Julie Peck is a sculptor who works with clay. She begins by building vessels with thick slabs and coils of clay and then adding definition by lightly carving lines into the surface. The soft clay is pulled and stretched up and around the initial structure to further flesh out the carved design. Peck works to meld the design into the walls of the clay, animating and redefining the form as she goes. The carving is a very physical and intuitive process, a dance with the clay. The form changes with her movements—she then  responds to the new shape before making her next move. Once bisque fired the slow process of hand-painting the glazes begins. Color is used to redefine the form once again. Whether she chooses to use similar hues or contrasting colors, the color changes the emotional feel of a piece, creating a different sense of place. Landscapes have been a main source of inspiration in her current work. She is responding to the sensation of light, color and pattern she sees and feels while deep in the woods or in an urban cityscape.

Peck lives in Somerville, MA, creating her work in her basement studio, often with a parrot on her head! Her work has been shown in many local and national shows. After completing her MFA in the Program in Artisanry at UMass Dartmouth, Peck’s work, while always sculptural, primarily focused on function. The quiet of quarantine gave her time and freedom to explore in her studio and she began creating larger, more ambitious pieces. In addition to her studio work, she has taught at Mudflat Pottery School for many years and recently began teaching at Indigo Fire Studio as well. She has received fourteen Massachusetts Cultural Council STARS grants, funding large scale artist-in-residency projects in many local elementary and high schools.