Hello. My name is Kevin Leong. I am a 21-year old visually impaired ceramic artist with a love for wheel throwing, handbuilding and glaze making. Using and making colored clay to create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces of art that bring joy to myself and others is what I am about.
As an artist with visual impairment, I have to find ways to make my work look its best with the vision I do have. During the eight years I’ve been making ceramics, I have discovered techniques to help improve my pieces without compromising quality.
Much of my time and dedication have been spent learning various decorating techniques, such as: slip decorations, stencils, mishima, sgraffito and resists. Other fun techniques I have enjoyed are colored paper porcelain, marbling and handbuilding with colored porcelain. These techniques have opened a whole other world of creativity for me. My current conquest is learning the process of making glazes. Glazes bring a depth of color, beauty and uniqueness to the end product.
Out of all the ceramic mediums and techniques, the ones that give me the most creative purpose and fulfillment are wheel throwing, handbuilding, slab projects and nerikome (colored clay).
Working with colored clay is an exciting creative outlet. I have begun experimenting with making my very own clay by adding mason stains to wet slip or dry powder. The end product is not only beautiful but brings satisfaction in knowing I had a hand in creating the medium myself.
Paper clay porcelain is a new medium I have been exploring as of late. You may not know this, but
Porcelain is a fickle and fragile clay! With the use of paper fibers, you are able to strengthen the porcelain, helping it avoid cracks and deformation. The purpose in using paper clay is to create shapes with porcelain that would not otherwise be possible due to its fragility.
I hope my story has inspired you to seek out a hobby, or profession, in the world ofceramics. If anything, I hope it stirred in you a desire to learn more about how working with ceramics can be therapeutic, relaxing, inspiring and just plain fun!