Karel Sigtenhorst

Bio

Karel was born and raised in Texas, receiving a B.S. in Biology from Texas A&M University and a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Karel retired to Leavenworth, KS from the Army in 1997 and began his work in ceramics with an introductory class at the Carnegie Arts Center in Leavenworth in 2005. He has had studio time at the Carnegie Arts Center and at Red Star and Belger Crane Yard Clay studios, both in Kansas City, MO. He has had his own basement studio since 2013.

Karel’s pieces are usually wheel-thrown and fired in an electric kiln. They are food and microwave safe. He sells pieces locally, with most of his work at Denning Stained Glass in Platte City, MO.

artist statement

Karel seriously gets a thrill out of the potential within a bag of clay, and considers each clay “effort” an opportunity to learn something about the working of clay and about himself.  

Karel concentrates on functional pottery—he feels a piece of functional pottery should pleasantly and efficiently do what it’s supposed to do. His designs are simple but he combines carving, textural devices and glazes to give his pieces a presence and a “touchability.” 

Even before starting a piece, Karel approaches it with a sense of function and design, and then what glaze would best suit the piece. He feels that the immediacy of working with clay imparts something from the maker that factory-made pieces lack.