Lot 79
**Originally Listed At $250**
Ruthann Maze (American or Canadian, active XX-XXI). Two pottery vessels, n.d. Each signed on underside of base. A pair of ceramic vessels by Ruthann Maze that quietly bridge painting and pottery, these works present themselves as intimate landscapes held upright, where clay becomes both surface and support for ink-drawn imagery. Formed with softly irregular edges and a gently rectilinear profile, each vessel is glazed and fired before receiving its painted composition, a process central to Maze's long-standing practice of integrating ceramics with ink on rice paper. The imagery is spare and intentional. Bamboo leaves sweep across the muted ground of one vessel in deliberate, calligraphic strokes, while the other blooms with arching stems and small flowers rendered in earthy reds, blues, and greens. Size of larger: 7.4" L x 1.5" W x 4.6" H (18.8 cm x 3.8 cm x 11.7 cm)
The brushwork is confident and restrained, leaving space to breathe, allowing empty ground to play an equal role with mark and color. Decorative borders along the rims add subtle texture and rhythm, framing the compositions without overpowering them. These vessels reflect Maze's interest in reimagining the ancient tradition of ink on rice paper through a more durable, contemporary medium. Not bound to a single school or strict formal system, her approach remains intuitive and responsive, emphasizing clarity of gesture and balance of mind. The result is work that feels at once functional and contemplative, objects that hold flowers, air, or simply attention, carrying the quiet energy of the moment in which they were made.
About the artist: Ruthann Maze is a Colorado-based potter and painter whose work moves easily between function and ornament. She began studying ceramics more than forty-five years ago in Banff, Canada, and now maintains a full-time studio practice in Boulder. Trained in clay, Maze has developed a distinctive hybrid technique that unites fired ceramic forms with ink paintings on rice paper. Each vessel is glazed and fired before being overlaid with a painted rice paper surface, which is then sealed beneath a durable UV-protective lacquer, marrying delicacy with permanence.
Her work seeks a contemporary and resilient expression of the ancient tradition of ink on rice paper, an art form prized for both its restraint and its longevity. By pairing time-honored techniques with modern materials, Maze creates objects that feel simultaneously grounded and new. Unaligned with any formal school of painting, her approach remains intuitive, responsive, and open, allowing process and subject to unfold with immediacy rather than prescription.
Maze works with bamboo brushes, favoring the discipline and clarity of Sumi-e brushwork. As she explains: "When I place a stroke, it is a deliberate statement; there is no fussing. The stroke reveals if it is hesitant, unsure, or reckless... it has to be just right. Consequently, a mental readiness and a spirit of enthusiasm need to be reached before I can begin to paint. If the artist doesn't have the proper state of mind, the strokes are weak. My paintings, then, reflect how I feel-they convey a balanced state of mind. Quiet, empty space; controlled but spontaneous strokes; vibrant colors, textures, and patterns... everything is there. Created with joy, my paintings evoke the same."
In these works, intention and emotion are inseparable. Each vessel becomes both object and record, holding not only form and surface, but also the moment of its making.
Provenance: private Aurora, Colorado, USA collection
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#188133
- Condition: Both have some light surface wear, but are otherwise in excellent overall condition with nice craquelure to glaze. Each signed on underside of base.
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