HP Bloomer IV

Beth Cavener Stichter builds her solid stoneware sculptures on metal armatures, often with 2,000 or more pounds of clay at a time. She then cuts the piece into 30 to 160 sections, hollows out each section to 1/4" thickness and, then, reassembles them before firing. In order to work on a larger scale, the reassembled hollow pieces are then cut again to fit inside the kiln, fired, and then reassembled with glues and epoxies. The surfaces are painted after firing using flat interior latex paint. Cavener's work reflects her interest in the surrealist movement of the 1920s.

Beth Cavener Stichter was awarded first prize by the Virginia A. Groot Foundation in 2005.