Liza Halvorsen

"Living on the coast and drawing from the environment: shorelines, rocks and marine life, inspires sculptural forms reduced to a basic geometry. "

Liza Halvorsen's ceramic wall sculptures are influenced by place. The artist spent her early childhood in Southern California followed by a move to British Columbia. Her current work is influenced by palm trees, sun washed color, towering cedars, and the shapes of the Northwest Totems.

The artist hand-builds each ceramic form, carves and paints the forms with underglaze, and fires them in a kiln. She finishes each piece with pigment and archival wax.

Liza Halvorsen has exhibited her ceramic sculpture since earning a B.F.A from the University of Washington. After work abroad as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Central America, she earned an M.F.A. at Mills College and began teaching ceramics in the Bay Area. Since returning to Seattle, Halvorsen continues to work as an art instructor and studio artist.

READ MORE
Selected Exhibitions & Awards
Mills Alumnae Scholarship , Mills College, Oakland, CA, 1986
National Council on Education for Ceramic Art, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, 2004
Tacoma Sculpture Showcase, Tacoma Art Museum Plaza, Tacoma, WA, 2006
Northwest Designer Craftsmen at 50, Bellevue Arts Museum, Whatcom Museum, Bellevue, Bellingham, WA, 2005
The Art of Trees, Whatcom Art Museum, Bellingham, WA, 2011
Collections
American Porcelain Exhibition, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonialn Institution, Washington, DC, 1980
City of Seattle Arts Commission , South Seattle Police Precinct, Seattle, WA, 1980
Exhibition of Monsen Ceramics, Henry Art Gallery, U of W, Seattle, WA, 2007
Microsoft Corporate Collection, Microsoft Headquarters, Redmond, WA, 1992
UW Medical Center Collection, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2009