51st Annual Pottery Show &amp; Sale

Artist Statement:

"For 50-plus years, what has interested me and pulled me onward is making: my hands on the clay, investigating things for which I have no name. A rich vein, whose possibilities I feel privileged to mine."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Matias Braun

Montezuma, CR

Instagram//Facebook

Artist Statement:

"Life is fleeting and memories are vague but pots seem to endure. I try to use life and the vagueness of memories as inspiration to create abstract, drawn and painted ceramics in the most sustainable way possible. I hope to look back at a legacy, not of my pots, but of a better world."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Paul Briggs

Alfred, NY

Artist Statement:

"'Nature makes no aesthetic mistake.' This quote from John Ruskin is a guiding principle in my pinch-formed vessels."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Rebecca Chappell

Artist Statement:

"I seek to create imagined objects and spaces that serve as moments to catch a wandering eye and allow the viewer the opportunity to pause; arranged moments of curiosity and wonder."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Bruce Dehnert

Maplecrest, NY

Website//Facebook

Artist Statement:

"Increasingly I'm interested in making work that inhabits a space between experimental and resolved. I am drawn to that realizing 'yeah, there's something there' and subsequently building on it. I think it's class problem solving"

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Stuart Gair

Athens, OH

Artist Statement:

"My work is influenced by geology, architecture, history, function, and process. The amalgamation of these things offers individualized pieces that may be used or displayed. The use of local materials and a soda firing process creates deeper meaning and personal connection to the work."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Chris Gustin

Dartmouth, MA

Artist Statement:

Most of my work is of a much larger scale, yet the desire to make things that function in our daily lives still resonates deeply within me. It is a way for me to connect with the basics of functional ceramics and to touch the roots of utilitarian clay. Pots are small objects, but they have the potential to be a universe in and of itself.

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Nicholas Joerling

Bakersville, NC

Artist Statement:

"I like pots that make good use of the constraints of utility, and I like pots that push against those boundaries. In my own work I hope for pots that have qualities of sensuality, empathy, humor and risk."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Kyle Johns

Chelmsford, MA

Artist Statement:

"Using the traditionally rigid process of mold making that is at the core of industrial production; I deconstruct and reassemble plaster mold positives to create a multitude of unique forms, responding to the outcomes and limitations of the process and materials."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Suze Lindsay

Bakersville, NC

Artist Statement:

"I want to make pots that are expressive, communicative. I feel like I am always looking for something— to express a quality in my work where the character of my pots is conveyed by being open, warm, generous, rotund, sensuous, loose and even jolly."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Robbie Lobell

Whidbey Island, WA

Artist Statement:

"Borrowing from centuries of tradition and adding modern design elements, I make pots to elevate the pleasures of cooking and dining."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

David MacDonald

Syracuse, NY

Artist Statement:

"The vessel is an important human artifact that transcends generations and culture. I have chosen the vessel as my primary vehicle of expression because of its universality. The inspiration for my work is the celebration of my combined Western and African heritages."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Lorna Meaden

Durango, CO

Artist Statement:

"Everything Lorna makes is meant to be used. Her work is soda fired porcelain with repetitive patterns drawn on the surface. It begins with the consideration of function, and the goal is for the form and surface of the pots to be integrated. Making her work starts with a three-dimensional division of space, continues with drawing on the surface, and finishes with the addition of color. Source information for her pots can be motivated by something as simple as looking at the patterns in the stacked bricks of her kiln to complex forms in 18th century European manufactured silver. She is drawn to work that is rich in ornamentation, with lavish use of materials- both scarce in a culture of mass production. The work displays both practical and extravagant attributes."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Matthew Metz

Alfred Station, NY

Artist Statement:

"I believe unapologetically in craft and skill. Through work and time, with attention, your own personal voice emerges."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Lisa Orr

Northborough, MA

Artist Statement:

"My fluidly formed artworks for the table have a playful quality inspired by historic vessels sporting embossed narratives. The abundance of color and texture frames the food with the vibrant signals found in a healthy garden."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Sang Joon Park

Highland Mills, NY

Artist Statement:

"My intent is to express my thoughts through my vessels, which are mostly thrown on the potter’s wheel. For some of my pieces, I use traditional Korean techniques — inhwamun stamping/inlay technique to create floral patterns, and gwiyal slip technique to apply expressive color slips. I believe that the combination of these time-tested techniques and my modern forms create unique, artful pieces that are beautiful yet practical."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Aysha Peltz

Artist Statement:

"I believe most good pots, whether functional or not, conjure associations beyond practical use. The forms I make reference utility and stir emotions; their familiarity creates an invitation to explore further."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Doug Peltzman

Shokan, NY

Artist Statement:

"My work is an act of love. I love the challenge of making functional pottery for daily use. I believe pots can be a powerful conduit for conversation, interaction, and celebration."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show.

Brenda Quinn

Ossining, NY

Instagram

Artist Statement:

Brenda Quinn spent her childhood exploring nature - collecting leaves, flowers, and berries around her home and painting fantastical botanical scenes. Now pursuing her passion for painting and ceramics, Brenda delights in creating patterns and pottery from elements observed in her garden.

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Justin Paik Reese

Dublin, OH

Instagram

Artist Statement:

"Growing up in a dilapidated town full of architectural genius, my work is an exploration of Korean aesthetic mixed into the gothic artistic stylings of structural patterning and symmetry."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Deborah Schwartzkopf

Seattle, WA

Artist Statement:

"Learning to clearly define my expression through clay has helped me find clarity in other areas as well. This reciprocal relationship between studio practice and life is generative and edges forward my ideas, artwork, and dreams."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Ellen Shankin

Floyd, VA

Artist Statement:

"My pots reflect the curiosity I feel about form and line. They make visible the evolving answers to my inquiries into the nature of energetic expression, vitality, and structured volume."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Mark Shapiro

Worthington, MA

Artist Statement:

"Making something useful and perhaps beautiful from formless mud seems a worthy endeavor. I like the feeling of participating in this ancient activity. It honors our shared humanity and defies meaningless labor."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Taylor Sijan

Netcong, NJ

Artist Statement:

"I craft richly decorated, functional pottery. Each piece is a confluence of things I find beautiful–asymmetrical compositions, evocative colors, botanical imagery, and fine details–expressed through objects intended for active participation in someone’s life."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Sue Tirrell

Paradise Valley, MT

Artist Statement:

"My pots employ mythic animal imagery, crisp design and riotous color to bring playfulness and storytelling to daily kitchen rituals."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Jack Troy

Huntingdon, PA

Artist Statement:

"I have been potting for 61 years and it is an honor to participate in the 50th Annual Pottery Show & Sale at The Art School at Old Church."

*Works pictured do not necessarily reflect what will be available for purchase during the show

Jerilyn Virden

Greensboro, VT