Irma Starr
Irma Starr is a world-renowned ceramic artist who creates collectible works of art that are modeled after the 17th-century style of pottery. Every piece of work and can be found at leading museums such as The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Plimoth Plantation. She is accomplished in all the classic glazing techniques; combing, feathering, marbling, and slip-trailing.
Starr has been commissioned by private connoisseurs, museums, companies, and the White House to create commemorative pieces. Starr makes pottery in the English slipware tradition, which involves painting with clay that has been thinned with water and colored with mineral oxides. She compares the process to a pastry chef decorating an elaborate cake. The pieces are then covered with amber glazes and fired in a kiln on low heat. Her interest in slipware was piqued while studying was so special. "Having those formulas really put me into orbit. And I share them with everybody. It's not a secret."
Since then she has worked extensively with The Nelson's gift shop to reproduce dishes, possets, pots, cradles, puzzle jugs, and other pieces from the museum's Burnap Collection. In 2000, Hillary Clinton commissioned Starr to make a commemorative plate for the …
Irma Starr is a world-renowned ceramic artist who creates collectible works of art that are modeled after the 17th-century style of pottery. Every piece of work and can be found at leading museums such as The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Plimoth Plantation. She is accomplished in all the classic glazing techniques; combing, feathering, marbling, and slip-trailing.
Starr has been commissioned by private connoisseurs, museums, companies, and the White House to create commemorative pieces. Starr makes pottery in the English slipware tradition, which involves painting with clay that has been thinned with water and colored with mineral oxides. She compares the process to a pastry chef decorating an elaborate cake. The pieces are then covered with amber glazes and fired in a kiln on low heat. Her interest in slipware was piqued while studying was so special. "Having those formulas really put me into orbit. And I share them with everybody. It's not a secret."
Since then she has worked extensively with The Nelson's gift shop to reproduce dishes, possets, pots, cradles, puzzle jugs, and other pieces from the museum's Burnap Collection. In 2000, Hillary Clinton commissioned Starr to make a commemorative plate for the Clintons' 25th wedding anniversary. Starr also has created ornaments for the White House Christmas tree, and in 2002, the Smithsonian Institution commissioned her to make a commemorative plate for the 30th anniversary of its Renwick Gallery.
"Irma is doing a superb job of continuing the tradition of late 17- and early 18th-century English slip ware," says Catherine Futter, former director of curatorial affairs at the Nelson Atkins Museum. "She's done a lot of work in rediscovering techniques they used and draws inspiration from the past but does very contemporary subjects as well as pop culture such as the 'Wizard of Oz.' " As one of the first six students of Ken Ferguson at the Kansas City Art Institute, Irma Starr developed an interest in the late 17th and early 18th century English slipware pottery in the Nelson-Atkins Museum's Burnap Collection. Ferguson and Starr's friendship led to years of discussion, discovery, and collaboration. Specializing in the rediscovery and interpretation of intricate slipware techniques such as combing and feathering, Starr often combines traditional methods with whimsical popular culture, as in this enchanting jar with designs taken from the Wizard of Oz.
Courtesy of Cerbera Gallery
