A Stone’s Throw
Photography by Gerry Arrington
If emulation is the sincerest form of flattery, Mother l’oeil (trick-of-the-eye) ceramics, forcing the viewer to
Nature must blush at Gerry Arrington’s deceptively re-examine that which is taken for granted.
sublime forms. What is often mistaken for nothing What appears to be a family of stones randomly
more than skillfully stacked rocks is actually clay arranged with a precariously perched stick of drift-
painstakingly sculpted to recreate the subtleties of wood atop is actually a teapot, the ceramic wood
the real thing. replica being the handle (pictured above right). A
Arrington’s signature style was conceived many grouping of rocks, carefully stacked and balanced,
moons ago when he spent eight weeks of an idyllic reveals itself to be an ingenious container, the top
summer fly-fishing the Big Wood River in central two rocks forming the lid. A pair of round comfort-
Idaho. Each day, he found himself drawn to the able stones prove to be salt and pepper shakers. And
understated nuances of the river stones, frequently Arrington’s custom fountains reunite the element of
taking home a souvenir or two. Having worked with water full circle with the stones.
clay for some time, his thoughts were consumed Perhaps the most intriguing part of Arrington’s pro-
by these stones when he returned to the drawing cess is how he, in essence, reverse-engineers nature’s
board. He started throwing replicas of them on the processes. Stones tumble down a river, colliding with
potter’s wheel, and thus the evolution began. other stones, smoothed and polished as time goes
A variety of stoneware bodies unite to compose on. Stone chips that break off these rocks decompose
the stones themselves. Slips, stains, and oxides are over time to make clay. What takes nature a couple of
meticulously added to create the delicate rings that million years takes Arrington a couple of weeks, and
make the pieces dead ringers for river rocks. Arrington the results are nothing short of stunning.
is particularly drawn to this organic and unassuming —Goli Mohammadi
beauty (described as wabi-sabi), as well as to trompe >>Arrington Design: arringtondesign.com
