About Me
My name is Louis Ruttenberg.
I am a classically trained musician who performed for 23 seasons as associate principal oboist for the Houston Symphony Orchestra. After retiring, I attended the Culinary Institute of America and ran a catering kitchen for 11 years. Thereafter, I developed and supervised a vocational cooking program for special needs young adults. During this time my passion drew me to working with clay. Upon relocating to western North Carolina I studied with local artists and honed my skills.
About My Work
Humans have always felt compelled to pay homage to the Divine by interpreting with their hands or body the ideas that are formed in their minds. Artists work from a passion to produce beauty regardless the medium they choose. ​
I have used music, food, and now, clay, one of the most mundane and abundant things on earth, to satisfy my need to create. Clay has been used for about 27,000 to 31,000 years to produce figures and vessels. The earliest writing tablets and storage vessels date from about 14,000 - 18,000 BCE. I enjoy the sense of being part of a tradition with that kind of continuity.
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Early clay pieces were not glazed. That didn’t begin until about 3000 BCE when clay began being used for food storage and cooking. Whatever decorations that occurred before that were a byproduct of the firing process. That natural collaboration with the Divine deeply fascinates and attracts me.
I use low-fire techniques (1200ºF-1900ºF). This does not fully vitrify the ware but allows porosity for absorption of the colorants and carbon, and helps prevent thermal shock when pieces are pulled from the hot kiln and exposed to either the air or water. The downside of this process is that the products are not water-tight or food safe. They must also be kept out of direct sunlight lest the impressions and colors fade. Please enjoy my creations for what they are intended - to delight your sense of beauty that can be achieved when humans collaborate with nature in the creative process.