Allen Littlefield

Artist's Statement
Born on October 11, 1940 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the artist spent his childhood years in areas of the United States as divergent as New York City, Pennsylvania, Florida, and the state of Washington. Littlefield later returned to Wilkes-Barre where he graduated in 1967 from Wilkes College with a BA in Art Education and received a Master of Fine Arts degree at the State University of New York in 1973.

Allen hand-builds each piece individually out of white stoneware clay. The work is then bisque-fired in an electric kiln. The final step in firing involves an ancient technique called pitfiring. This is done outdoors and involves wrapping or positioning each piece with various materials including cardboard and newspaper. After the pitfiring, Allen washes each piece thoroughly and lets it dry before applyng other colors or attaching to backgrounds. The work is porous and it's not recommended for outdoor use in climates where temperatures dip near or below freezing.

Allen Littlefield explains that current work is to be viewed as "future artifacts" -- objects that foreshadow what may be found in museums 3,000 years from now. The sculpture and fragments might reveal some of our alleged martyrs and saints or ritual and sacred objects.