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About the Artist
Louise Hopson

Gallery of Artists

artist statment

what am I doing and why am I doing it? These are questions an artist asks many times over the course of a lifetime. As we change and grow, re-focus and re-direct our energies, we reinvent ourselves. My artwork is an extension of myself.

I am using white earthenware clay and underglazes, pencils, crayons and markers as materials. I am also employing wood, grout and paint for my mosaics. My work is slab constructed and bisque fired to cone 0/4. I then use the bisqued piece as a canvas on which to present my stylized, often figurative imagery. The colors I use are bright and the patterns bold. I often use symbols and details to cement more intimate meaning to my works and I employ the use of words to create and complement the imagery I present. Themes of joy, celebration, empowerment, romance, environment and self awareness are some of my favorites to explore The glazed work is then fired to cone 0/5. My work is whimsical and serious at the same time. I hope that people see a little of themselves in my figurative imagery. As they could be, should be, and may someday be.

My studio space is small, about 700 sq. feet, and I work unassisted. I occasionally need boards cut for backing mosaics but other than that I do everything myself, from rolling the slabs and constructing each piece, to the final stages of glazing and sometimes grouting. Mine is NOT a production studio. Each piece, from the smallest tile to the largest mosaic, is handmade. Retaining my artistic integrity is important to me. I want each piece I make to be unique and to carry my artistic handprint.

I enjoy dealing with color and pattern, order and disarray, rough edges and soft lines. I try to achieve continuity with repetition and to create chaos with unexpected color changes and patterns. I employ all the elements of the visual arts and combine them with the written word using alliteration and consonance, rhyme and rhythm to create new images in the mind of the beholder and to create multi-faceted artworks that venture beyond the decorative and delve into the realm of symbolism and personal significance.