Art and smiles: One of Gewirtz’s handmade creations, the Crater Lakes freeform platter. PHOTO COURTESY OF GABRIELLE GEWIRTZ[/caption]

According to scientists, the sensation of falling in love is as intense as the feeling of being addicted to drugs. Yet, the sense of love is often only associated with the bond between two human beings.

What about the love of oneself, exhaustively expressed in the romanticism of art? The release of euphoria, including brain chemicals such as dopamine and oxytocin, can be experienced when humans fall in love with a person. It’s also what an artist can feel while creating.

Artist Gabrielle Gewirtz fell in love with clay when she was 18. She walked into the basement studio at Hunter College (HC) in New York City, where she grew up, and came face to face with who she would become.

For nearly eight years at HC, Gewirtz was mentored by a group of teachers that focused on technique, experimentation, and bravery with clay while growing as an artist. “I was in heaven,” shares Gewirtz.

“I focused on mostly figurative sculpture – but with a twist of being functional. Color was not a thing for me back then as I was coating most of my pieces with manganese dioxide washes and firing them in a reduction (gas) environment.”

After graduating with a BA in studio art, Gewirtz took a long hiatus from clay. Roughly 12 years ago, she moved to the mountains in Colorado and was “incredibly fortunate” to live where she could participate in The Gilpin Pottery Studio run by Steve Briggs.

This pottery studio is where Gewirtz once again experienced the same spirit evoked by her HC teachers: “Experiment, be brave, find your voice, and run with it.” Within three years, Gewirtz found herself teaching ceramics in Gilpin, where she continues teaching.

“I make one-of-a-kind, highly decorative, artistic, functional ceramics, wheel-thrown, hand-built, or a combination of both. I use different techniques for surface decoration to create what I have going in my head.”

Today, Gewirtz plays with mandalas, topo maps, sea textures including coral, barnacles, and more, and spontaneous textures. She also makes mosaics that combine hand-carved sculptural tiles or sculptures with broken glass.

Gewirtz shares, “Most of my pieces are something you would get if you want to buy a gift for yourself or someone else that is unusual, beautiful, and has a lot of color or texture. Clay is my main medium. Sometimes I combine it with broken glass to make mosaics.”

She has been working with clay on and off for more than 30 years, from figurative sculpture, which she sometimes practices, to mostly functional, highly colorful, one-of-a-kind creations.

“Nature is my main inspiration, but so is food. Creating pieces to be showplaces for food is just a blast. I bake and cook a lot.” In nature, Gewirtz finds the textures, patterns, and colors that inspire her art.

To say that falling in love is only possible with another human being is to limit the heart’s ability, power, and strength.

Gabrielle Gewirtz’s home studio is located in Rollinsville. You can find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gabartco or you can give her a call at 917-705-5659.

Sign up as an artist or sponsor for The Mountain-Ear’s Studio Tour September 22-24, 2023, at https://www.themtnear.com/peak-to-peak-studio-tour-2023/