Linda Rohrbach-Austerberry
Rohrbach Pottery
Barto, PA
Although she exercises as much control as possible in her creative process, she believes that a ceramist must accept that the fire will change the piece according to its own power, and that someone with absolute ideas would not be happy working in clay.
Linda Austerberry is an artist, potter, and teacher. After first experiencing the fascination of working in clay as an art major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, she made a lifetime commitment to the medium. She received both her B.S. in Art Education and M.A. in Ceramics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
She taught Ceramics at the Boyertown Area Senior High School for 35 Years.
Linda Austerberry’s study of ceramic arts throughout history and her experiences in Europe and Japan have broadened her views and is reflected in her gardens, in her kitchen and in her self-designed food serving and cooking pieces. Her love of cooking has lead to some very unique pieces that are not only beautiful, but entirely functional. Each stoneware work expresses a flowing spontaneity, a pleasing blend of craftsmanship, a free form and the colors and the textures of nature. In these works, there is a kind of organic peace and balance, the echoes of the elemental forces that surround us and affect us. Such is the nature of the potter’s art – to bring together earth, water, and fire through the will of artistic expression.
Linda Austerberry begins the entire process by carefully formulating her own clays and glazes. After throwing on the wheel and then creating her piece, Linda fires it at 2350 degrees. Although she exercises as much control as possible in her creative process, she believes that a ceramist must accept that the fire will change the piece according to its own power, and that someone with absolute ideas would not be happy working in clay.
