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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
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Creating Something Beautiful and Meaningful

May 19, 2009 – A few years ago my then 16-year-old daughter came home from school complaining that something was seriously wrong. Her arms and back were hurting and weren’t getting any better. I thought about her routine and realized she was in pain from taking her ceramics class and having to wedge the clay much like kneading bread, and the physical strain was taking its toll on her petite 110-pound frame. She didn’t realize when she signed up for ceramics that one actually makes the objects rather than just going in and painting glaze on a pre-formed mass-produced ceramic piggy bank or teddy bear!
Lynn Paccassi Berry, a petite woman, wedges, pounds, rolls, sculpts and fires large amounts of Raku clay every week at the Ridvan Studio she shares with her husband Rick, nestled in the courtyard of Tillett Garden here on St Thomas. In addition to working with and teaching ceramics, Lynn is the executive director of Arts Alive.
On May 15, Gallery St. Thomas opened a one-person show of Lynn’s wall sculptures. This is a strong exhibit and has as much to do with harmony and contrast, texture and form, color and value, as it does "Reciprocity," which is the title of the show.
Looking at some of her sculptures, one observes the symbiotic existence of the natural broken line in contrast to the purposeful exact lines of an imposed square. Lynn acknowledges lines directly and indirectly as her glazing techniques are dependant upon her creation and application of the color, and secondarily, the development and molten chemical reaction in the Raku firing, at over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Color dialogue has something to do with chance, but more to do with her years of experience, as she knows what to expect from the clay, the glaze and the kiln. Breaking the sculpture purposefully affords an effective use of color in that it offers a natural separation of one plane into several surfaces. These may or may not have the same color or glaze, and may be fired, and cooled separately, providing the ability to manipulate the finish more so in an isolated area. Lynn then brings the pieces back into one re-joined surface.
Lynn often finishes her pieces with copper wire, bent into an almost cuneiform pattern resembling glyphs from some ancient civilization. This technique does several things: it adds a dimensional texture to an otherwise slick surface; imparts a synthetic element to a more organic surface; references her crackle finishes which have a tendency to be naturally geometric; and delivers a cryptic message, which can only be interpreted by the viewer on their own terms.
"Reciprocity" is the act of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit. We sometimes call it "reciprocating."
Lynn Paccassi Berry, a third-generation clay artist, has been given a gift of natural talent, creativity and the understanding of clay, which comes from the earth. This is her way of giving back, and creating something beautiful, meaningful and purposeful. Bravo!

Editor’s note: Modernist Margarete Bagshaw has lived on St. Thomas since 2006. She has been a professional artist for 20 years and recently displayed her paintings at the Everyday Clay Studio at Tillett Garden.

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