I would like to introduce Alex Mandli. I am well acquainted with Alex. I was a student teacher, teaching art with him as one of my mentors in 1976. We remain good friends today. He is a committed family man, a driven artist, and a successful art teacher.
I own many of his pieces from early work to the present, in different styles throughout his career; including vases, covered urns, coffee mugs, sculptures, and large plates. His works for the last thirty years are carefully hand crafted vessels in elegant, simple forms. These are perfectly hand burnished surfaces which provide the ground for his delicate, rich, innovative designs from nature. His images transform the usual look of ceramic into polished stone.
I would like to point out that Alex is a retired public high school art teacher. He is a “Master Teacher” and an expert professional ceramic artist. He cares as much for his students as he does for his art; which gives him the ability to inspire countless youths to become much more than they ever thought they could. JA
"Since I began working in clay, my goal has been to make beautiful vessel forms and adorn those forms with surface decoration. Many times that decoration follows a theme or series. My current work involves the very basics of making pots, namely, the use of clay, water and fire.
For years, I’ve studied and enjoyed the pots of many ancient cultures. Through this study, I became interested in their firing techniques, specifically their firing of work in a pit. I became attracted to the random action of fire on clay, or what has been termed “the gift of the flame.” The excitement of this firing technique is the pleasant or sometimes unpleasant surprise discovered once the pit fire has cooled. Once the fire is cool, all that remains is the random marks made by the fire and ash."
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