Kristin Gaudio Endsley is Guided By Water

Designers in D.C. work with home in mind — whether home is in the city or a faraway place that adds extra texture and color to their products. Each maker featured in our October Issue is unique, but a common theme persists: a focus on cultural appreciation, sustainability and naturalness. We tell their stories and dive into details of each business below, from cocktail syrups to minimalist earrings to vintage repurposed maps.

Painter and ceramicist Kristin Gaudio Endsley creates ethereal artworks, splitting her time between D.C. and Brooklyn. You can visit her studio in Georgetown by appointment only.

District Fray: What’s the story behind deciding to pursue painting and ceramics full time?
Kristin Gaudio Endsley: As a child, I was always drawn to painting and drawing — anything art related. When it was time to decide my major at college, I went for something with more practicality: fashion design and illustration. I worked in fashion and taught for a bit, but it never felt right. I remember saying, “I am a teacher,” and feeling surprised to say that aloud. When I moved to London with my husband, I was able to witness successful working artists. That and the rise of social media helped me take the leap into painting full time. Ceramics came a couple years later during an artist residency in Sydney, Australia.

I love how versatile your work is. What’s your process for deciding the tone of each piece? Thank you. I do like to play a lot in my practice. As I work, I fall into a meditative process. I let go of planning and overthinking and just let my movements and the water take hold. Everything around me falls away and I am focused on the work and where it is going; the tone comes from this process. Most of my pieces have an ethereal or calming feel. The colors can change the tone. I am often drawn to colors you see in nature — whether it is a sunset, a winter forest or an ocean horizon.

How does your connection with water influence your work?
Water is the thread through all my different series. I allow the water to move freely on the canvas or use slight control measures as the water moves. At times it feels like my partner in the painting. I speak to the water. I am surprised by the water. I am both frustrated by the water and in love with
the water.

Anything else you want readers to understand about your work?
In my new series, I am breaking away from the controlled nature of geometric shapes. I am really opening up to the intuitive process, leaving it up to the critical dynamic of canvas, paint and water; I am using spontaneous, yet methodical dripping and pooling techniques to compose soft-edge and mutable images with a foundation in both my personal and the collective consciousness. I look forward to sharing this new series.

Kristin Gaudio Endsley: 1027 33rd St. NW, DC; kristingaudioendsley.com // @kristingaudioendsley

Abi Newhouse

Abi Newhouse is a writer based in Washington, D.C. A recent MFA graduate from George Mason University, her work can be found in The American Scholar, Mud Season Review, and Sediments Literary-Arts Journal, among others.