Laura Peery has been transforming porcelain into ceramic works of art for nearly 40 years. If you’ve ever worked with clay—either wheel thrown or hand built—you know that the delicacy of the finished form belies the strength, dexterity, and steadiness required to create it. In Laura’s case, her functional vessels, whimsical figures, and other objects start as slabs of porcelain that she rolls and pounds to reach the desired thickness, cuts into pieces and assembles, and then finishes with details such as flowers, leaves, swirls, and buttons. Not surprisingly, Laura appreciates yoga for the combination of form, grace, physical stamina, and inner and outer balance it requires. Her work and her practice fit together like the distinctive porcelain pieces she skillfully fashions.
Laura and her three sisters were raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Her engineer father worked at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he contributed to the design of the world’s first nuclear submarine. Her mother, who loved antiques, had a home-decorating business. Laura sees her ceramic work as a combination of her dad’s engineer skills and her mother’s eye for beauty. She recounts: “My grandmother had a dress shop in New Orleans, which my mom inherited. I spent many happy hours there as a child, reveling in the colors, patterns, and textures of the fabric, watching the seamstresses tailor dresses for customers. That’s where I first learned the value of a well-made garment and the importance of fine, handmade details. I try to make pots that reflect those same qualities.” When Laura attended Ohio Wesleyan University, she had no plan to pursue a career in ceramics. She was a humanities major, which included taking art history classes. “My freshman year I took an art class which was mostly drawing, and I discovered I’m not good at drafting: I’m a three-dimensional person. In my senior year, I took a pottery class and loved it.”
The idea of becoming a professional potter entered Laura’s mind early on. As she remembers, “When I graduated from college, I was fortunate to meet Mildred Gordon, a gifted ceramicist, who taught at an adult education center near Chevy Chase where I was living. I was her apprentice for a year, essentially doing a work exchange for the use of her home studio and the adult education studio. I was the studio assistant for her classes and a cleanup assistant in her home studio.” Laura learned a great deal about being a professional potter from Mildred, who encouraged her to apply to graduate school.
Laura chose George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., to pursue an M.F.A. Most of her peers were pursuing that degree in order to teach. Laura was on a different trajectory, and was encouraged to pursue making pots as a profession by Turker Ozdagan, the professor who started and ran the Ceramics program. He thought Laura would mature more as an artist if she moved beyond the potter’s wheel. Laura explains: “With his support, I started experimenting with other techniques, such as slab work, and with forms that were unconventional and more personal, such as women’s shoes, which was a way to express my feminist views. The history of women and shoes spans many periods and cultures, from feet binding in China to the contemporary torture of very high heels.”
Laura was living in Arlington, Virginia, and had her first one person show at the Arlington Art Center. This is where Lloyd Herman, the founding Director of the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., first saw her ceramic shoes and encouraged her to submit this work to an exhibit called American Porcelain: New Expressions in an Ancient Art.
“I was only 24 years old and had work featured in this prestigious show. The show opened doors for me. I’d completed my M.F.A. degree, but couldn’t find a teaching job. This exposure launched my career as a professional ceramicist.” These long-toed shoes are now part of the permanent collection at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
One of the reasons Laura was initially drawn to clay was its ability to mimic fabric, which reminded her of her grandmother’s dress shop. “I’m inspired by sewing, costume design, vintage textiles and embellishments. I make the ceramic pieces as if I’m working from a dressmaker’s pattern. I often press fabric onto the surface to give the piece texture, and then I cut and dart the pieces to give them shape and form. Every piece is one of a kind. I work with porcelain, a fine, white clay, because it’s particularly suited to the delicate textures I enjoy.” She brushes, rubs, and sprays color onto the clay, which gives the surfaces a soft patina.
Laura met her husband-to-be, Robert Morris, in high school. They left the area to attend different colleges in different parts of the country, and—romantic music, please—reconnected when they were in their 30s and got married in 1984. They lived in Arlington, VA, for five years, and then moved to California, during which time they adopted their daughter, Allie. “In California I set up my studio in the garage. Because clay dries faster in that climate, I had to rethink my entire system of making and drying my work, which led to some new techniques and non-traditional forms.” Soon, her pieces were accepted by a number of galleries and sales of her work took off.
After four years, Laura, Robert, and Allie moved back to Chevy Chase to be closer to family, including Laura’s aging parents, who needed her help, and lived there for 20 more years. The recession of 2008 impacted Laura’s ability to support herself making ceramic art. Galleries were closing and artists like Laura were struggling. In response to flagging sales, in 2010 Laura accepted a teaching job at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school in Bethesda, where she taught ceramics, levels 1, 2, and Advanced Placement. “Much to my surprise, I enjoyed the job, and thought I’d stay teaching until I reached retirement age.”
During her time in Maryland, Laura started taking yoga classes at Unity Woods. She had played sports growing up, but didn’t feel she was very good at it. Laura explained: “Yoga felt familiar and comfortable. I felt at ease in my body. Making pots is physically demanding. Yoga helps me stay strong and flexible, and prevents some of the injury that can be the result of this kind of artwork, which is particularly hard on the hands, neck, and shoulders.”
As time passed, Robert wanted to move out of Maryland and live in a small town. “We considered Vermont, but choose Asheville because of the arts and culture here. I’d read about the River Arts District and I knew about the Odyssey Coop Gallery. Plus, I’d gone to summer camp in the area when I was a child and I remembered its natural beauty.” Laura gave notice at the school and the couple moved to Asheville in 2015. “I did some teaching at Odyssey, and I joined the Coop. I was accepted into the Southern Highlands Craft Guild. And my work was selling.”
She also discovered Iyengar Yoga Asheville and began taking classes there with Lynn Patton and Cathy Eising. “I have a daily yoga practice first thing in the morning. I even made my own bolster using a drop cloth as the cover!”
Laura is a regular at Cathy’s Sunday morning class and appreciates her peaceful and positive energy. “I like the spiritual component that Cathy shares; there’s an inspirational piece to her classes that speaks to me. I also admire how well she prepares for each class, and how she shares the insights she gains by studying with more senior teachers. I trust her to keep me safe.”
Laura confesses that although she has modest goals when it comes to yoga, she appreciates how well it fits with the physical demands of making pots: “Yoga helps me stay in shape in my body and it can calm me down if I feel stressed. I don’t plan to stop making pots, and yoga will help me feel confident in my body for years to come.”
Her work has been shown across the country, and can be found in the permanent collections of several museums, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Fuller Museum of Craft in Brockton, MA. Her website is a great place to keep up with her work: https://www.laurapeery.art . Or check out this video to see her work on one of her elaborate teapots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCyMVdk6eAE
The best place to see and purchase her work if you live in Asheville is the Odyssey Coop Gallery in the River Arts District. The Southern Highland Shop in Biltmore Village has some pieces, too. Or, after a yoga class at IYAVL, just walk next door to Grovewood Gallery and visit Laura’s work there. Bring home a Laura Peery fanciful teapot or one of her charming figures. They will make you smile.
