(Pottery by Dori Kite)

Random scenes of natural beauty inspire potter Dori Kite. A current series on ravens resulted from a walk in the woods where she witnessed a “conspiracy” of ravens (the proper collective noun for a group of ravens) engaging in an earsplitting argument. Their raucous behavior and the word “conspiracy” led her to name them “jail birds” and paint them surrounded by black stripes. Kite’s newest inspiration comes from a calendar photo of butterflies and sunflowers, both of which adorn her new vases and trays just in time for summer. Kite’s pottery is showcased at Red Chair Gallery in May.

“Sometimes my ideas just come together from everyday life,” Kite explains. Her new whims, however, often require decorative techniques she has never tried before. “A lot of problem solving” may be necessary, she says. She experimented with masking tape, wax paper and wax resist until she was satisfied with the result for the Jail Birds series. Currently, she is slip trailing to outline the butterflies and sunflowers by using empty fabric paint tubes to squeeze a runny clay infused with black stain into lines.

Kite, a Bend native, took her first pottery classes at Bend Senior High School and later with Tom Temple, who started the pottery department at Central Oregon Community College. She graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a degree in art. After college, she returned to Bend, racing in ski and mountain bike events and working at various sports shops, but not making ceramics. When her son graduated from high school, she was able to set up a home studio and return to the art she loved. For the past decade, Kite has been making both decorative and functional pieces, employing both wheel throwing and hand building techniques and many different — and often unique — glazing and painting methods. She fires a load of 30 to 50 new pieces in her kiln about once a month. She is an active member of the Clay Guild of the Cascades and has chaired the annual Wildfire Ceramics Showcase exhibit.

See Kite’s work on Facebook and Instagram: 44duckstreetpottery

Red Chair Gallery is located at 103 NW Oregon Ave. (corner of Bond St. and Oregon Ave.), in Bend.

redchairgallerybend.com • 541-306-3176