Page 27 - holmag SS2021

“
“T
T
h
h
e
eM
KhaosCreates
Give us a brief yet detailed introduction, your background and humble beginnings. My name is Kim Ferguson and I am originally from St. Andrew Jamaica. I was introduced to local art and museums from a very early age
by my parents. They’ve always encouraged my artistic growth.
We talked about how you started with your ceramic sculpting, now I would like you to take me and the reader to where you where when you decided to seriously consider ceramic as a business venture.
I attended a liberal arts college which gave me some freedom to pursue art classes that were outside of my History major curriculum. My first voyage into sculpture was a wood sculpture course when I created a 5-foot tall wooden heel. That first experience of creating a three-dimensional piece from concept to completion was extremely therapeutic and pushed me to try a ceramics class. One class led me to declare an art minor. I had some success selling art pieces and earning awards in college but I never saw it as a valid career path. Four years passed before I considered it
again. I got back into pottery in 2018 as a stress relief from the nine to five hustle. As more people asked to purchase my pieces I realized that I had a little business on my hands and launched my brand Khaos Creates in 2019.
Walk me through how you cut, shape, fit, join, mold, or otherwise process materials, using hand tools, power tools, and/or machinery.
I use various techniques in my creation process which can all seem a little chaotic to the untrained eye. I begin by shaping the clay using a pottery wheel or a slab roller machine. This creates the general shape
and foundation of my design. The shape is then altered with hand-sculpting, heating and cooling, and carving using various metal or wooden tools. I have been known to use a hair clip or two in the past. The piece is then dried before it is placed in a kiln oven to be “fired” or cooked at a very high temperature over a few hours. The first firing alters the clay into stoneware that could outlive us all. Most of my decorative pieces are only fired once and then finished with hand-painting or spray enamel. My food-safe functional pieces, like plates and
M
a
a
g
ga
a
z
z
i
in
ne
ef
fo
or
r
t
th
h
e
eE
E
m
me
er
r
g
g
i
in
n
g
gb
b
y
yt
th
h
e
e
E
Em
m
e
e
r
r
g
g
i
in
n
g
g”
”
Interviewed by Laura Lafrance
2
2
7
7