Bradley Holmes

Originally from Regional Victoria, Australia, I began making pottery after moving to the United States to study at UC Berkeley where I was introduced to pottery by a postdoc in my lab. While my background in chemical engineering gave me a good understanding of the thermodynamics and chemical reactions of taking clay to ceramic, the process of taking clay and transforming it into an object through the alchemy of the kiln was completely liberating compared to the rigors of scientific research.

I make things from the functional to the less functional, with a captivation in the meditative symmetry of the wheel. I remember a conversation with some fellow potters where we were discussing rigidity on the wheel, proffering the theory that it is a place where we could excercise control, and conversly somewhere where we could lose control with little consequence besides starting with a bag of clay, and ending up with a slighlty wetter bag of clay and a mess to clean up.

I look to ceramics for meditation, social connections and the pursuit of making a beautiful form, although understanding why something is beautiful or who finds it beautiful is sometimes out of reach.