About
Irma’s Starr’s artistic journey has been a trip back in time; she’s is a 17th century slip wear artist. While viewing the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art’s famous Burnap Collection of ceramics, Irma fell in love with the slipwear mermaid on a plate, by English slipwear artist Ralph Toft, and has never looked back.
Irma Starr began her journey in 1963, when, as a mother of two and a senior at the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), she was given a life-changing assignment; go to the Nelson-Atkins, just across the street from KCAI, choose a piece of ceramic art and reproduce it. The rest is history. In 2002, she was commissioned by the Smithsonian Institute to create a 36-inch commemorative plate for the 30th Anniversary of the Renwick Gallery, where it is now hanging.
She is accomplished in all of the classic glazing techniques: combing, feathering, marbling, and slip-trailing. Starr has been commissioned by private connoisseurs, museums, companies, and the White House to create commemorative pieces.
Quick Facts About Irma Starr:
- Specializes in 17th-century English Slipware Pottery
- Works of art include commemorative plates, decorative ornaments, jewelry and figurines.
- In 2000 Hillary Clinton commissioned her to make a commemorative plate for the Clintons’ 25th wedding anniversary. She has also done ornaments for the White House Christmas tree
- In 2002, the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art commissioned her to create a commemorative plate for the Renwick’s 30th anniversary.
- Her work can be seen at leading museums around the nation, including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the National Museum of American Art.
- Her studio is based in Kansas City, MO.
