Dudeltopf is a collection of more than 1,000 small, hand-built ceramic forms, examining clay as a medium for doodling. Questioning the understanding of the word as an idle, frivolous, and peripheral activity, I am allowing myself to indulge in the process of doodling and fully explore it as a method for generating work.
My time in Shigaraki, Japan pushed me to explore clay as a medium for doodling. Alongside our community partners there, we spent time working with locally sourced clay. Our only directive was to play with the material. I called the work that came out of this process “doodles.” I once thought of doodling like this: the thing you find yourself doing when you should be doing something else. It was secondary, to be put aside when it was time for the real work. But now, doodling is the thing I should be doing. Doodling is my work.
