson pursue their own Raku experience.

Raku is a technique developed in Japan during the 16th Century A.D. Quite simply, a ceramic piece is placed in a kiln (ceramic furnace) and heated to 2000 degrees. At this temperature the piece is removed from the kiln and placed in a container of combustible materials, such as leaves, straw, or paper. The material is allowed to burn for a few seconds, and then the container is sealed. Without oxygen inside the container, a thick black smoke occurs creating carbon. The carbon reacts with the glazes, giving the unique colors and surfaces of Raku.

Other influences that interest the Swanson's are the cultural and sociological similarities of different societies. "After years of art history classes in art school, as well as our own research, we found several similarities in cultures of ancient Japan and the Native Americans of the southwest." For example, Hopi cultures have many deities represented as "Kachinas". In Japan these representations are known as "Bodhisattvas". As in both cultures these deities are acknowledgements of the natural elements of earth, wind, water, etc. As a natural element, we use manzanita, also known as iron wood, for handles on the jars. Manzanita is only found at higher elevations in the southwest.

Richard and his wife Celia, whom he met in art school and is a fellow sculptress, taught college art classes for many years, but felt this was too restrictive to their own creative endeavors. They no longer teach and are often involved in projects together. "It's a partnership that has grown over the past 25 years. We are constantly exploring new techniques and concepts to enhance the work we do." As full-time studio artists they show their work nationally, and are in many private and corporate collections in California, Arizona, Colorado, New York, and Alaska.