Madeleine Boucher is a wood fire potter born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She first discovered ceramics at the Community College of Allegheny County, where she was introduced to wood firing. She continued learning about the wonders of ceramics and wood firing at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania where she graduated in 2019 with a BFA in Ceramics and a minor in Art History. Today, Madeleine resides back home in the Monongahela Valley of Pittsburgh with her partner and two cats. She focuses on the function of traditional pottery while allowing contemporary practices to influence her work. Wood firing allows her to connect her work to her love of nature, letting the flame of the kiln flow through her work like water. She holds her studio practice at MadKat Studios, and works as an Assistant Instructor and Art Educational Studio Technician at CCAC - Allegheny Campus.
The landscape and palette of Earth’s natural resources directly influences my work and its essence decorates the surface of my pots. By choosing to fire my work in an atmosphere enhanced by wood or soda, I am able to strive toward an aesthetic that reflects the environment around me. I believe it is important to take small moments devoted to clarity and thought; focusing on form allows me to translate this idea.
While making, my thoughts are centered on how the kiln will interact and communicate with my work. I correlate how humans connect to one another, and think similarly about how each curve of my pots will be affected by the flame path and movement. This body of work is riddled with soft and undulating angles in pursuit to bring a different and unique conversation to each face of the pot.
