Michael Banzhaf Gallery

Merryn MacDonald

Merryn MacDonald was born in England and has lived on sailing boats all her life, until recently, acquiring a broad and eclectic education as well as a remarkable, in-depth knowledge of arts and crafts. Her family, including Merryn's American father (naval architect and boat-builder), English mother (painter and sculptor), and brother (computer whizz), has sailed many thousands of miles around the North Atlantic and Caribbean, before coming to rest, at least for a while, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Having spent the last five years living on a boat on St John, Merryn and her mother recently moved ashore on St Croix, where they now have a studio of their own. Set in the inspiring tropical rainforest, it is a great improvement on their previous 8' by 12' studio on a steep hillside on St John!

Merryn began to sculpt clay in 2003, making dolls, animals, and clay whistles. Merryn's primary interest is in the realistic depiction of local and domestic animals, including marine animals, reptiles and birds. Merryn's work also now includes classically inspired figures, and larger, stoneware fired animals. Incorporated into many of her most recent pieces are thrown vessles, as Merryn now has her own wheel, adding symetry and fluidity to her pieces.
Most of Merryn's work is raku fired, although recently she has also been experimenting with stoneware firing, particularly for funtional pieces as apposed to strictly sculptural pieces.

Raku firing, derived from the Japanese tradition with modern adaptations, involves the removal of work from the kiln at 1780º F, using tongs. The piece is plunged into a metal bin containing paper and sawdust, which then burns in an oxygen-starved atmosphere, to produce the blackening, crackle, and metallic glaze effects characteristic of the Raku style.

Stoneware firing simply involves heating the pieces to 2240ºF in the kiln, over a period of about 4 - 6 hours, then cooling slowly, with the pieces still in the kiln. This firing method creates much stronger pieces than raku firing, perfect for placement in outdoor settings in any climate, without the possibility of changes in glaze colors.