Clate Grunden

Seeking to identify the moments that foreshadowed our future selves is often a harmless vanity. But there is something to be said for the things we remember. When pausing to chart his creative life, California-based potter Clate Grunden recalls shaping wet sand on childhood vacations at the beach.
Seeking to identify the moments that foreshadowed our future selves is often a harmless vanity. But there is something to be said for the things we remember. When pausing to chart his creative life, California-based potter Clate Grunden recalls shaping wet sand on childhood vacations at the beach. Today, his lamps — spun from the standard cylinder and globe — express a clear fluidity, a kind of movement thanks to the irregular modeling of the clay. “I take coils and form them into a delicate, open basketweave, or squiggly patterns reminiscent of woven fabric or the organisms found in a coral reef. Another transformative process is seen in my slab construction. I take a form that is very flat and straight, pushing and pulling the material to create undulating shapes. As a kid in the sand, there was always a playful, organic energy, which I believe is evident in my process today.”