Orr Clay STudio

Eric Orr

Vitae:

Eric Orr has a BFA from the University of North Texas, MFA in art education from Southern Methodist University.  He has taught art for 29 years at all levels and was part of the administration at Lewisville Independent School District.  He also taught art for two years in Italy for North Lake College’s “Rome Studies Program''.  He has an MA in art and an MFA in ceramics from the University of Dallas. In addition, he has worked years in Art Sales for Sax Art Education. Currently, he is teaching private art /ceramic lessons in Flower Mound and Copper Canyon (30+ years). Eric is the owner of Kilns N Wheels LLC repair business and a member of Cross Timbers Artist Guild.

​An added thrill in the act of creation is when you are so lost in the problem-solving and manipulation of the clay that you lose a sense of time and control as your intuition takes over.

My work is inspired by ancient forms, dreams, word puns, and eccentricities. Like many artists, I am drawn to the shapes, colors, and patterns of nature.  My work often reflects the sub-conscious order and detail of the built environment, echoing the forms that we see every day in our 3-D world.

Artists are special souls whose hands, hearts, and minds are driven indirectly by God.  I must get back to my studio for life is short, art is long.

Clay is my media of choice as I am a tactile person. The ability to press a texture into a malleable surface gives it a signature, a presence of being. Clay allows an immediate and personal involvement with my media. Knowing that what I make can be functional or merely expressive, and can last millennia is both significant and exciting.

Clay is much like life…..a gamble with no assurances. Few other creative medias involve as much trust and faith. You create an object or pot, you hope you have designed it well, with even thicknesses and no trapped air. You then entrust this creation to the fire of a kiln to almost 2000 degrees. If it explodes, you just start over….like getting back on the horse that threw you. After applying color in the form of colorful glaze, you again entrust the kiln and hope your glaze recipe, application, and kiln firing schedule will result in an object of beauty. However, a beautiful glaze will never breathe life into a soul-less ugly form.

As a ceramic artist, I am trained in many techniques to the extent that I should be able to form any object out of clay that I wish. Whether sculptural or functional, my sense of humor often comes out in the piece. This is a tough life, and if you can’t laugh, you are doomed to sorrow.