Several years ago, we came upon the works of Jim Lux and we were immediately enthralled with the delicacy of the shapes and the wonderful subtlety of the various hues that his pit-firing created. We were amazed to learn that they were coil built instead of thrown on a wheel and to this day we can't figure out how he manages to have such small bases without the clay collapsing. We immediatley grabbed several pieces. However, to our disappointment, Jim stopped working in clay for a couple of years to return to school.

You can imagine our excitement when we found out he was working again and in fact was staging a show !! We went over to this really nice gallery in Durham, NC - The Craven Allen Gallery and we were astounded at the quality of the new works and the wonderful, new, subtle colors that Jim had introduced into his pots. Unfortunatly, due to the effects of lighting , background and our digital camera, we were not able to totally capture the extremely subtle light blues and greens in the finish. We hope, in the future, to be able capture these better.

Our thanks to the proprietors of the Craven Allen Gallery for allowing us to capture this wonderful show. You can view the show at:

The Craven Allen Gallery
1106 1/2 Broad Street
Durham, NC 27705
(919)286-4837

Jim Lux
919.286.7953
jimlux@email.unc.edu

Jim's notes about his show

Jim writes ..........

Titles for the show come from the second stanza of "The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock"
by T.S. Eliot.

It was kind of a last-minute decision to can the "untitled pit-fired pot" I might usually go with. I always think of the fog in this section of the poem as a cat surveying its surroundings, feeling comfortable about where it is, and deciding to stay a while.

I had already installed the show at the gallery and was wandering around, turning a pot a quarter turn here and there, looking them over and felt comfortable and happy with them and where I was/am in my life. I felt the contentment of the fog/cat in that bit of the poem , I suppose. So, I went around the room and ended up in the center, assigning consecutive bits of lines of poem to each pot.

Surprisingly, some of the lines actually fit the individual pots. I thought for a day or so that it might seem a little pretentious, but kind of liked the quirky-ness and ambiguity.

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The Yellow Fog that Rubs		Pit-Fired Topograhic Vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 13" x 13"
Its back upon the window panes		Charcoal-fired vase earthenware, colored terra sigillata 13" x 13"
The yellow smoke that rubs		Pit-fired bottle earthenware, colored terra sigillata 19" x 12"
Its muzzle		Pit-Fired Topograhic Vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 8" x 18"
On the window panes		Charcoal-fired vase earthenware, colored terra sigillata 15" x 13"
Licked its tongue		Pit-Fired Topograhic Vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 18" x 12"
Into the corners of the evening		Pit-fired bottle earthenware, colored terra sigillata 13" x 9"
Lingered upon the pools		Pit-fired bottle earthenware, colored terra sigillata 17" x 12"
That stand in drains		Charcoal-fired vase earthenware, colored terra sigillata 10" x 9"
Let fall upon its back the soot		Pit-Fired Vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 12" x 10"
That falls from chimneys		Charcoal-fired vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 14" x 13"
Slipped by the terrace made		Pit-fired vace earthenware, colored terra sigillata 15" x 12"
A sudden leap and seeing that		Pit-Fired Topograhic Vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 9" x 9"
It was a soft October evening		Pit-fired bottle earthenware, colored terra sigillata 16" x 12"
Curled once about the house		Charcoal-fired vase earthenware, inlaid colored clay slips 15" x 14"
And fell asleep		Pit-Fired Vase earthenware, colored terra sigillata 10" x 9"

© Art & Betsy Stratemeyer

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