Alexandra Barao is a potter and educator based in Western North Carolina. She was born and raised in Virginia and received her BFA in Sculpture + Extended Media at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010. She then spent a decade in the San Fransisco Bay Area learning, teaching, and building community through clay. Since returning to the Southeast in 2022, she has been exploring new connections to this craft in a region where its history is deep and rich. She has recently been an artist in residence at Cub Creek Foundation in Virginia and Township 10 in Marshall, North Carolina.
P R O C E S S
I make functional ceramics through a variety of methods - wheelthrowing, coiling, and pinching. Over the last few years, I have been firing the majority of my work in wood kilns. I have also focused on exploring wild clays and other local materials from around Virginia and North Carolina. The forms I am drawn to make allow space for the flame to leave its mark on their surfaces and highlight the natural tones and textures of the material.
Choosing to wood fire without my own kiln translates to a lot of traveling around to bring pots to other kilns, but this also means getting to know a lot of great people who also choose to take part in this labor intensive, humbling, and rewarding process.
The slow and gradual build up of heat, ash, and coal over many days' time requires the effort of many dedicated hands working in community. With each stoke of the fire, the mud slowly turns to stone, the wood ash gradually becomes glaze, and all of the collective energy and care becomes permanently imbued in the resulting pieces. I love that a single vessel can hold so much. My hope is that this feeling resonates with others as my work finds its way into new homes and hands.
S T O C K I S T S
Alma’s Gallery - Richmond, VA
Good Neighbor - Baltimore, MD