Iris Grundler
Iris Grundler is an accomplished Maryland Artist whose work resides in homes and business throughout the DC-Baltimore metropolitan area. Throughout her life, Iris has experimented with many art media, but chose ceramics and photography to express herself. She creates richly decorated and colored pottery in a wide variety of colors and designs.
Iris was born in Peru South America, and moved to U.S. as a teenager. She earned her BSAT – Bachelor of Science in Architecture Technology degree – in 1984 from Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., and immediately began her career as an Architect. Her architectural journey inspired her, and thus she incorporated in many related aspects in her work: public places, designs, nature and community. Iris is an artist who is deeply aware of people, time and places. However, she found that her most artistic side was unfulfilled, and thus she began painting for leisure, and in 2005 pursued the study of ceramics.
Iris celebrates her culture through the study of history – the understanding of glazes and wide range of techniques used in her Art – many as early as 700 BC. Her style and patterns combine elements from her Spanish and Incan heritages along with American influences to produce designs that are uniquely hers. She favors techniques like Mishima – scratching the surface of the clay and filling it with slip –liquid clay, and Sgraffito – several layers of color clay that is scratched, thus exposing multiple layers. When she uses colors, it brings out the composition of lines, shapes and contours, similar to how a composer works with musical notes to create a melody. Iris‘s art expresses an old saying that “what cannot be seen with eyes can be seen with the heart.”
Galleries where Iris’s work is showing include: Potters Guild of Frederick, Frederick MD, and Ukazoo Books, Towson MD. Her juried exhibitions include: Montgomery County Agriculture Fair, Gaithersburg MD; Catonsville Art Fest, Baltimore MD; Art At the Point, Frederick MD; and Art Fest, La Plata, MD.
Iris continues her training by taking several workshop/classes each year, as well as attending ceramic conferences, like NCECA-National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.
In the early 2000s, Iris’s supportive husband Ed built her an art studio/shop at their home where she creates all of her work. Her talent as a potter and artist results in creations that spring from her imagination, without imitating the work of others.