Mitch Lyons
American artist, 1938–2018
Lyons’ printing process is incredibly unique. The artist begins by wetting the stoneware clay slab he’s been using for the past 33 years. Imagery is created using fairly conventional ceramic decoration techniques. Lyons pours clay slips of various colors directly onto the surface and draws, paints, or cuts directly into the clay with a variety of traditional and unexpected tools—brushes, stencils, and cookie cutters. After framing the desired image with drywall tape, the artist pulls a thin layer of clay that is permanently embedded in the fibers of Reemay—a DuPont-engineered polyester fabric that Lyons prefers as his support. The distinct nature of the medium and technique ensures the uniqueness of each print.
Like most traditional potters, Lyons is motivated by a love for the material and describes himself as a “clay person making prints.” However instead of firing the clay to a permanent state, Lyons captures a lasting two-dimensional image of the clay’s surface. Chance is an inherent part of this technique, and it is here that one is reminded of surrealist automatic drawings and the incorporation of chance procedures embraced by artists, like John Cage, working in the 1950s. Lyons seeks to achieve a “balance between spontaneity and structure” and captures in his prints the sense of energy and intuition he embraces in the studio.
Person TypeIndividual
Terms
- male
American illustrator, 1897–1982
American sculptor and professor, 1930–1992
American ceramicist and printmaker, 1943−2013