Melissa Flautt, Louisville, KY

clay

While Melissa Flautt has formal education in fine arts from Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University, her clay experience has been primarily self-taught. Having lived in the Midwest where rich soil and abundant plant life abound, Melissa has found that she is influenced by these earlier surroundings and uses clay to interpret nature.

Her work is wheel thrown from smooth white stoneware with additional hand built clay coils added at the rim. The entire form is then altered by pushing, stretching and scraping the surface to reference the form to petals and plant forms.

Glaze chemistry is an important component of Melissa’s work and many hours are spent testing and developing her own personal palate of glazes.

Melissa’s work can also be found in the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, Owensboro, KY; and at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, Berea, KY.