DVAA Member since 2020

Helge Speth

About:

In her youth in Europe, Helge loved working creatively. Her first professional choice, was to become a physician. After completing med school, she moved to the US where she obtained a teaching degree in art education from Cal State University. While teaching art full-time in NJ for 25 years and in retirement, she expanded her expertise in clay, fiber and metal. Helge is a Master Artisan at the Pa Guild of Craftsmen, and Professional Artist Member at Main Line Art Center. She received 5 Awards of Excellence at Perkins Art Center. At Main Line Art Center, she was awarded the Pincus Prize and Plaza Award, and an Honorable Mention. During Jenkintown Art Fest, she earned 1st place in Mixed Media. Baker Industries judged her twice with Best 3-D. She had a solo exhibition in the Welcome Gallery at MLAC in 2016, and was juried into Ceramic Innovations & Craft Forms 2017 at Wayne, also Crafting Contexts in Philly City Hall. A clay piece and a wall hanging were commissioned by Rowan College.

Artist Statement:

“All of my pieces are hand-built --- slab, coil or pinch, the latter often being my first choice. Pinching represents for me the most natural and direct way of working with clay. I treasure the intimate spontaneity of this technique, since I like to observe the clay and see what it might suggest when I take a piece of it into my hands. Often there are grooves, ridges and textures which dictate the shape of the form I am about to make.
Much of my work resembles forms from nature, and shows a connectedness to the earth. Organic shapes intrigue me, often sparking ideas which I then pursue until they lead to visually pleasing forms with an expression of their own. Usually I don’t have a definite concept of the finished piece when I begin --- I rather try to remain receptive to coincidental changes of the form as it develops, so that I might preserve a sense of spontaneous, free-form gesture that captures the essence of my inspiration.
Recently, I have begun to incorporate stones, weathered wood/bark or pieces of rusty metal into my work. Iron, just like clay, an integral part of the earth that has been marked by passage of time and exposure to the elements, beholds a wondrous beauty on its rusty surface. It intrigues me to include objects with a prior purpose into my work, thus creating a connection between a past and a new future identity.
The Raku method, with its unpredictable and ever-changing effects of flame and smoke on the glazed surfaces, can create magical results that are a perfect juxtaposition to the rough, rusty iron. It is a primeval aesthetic that I strive to achieve, a sense of spontaneous, raw and unadulterated beauty without frills.”