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Kimberli Cummings pottery art
Artist Kimberli Cummings has been molding mud into works of art for 30 years. In her Tampa studio, she creates one-of-a-kind pieces to please every imagination.
TAMPA, Fla. - Inside Kimberli Cummings’ pottery studio in Tampa, there’s clay everywhere you look.
She’s been molding mud for almost three decades and has created thousands of pieces. Each one tells a story, but it starts with a cylinder.
Cumming’s showed FOX 13 how she transforms a squishy, brown wedge into a work of art.
"So I wedged this piece of clay. It's 4.5 pounds, and I'm going to slam it as much in the center as I possibly can," she said, hitting the block into the center of a round surface. "Knowing that at any minute I'm going to be able to open this up and it's going to be centered, I never lose that excitement."
As the circular base spins, she slowly pulls the clay out and upward.
"So I'm pushing towards you with my inside hand so that I can start widening the cylinder with the thought the whole time is 'What is this going to be? It's going to be a bowl,'" she explained. "There's so much joy in making for me."
Her pieces range from items you might think of as typical pottery: mugs, bowls, and pitchers. But she loves making someone else’s vision come to life.
“I love going, ‘Oh my God, this person is going to give something, that I got to be a part of, to someone they love. I mean, that's why I keep walking into this room going, ‘I get to do that again!’” she said.
Cummings has three shows coming up:
- Art Extravaganza 11/1-11/3
- Tampa Tour De Clay - 12/7-12/8
- Florida CraftArt Gallery - Holiday Show in St. Petersburg - 11/1-12/31
For more information, visit https://kimberlipottery.com/.