Gina Freuen
Washington

Soda-fired porcelain
Functional
14.75"w  x 7"l  x 15"h

About the Teapot
Gina treats her clay surfaces as her canvas, drawing, stamping and carving, then giving up this hard-worked surface to the whim of the kiln firing process that continues to build the surfaces in an amazing partnership. Her work is based on functional forms but scaled up to the size of becoming non-functional, a size that suits her sensibilities. Beginning with the potter's wheel and a simple slab of clay, her forms build on gesture, the balance of negative and positive space and an organic quality that resonates pleasure in gardening. The glazing process prior to firing relies on the paintbrush and pencil as her singular tools.
“I chaos-up the drawn surfaces of my pieces. Using carving tools, textures and cutouts pressed into the clay surface, I work to create a maze of images that look like a chaotic, weedy garden, abstracted flowers, petals, and stems. Clay is my canvas, some days it controls me and on good days I control it.”

About the Artist
Gina Freuen has been a professional working artist and educator with a full-time ceramics and mixed‑media studio in Spokane, Washington, for more than 50 years. She began her career in Spokane with one of the early Artist‑in‑Residence positions at the Spokane Art School.
In 1985, Gina became one of the founding members of the Northwest Museum of Art’s ArtFest in Spokane, where she served for 10 years. She also served on the management committee for Spokane’s Inland Craft Warnings Exhibit and Sale for 20 years, and for the past 19 years has run the Little Spokane River Artist Studio Tour.
In 2005, Gina received the City of Spokane’s Arts Award for Individual Artist. In 2017, she was named one of the YWCA of Spokane’s Women of Distinction in the arts.

Currently, Gina focuses her firings on the home kiln which is a soda/wood kiln fired with gas until reaching 2100 degrees, then wood stoked for about 3 hours. A soda ash blend is introduced into the kiln at cone 10/11. The home kiln process takes about 60 hours from beginning of load to shutting down at around 2300 degrees.

Artist Statement
Gina’s ceramic works are a partnership between hand-building, wheel-throwing, drawing, and the whim of an atmospheric kiln firing. Her work began in electric kilns, moved to gas-fired, and then in 1996 she introduced her work to atmospheric firings, traveling to kilns many hours away for weeks of firing. She rebuilt her home kiln in 2010 to serve those same needs.

*Teapots that are purchased will remain on display in the gallery for the duration of the exhibition, through September 14, 2026.
After the show closes, teapots will be carefully packed and shipped by September 28, or they may be picked up at the gallery.