Norman
Lansing is one of the leading contemporary Native American Indian scraffito
artists. By delicately incising, or carving, his spiritually inspired art
work, on hand-molded pottery pieces, Norman Lansing creates his collectable
and dramatic pottery.
Mr.
Lansing, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, has been the
deserving recipient of blue ribbon awards in showings of his pottery in
Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Oklahoma and California. Among his
proudest achievements is his recognition by the Indian Arts and Crafts
Association for his outstanding work. Recent years have yielded contact
from numerous art publications seeking interviews for feature stories.
The uniqueness of Norman
Lansing's work is found in his extraordinary precision and creativity.
Lansing layers his paint on a pottery surface and with the delicate touch
of a master, he carves through one layer. "If you see the white pottery
surface where it's not obviously intended, a mistake has been made," he
says. In the unlikely event a piece does not convey the spirituality Norman
intends, he will destroy the piece, concluding the "spirits are not
balanced."
Mr. Lansing's pottery are,
indeed, pieces of discovery as he 'hides' imagery of his Indian heritage in
each piece. The elements of nature, buffalo, ram, lizard, insect, lighting,
cloud, mountain and more adorn his work. Mr. Lansing notes that the clay
surface is "his canvas" for each piece is a unique original, titled and
signed by the artist. In December 1993 Mr. Lansing began carving a buffalo
and moon on the bottom of each finished piece. The buffalo is significant.
In great measure it signifies life, for food, clothing tools and shelter.
Norman Lansing's pottery art pieces, in turn, nourish the creative spirit
of appreciation in us all.
Artist profile provided by
Mesa Verde Pottery, Cortez, CO. For more information on master works by Mr.
Lansing, please call 800/441-9908
