My name is Katie Marks and I am the creator of Silver Lining Ceramics. I have recently relocated to Portland, Oregon where I make all of my work in my home studio.
I have always loved clay. It has been my medium of choice since I was a little girl. Even though college wasn’t an option for me I knew that I wanted to learn the art and craft of clay. I took one class as my local community college and I was hooked. I then found a wheel on Craigslist and taught myself how to throw. After a few years of using my studio apartment as a pottery studio I was fortunate enough to land a job with an incredible production potter as his studio assistant. He became my mentor and I have learned everything from glaze chemistry to kiln firing from him.
I always knew I wanted to work with porcelain the translucency and bright color possibilities inspire my imagination. I love the fact that I can take a lump of dirt and turn it into something unique and beautiful from my brain. I love holding my finished pieces and knowing that these only exist in the world because I exist.
My process involves first throwing the piece on a potters wheel and then spending hours hand forming each crystal. I love combining the functionality of a wheel thrown piece with the endless possibilities of sculpture. I mix most of my glazes from raw materials. Being able to do this allows me to have a lot more control over the look of the final piece. I fire my work to 2232 degrees which not only makes the clay strong and durable but also changes the glazes and causes them to flow like running water.
My work is always growing and changing. I tend to just explore where ever my imagination takes me. I love the play between taking something that they earth does so beautifully and adding my human element to it. I am inspired by my surroundings. As a someone who grew up in Seattle (and now living in Portland) I have lived in the gloom of the overcast sky and week-long rain showers for most of my life. I wanted to show the beauty I see in the gloom.
I really love throwing each piece on the pottery wheel. I usually use that time to think of what designs I am going to carve or sculpt on them. I tend to plan out a piece in my head for months before actually creating it in reality. I also really love the fact that because I do everything by hand, no two pieces are ever exactly alike. I come close but they truly are one of a kind.
I have always loved clay. It has been my medium of choice since I was a little girl. Even though college wasn’t an option for me I knew that I wanted to learn the art and craft of clay. I took one class as my local community college and I was hooked. I then found a wheel on Craigslist and taught myself how to throw. After a few years of using my studio apartment as a pottery studio I was fortunate enough to land a job with an incredible production potter as his studio assistant. He became my mentor and I have learned everything from glaze chemistry to kiln firing from him.
I always knew I wanted to work with porcelain the translucency and bright color possibilities inspire my imagination. I love the fact that I can take a lump of dirt and turn it into something unique and beautiful from my brain. I love holding my finished pieces and knowing that these only exist in the world because I exist.
My process involves first throwing the piece on a potters wheel and then spending hours hand forming each crystal. I love combining the functionality of a wheel thrown piece with the endless possibilities of sculpture. I mix most of my glazes from raw materials. Being able to do this allows me to have a lot more control over the look of the final piece. I fire my work to 2232 degrees which not only makes the clay strong and durable but also changes the glazes and causes them to flow like running water.
My work is always growing and changing. I tend to just explore where ever my imagination takes me. I love the play between taking something that they earth does so beautifully and adding my human element to it. I am inspired by my surroundings. As a someone who grew up in Seattle (and now living in Portland) I have lived in the gloom of the overcast sky and week-long rain showers for most of my life. I wanted to show the beauty I see in the gloom.
I really love throwing each piece on the pottery wheel. I usually use that time to think of what designs I am going to carve or sculpt on them. I tend to plan out a piece in my head for months before actually creating it in reality. I also really love the fact that because I do everything by hand, no two pieces are ever exactly alike. I come close but they truly are one of a kind.