Around 1968, Geert Lap, an out-of-work Dutchman, turned to art and bought a kiln intending to produce jewelry for sale. However, on a homemade potter's wheel in his basement apartment, he began to throw small porcelain vases. His earliest works-pure cylindrical forms usually associated with functionality but devoid of spouts, handles, and surface decoration-presage his future ceramic output, although now he has exchanged porcelain for stoneware, a material which he feels is sturdier and allows for sharper forms. Lap works in traditional methods making vases, bowls, and dishes, although he is not concerned with their usability. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and made by his own hand. Color and form are integral. But, as Garth Clark notes, "The confusing thing … is that Lap's work, because of its extreme perfection, gives the impression of having been produced industrially."