Carol Tripp Martens

"Follow your bliss! Serendipity is the order of the day in my studio. Clay has a voice; I listen and play, discovering new and exciting possibilities every day. "

A creative accident a while back captured Carol Tripp Martens' imagination and led her on an exciting adventure. Combining myriad forms—feet, lids, spouts, handles, and doodads—Martens' multi-piece sculptural ceramic teapots, oval vessels, and other pieces continue to evolve. She creates with an eye to balance and the interplay of light and space, allowing each piece to have its own voice.

Each stoneware clay piece is created by throwing on the pottery wheel or using hand-building techniques. The completed greenware piece is first bisque fired, then glaze fired to approximately 2200 degrees in an oxidation atmosphere. Balance as well as visual and physical function are key elements to considering a finished work.

Martens graduated from Alfred University in the early 1970s. After a 25-year break, she came back to ceramics to find that now, nearly anything goes. After working and teaching at an art center in southern California for several years, she has moved "home" to Massachusetts. You will now find her playing with clay and teaching her craft in Rutland, Massachusetts, and at the Worcester Center for Crafts.

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Selected Exhibitions & Awards
Laguna Beach Festival of Arts, Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach, CA, 2007-2011
International Small Teapot Exhibition, American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA, 2006, 2008 2nd place, 2010, 2012, 2014
Creative Crafts Council Biennial, Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD, 2015 Jurors Kiln Club award
Lets Table This, AMOCA Permanent Collection show, Pomona, CA, 2010
Collectors Showcase, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA, 2013, 2014, 2015 Best of Show
Collections
Kamm Foundation Teapot Collection, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 2009
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Permanent Collection, Pomona, CA, 2007
Saddleback College, Gallery, Mission Viejo, CA, 2008