Studio Demo: Ceramics with Allyssa DeZaldivar

Come meet local ceramics artist Allyssa DeZaldivar in The Studio! Allyssa will be demonstrating ceramics-making techniques honed in her practice, giving an inside look at how decorations are added to finished works and simple clay turns into stunning works of art.

More than a class or talk, you’ll get to know the real person behind the art and learn about her creative process in this behind-the-scenes look at a studio artist.

Free, no tickets required. Drop by anytime from 1 to 4 p.m.

Allyssa DeZaldivar

Allyssa Leilani Dezaldivar (b. 1999, Redlands, California, USA) is a ceramic artist who lives and works in Arkansas. She is currently studying Fine Arts with a ceramics emphasis at the University of Arkansas School of Art and is a teaching artist at the Community Creative Center in Fayetteville.

When speaking about her work, she defines her practices as an opportunity to let loose and indulge in the experimentation that is involved with clay in all of its stages. There is often a fascination with irregular forms and motion, limited color palettes, and glimpses of varying texture within her ceramic objects. She draws inspiration from a large list of artists across multiple mediums, including but not limited to Toshiko Takaezu, Laura Soto, Alexandre Bavard, and Helen Frankenthaler.

Artist Statement

I consider my work to be an extension of myself as most of it originates from hallucinations that only I seemingly experience. I squish, ooze, and warp clay in an attempt to reveal the organicness and the workability that this medium has– just like the human mind and body, clay is a limitless material. This process yields a bumpy mug or a drippy, dynamic pot that is intended to reflect how I view my environment: a product of a culture rich with overstimulation, distortion, and seduction.

I try to use my practice as an opportunity to find a moment of stillness in this for myself. Channeling this concept through my ceramic work serves as a way to grant a sense of ownership over my anxieties that are beyond my control, and by producing unique and tangible pieces, the worries that plague me can be placed outside the barriers of my mind to instead exist as a functional item that I can own.