Welcome!




It's an effortful and uncertain journey from the clay dig to the dining table or ceramic exhibit. A 30,000-year-old human endeavor transforming the essential formlessness of clay into artful, usable and meaningful vessels and sculpture.

And profoundly, the most common ceramic form on earth is the shard.

An ironic metaphor for everything -- Creation Myth and Creative Process -- clay both fascinates and daunts. If it were too easily explicable, we'd be on to something more mysterious, right?

There are others out there with my name -- and maha blessings to them!-- but I'm the Liz Crain who's a ceramic artist, sharing my individual version of ceramic art's saga with you.

To reveal this ever-unfolding tale, I use images and writing of not only my work and whatever/ whoever else in the world affects it, but hold conversations with my readers as well. Together we'll explore as much as we can, stretching from formlessness to the ultimate shardy end.

About

Faux Metal Ceramic Cans and Skull Jugs by Liz Crain Santa Cruz County Open Studios 2010

Liz Crain is a ceramic artist who creates colorful hand-formed vessels and sculptures. Many of her works contain strong narrative, expressive shapes and trompe l’oeil surfaces. While she employs a variety of surface treatments, she especially favors primitive, distressed and matte finishes.

She currently exhibits in local, regional and state competitions, events and venues. She is an Exhibiting Member of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of California, Santa Cruz Clay and the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center. Each October she participates in the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County Open Studios Art Tour.

Liz is a longtime volunteer Teaching Assistant in the Ceramics Department at Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA. She has guided the creation of several pieces of ceramic public art installed on campus, most notably a large free-form mosaic bench in use daily.

Liz has a BS in Sociology, but went on (a bit backwards, perhaps) to obtain both an AA in Studio Art and another in Art History. She also holds a Certificate in Fine Art from UC Santa Cruz. She has studied with over 15 noted ceramics instructors and professionals, including Coeleen Kiebert, Kathryn McBride, Una Mjurka, Gail Ritchie, Andy Ruble, Cynthia Siegel, Tiffany Schmierer and Stan Welsh.

Liz was born in Newport News, VA, but became a lifelong Californian at the age of five. She has lived in both the San Fernando and Santa Clara (Silicon) Valleys, spent the 1980s in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Amador County, and currently lives 1/2 mile from the Monterey Bay in Capitola.