Laura F. Andreson Bowl

Laura F. Andreson Bowl Porcelain with crystal henna glaze c. 1972

Laura Andreson’s long and productive career contributed significantly to the development of studio pottery in California. She began working simply with earthenware slab and coil forms in 1933, the year she established the first academic ceramics program at UCLA (where she taught until 1970). After 1948, when “clay went wild” as she recalled it, she concentrated on high-fired stoneware and learned wheel-thrown methods from Gertrud Natzler. Beginning in 1957 she turned to porcelain, in part to create and recapture the serenity and timelessness of Asian forms and glazes. She said, “I like the challenge of porcelain, and its refined surface, which influences the clarity of the form. I try to eliminate too much decoration and too many ideas in one piece.” For Andreson, glazes took precedence and dictated the form. This serene bowl with a smooth, softly curved shape invites being cradled in the hands. The deep rust-colored glaze adds visual weight and shimmers with tiny flickers of light. Andreson was awarded a Museum Purchase Prize for the bowl, which was included in the 1976 Ceramic Conjunction exhibition at the Long Beach Museum of Art. Andreson said in her artist’s statement for the exhibition, “I draw my inspiration from nature and the work of ancient potters . . . I love to work in clay and will continue to do so until I am physically unable to. I hope my work will have a lasting aesthetic value and not be just a style for the moment.” This bowl does indeed have timeless elegance.

Sue Ann Robinson
Director of Collections
Long Beach Museum of Art, California