Gregory Lastrapes
Art and Research

I earned a BFA in ceramics and glass from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2018. My art practice is multivalent in that I reinterpret clay through foregrounding it's elemental qualities while my glass work is process-motivated and diverse.

My art history research has greatly influenced my work with clay. As my mind is highly analytical, I have found myself restricted in the studio by the act of critiquing and attempting to compare things before I finish them. Simultaneously, years of research on global ceramics history has convinced me on the universal and essential role of clay in human development. As such, my most recent work has explored implementing clay as a resource for growth and seed propagation.

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My glass work is more experimental and process based. I have worked in blown, kiln cast, and hot cast glass and have different goals for each. My blown glass work focuses on the Swedish Overlay technique; a method of layer color that has historically been bound to the declining Scandinavian glass industry. My kiln cast glass uses recycled window glass to comment on climate change and the disappearance of ancient ice packs around the world.