In 2001, Kristen received her MFA in Ceramics from Ohio University. From ’03 to present she has been Sole Proprietor, of Kieffer Ceramics, Baldwinville, MA. In 2009 she was Adjunct Instructor, Summer session, at the Harvard University Arts Program in Boston. In 2009 she was accepted into the NCECA Clay National Biennial Exhibition, and her work was selected for an NCECA Purchase Award.
“My work aligns itself with the detail, sophistication and beauty of a bygone era, though my desire is to evoke an air of 21st century extravagance. Within the parameters of the ceramic vessel, I am interested in investigating line, form and detail.
My primary influences are clothing and metalworking. In past cultures and times, both clothing and metal forms had the ability to be simultaneously decorative and usable. The hard lines of vintage corsetry, Elizabethan dress and couture costuming, and conversely the soft lines of Art Nouveau silver, Islamic brass and American silver, intrigue me; soft material making hard edges, and hard material yielding soft forms. As I throw, alter and build with clay, I am drawing in space, deciding what kind of line, edge and shadow will best accentuate the pot’s silhouette.”