I take nourishment in the belief that a bowl fills me up. Once in the making, when I am grateful for nimble hands and clear eyes to create the vessel; and again, when I know my bowl holds sustenance in someone else’s hands.
Mostly, I make these bowls to clear my head and connect with my heart. My current work is inspired by the brightly colored and vibrantly patterned rag rugs throughout my home and the homes of my friends. These are hearty, open, slouchy vessels that are pieced from strips of vividly colored porcelain slips laminated onto stoneware clay and fired to 2200 degrees. The exterior of the pieces is left unglazed to impart a solid grip when holding, and interior is glazed a buttery matte or shiny clear.
Currently, I make work in two sizes, small to feed yourself and large to feed your friends. I aspire to scale up and create jumbo bowls to feed our community.
Frog Level Studio
ph: 843-729-1439
Instagram.com/step_bigg
Facebook.com/froglevelstudio
Dot Burnworth, Brighter Days Pottery
Pottery to me is about connections.
I own a teaching studio so that I can help people connect to one another in a positive, supportive community. I make pots in hopes that people will use them to relate to their world in a more meaningful way. When you drink from my mug, I hope it causes you to slow down…to not just gulp down your coffee on your way to work, but rather to be mindful: to fully experience the cup you are holding, and just maybe, that habit of mindfulness will seep into the rest of your experience of your day.
I hope that using my pots will inspire you to be fully present in that moment, whether you are serving a big family meal or an intimate dinner for one or two. I believe that mindfulness includes choosing those material possessions that really make you feel good; that bring positive energy to your life. I encourage you to think about every single item you have in your home. Is it physical and emotional clutter, or does it enhance your life, bringing you joy and a sense of peace and home?
I create primarily wheel-thrown functional pottery in warm, bright colors. I am drawn to the process and the product of piercing. Thenegative space creates energy as well as a point of introspection and rest. I strive to create well-crafted utilitarian pots that will inspire you to slow down and be fully present in each moment.
Love your life and everything in it.
Chiwa's main intent with her work whether it be functional tableware, quotes on wall pieces, depictions of trees and the night sky or sculpture is to inspire. To lead a handmade life in tune with the elements, to slow down and see the meaning in the smallest of things. To trust in the beauty of life.
Clay, a product of the earth has a responsiveness that is immediate and timeless. My expressions in clay go beyond my capacity for words. My expressions in clay come from my source. They are expressions from many levels. I do not even understand them all. This I find fascinating.
Visit Mel at www.dyelpottery.com
A passion to express has led me to many creative projects throughout my life. I rediscovered clay after many years; having played with photography, theatre, music, costume design, acting for stage and screen and life modeling.
I experience creativity as a dialogue between medium and artist. My conversations with clay encourage imperfections into form and function. I like to dig into the meat of the moment using slabs and coils and make unexpected structures and vessels. Textures and the essence of trees and the flow of underwater life emerge into form.
Much of my work uses my own version of a copper/verdigris glaze as well as other glazes that accentuate the lumps, bumps and imperfections of the finished surface.
Now residing in Asheville, NC, MaryJane grew up in Illinois and lived for times in Morgantown, WV; Berkeley, CA and Dallas, TX, and spent 24 years in New York, NY. Her background includes music, acting for stage and screen, dance, costume design, life modeling, sculpture and ceramic art. She studied art, theatre, music and English at both Eastern Illinois and North Texas State Universities where she earned her bachelor's degree. She is also a certified Alexander Technique teacher.
My current body of work consists of vessels as well as hand-built wall pieces providing layers of information and complex surfaces. I enjoy process. The surfaces contain various two-dimensional techniques including screen printing and paper resists along with iron-toned waterslide decals. My interest in graffiti and tattoo imagery as well as the technical aspects of clay and glaze is reflected in the diverse usage of these techniques. The vessels are loosely thrown in order to achieve fresh, expressive forms. I view the surfaces of the forms as drawings, each one different but each incorporating similar elements. Sometimes the elements are individually framed resembling patchwork while other pieces combine the elements creating a composition around the entire form. Influences expand from the historical pinups of “nose art” graffiti on WWII airplanes and ancient Greek pottery to Pop art color schemes and contemporary flash tattoos and street art. Similar to a graffiti writer, brushstrokes can be deliberate and precise while splashes of color become rapid, sharp movements resembling the visual strength and purity of a dripping graffiti tag on a wall. Many of the surfaces have contrasting textures leaving a piece looking dry and aged to luscious and wet. Each piece is fired multiple times and may be further adorned by sprig molds, vintage floral decals, and gold leaf. I strive to create works that vary in function and purpose from the daily usage of a cup to an ornamental vase. Each telling a story with its individual composition, I intend to communicate a sense of wonder, discovery, and balance through form and surface.
Diana Gillispie has been a ceramicist for 40 years both as a potter and tile maker. Diana's tiles are made in the arts and crafts aesthetic and are recognizable all around town. Additionally she has several lines of pottery including black and white contemporary tableware and decorated maiolica pottery.
Visit Diana at www.ashevilletileworks.com
My pottery is made to be used and enjoyed . In this world of mass production there is a special joy to be gained by adding unique handmade pottery that is not for the masses.
A lot of time goes into every piece. I consider time as a tool. It's an investment I do not waste.
I'm creating work not for the masses but for collectors that want the best, most creative and unique pottery they can hold in their hands and enjoy using on a daily basis. This completes the cycle I began with wet clay.
Beautifully handcrafted stoneware pottery, durable, food safe and approved for the oven (325) and bottom rack of dishwasher makes it a wonderful gift and lovely addition to your home and table.
Cat Jarosz Pottery
Hours by appointment
Facebook/catjaroszpottery
828-775-3747 text or call
I have been playing with clay for more than 25 years. I recently retired and now can enjoy working with clay full time. I had no idea retirement could be so much fun!
My work is usually functional and sometimes simply decorative. I work at the wheel as well as hand build and sometimes a piece will be a product of both. I make functional as well as decorative pieces. Besides firing with an electric kiln, I also raku fire and pit fire some decorative pieces.
I find myself interested in so many different ways to work with clay resulting in a wide variety in what I make. I have so much fun making pieces and my goal is that people who take my work home also have fun with it.
Visit Anne at www.dragonflyartstudioshop.com
Until recently, I was a painter in oils, focusing on landscape subjects. As the human figure began to emerge in my work, however, so did the desire to express myself with the physicality of clay.
My subjects explore themes of shared human experience; thus, the human figure- particularly the girl or woman- best expresses my ideas, my own voice. The human form is challenging and compelling, and ultimately expressive. My work invites identification, reflection, questioning and humor. I hope that it encourages my viewers to revisit their own stories, ideas and images.
Visit Anna at www.cricketalleystudio.com
Although trained as a painter, Elaine Lacy gravitated toward ceramic arts and loves to create functional and decorative wall pieces upon which she can paint scenes from our natural world. Elaine says “Each hand-painted piece is made with the hope that it will delight those with whom it lives and that it will engender an appreciation of the magic of this beautiful world.”
Visit Elaine at www.undertheoakspottery.com and on Facebook (Elaine Lacy Ceramic Artist) and Instagram.
My current body of work consists of vessels as well as hand-built wall pieces providing layers of information and complex surfaces. I enjoy process. The surfaces contain various two-dimensional techniques including screen printing and paper resists along with iron-toned waterslide decals. My interest in graffiti and tattoo imagery as well as the technical aspects of clay and glaze is reflected in the diverse usage of these techniques. The vessels are loosely thrown in order to achieve fresh, expressive forms. I view the surfaces of the forms as drawings, each one different but each incorporating similar elements. Sometimes the elements are individually framed resembling patchwork while other pieces combine the elements creating a composition around the entire form. Influences expand from the historical pinups of “nose art” graffiti on WWII airplanes and ancient Greek pottery to Pop art color schemes and contemporary flash tattoos and street art. Similar to a graffiti writer, brushstrokes can be deliberate and precise while splashes of color become rapid, sharp movements resembling the visual strength and purity of a dripping graffiti tag on a wall. Many of the surfaces have contrasting textures leaving a piece looking dry and aged to luscious and wet. Each piece is fired multiple times and may be further adorned by sprig molds, vintage floral decals, and gold leaf. I strive to create works that vary in function and purpose from the daily usage of a cup to an ornamental vase. Each telling a story with its individual composition, I intend to communicate a sense of wonder, discovery, and balance through form and surface.
I moved to Asheville in the spring of 1971. With the exception of a decade of law school and law practice in New Orleans, I have lived here ever since.
And, I have loved living here ever since.
My family also spends time on North Carolina's Outer Banks. We are extremely fortunate to have the best of the mountains and of the sea here at home.
My newest works reflects the shades and landscapes of North Carolina's mountains to our sea.
I throw each piece on the wheel, then create texture by adding ripples of slip (very wet clay) to the form. I dry each piece slowly, and bisque fire it. I then spray several layers of each of six different glazes onto each pot, and fire each again in an electric kiln. The glazes work together with the added texture to evoke the ever-changing shades of the mountains and of the sea.
I make pots for people to use. And, I recognize the influence of a variety of knowledgeable and generous teachers in each piece I create.
Given the vagaries inherent in the practice of law, I appreciate that each pot begins with the centering of my clay and of myself. I also appreciate at least the illusion of control over the clay in forming the curve, the lines, the edges and the whole of a pot.
I hope you, too, enjoy this series: From the Mountains To the Sea. Thanks!
Sheila Lambert
Visit Sheila at www.AshevillePots.com
We, Tyrone and Julie Larson have been a pottery team since 1966. We both contribute to all aspects of the finished art work. Most recently, Ty has been doing the majority of the wheel work, while I, Julie, spend my studio time glazing, painting, and designing new pieces.
The life of our clay work has evolved over the years with several dramatic changes occurring at spontaneous intervals. We are often as surprised as our longtime patrons, but we respect that intuitive spark and go where the process dictates.
Our most recent work refers back to my Italian heritage. I spent five months studying art and sculpture at the University of Siena, Italy during my college years. This was a time of dramatic inspiration for me, and Ty contends that, "all my Italian genes took control of my creative psyche when I painted my first tomato!".
I have personalized a very old European technique of painting directly on the raw base glaze with a heavy application of the same glaze containing a variety of colorants. The technique is similar to slip-trailing, however, I am trailing and painting with glaze. The layers of glaze fuse during a single high firing. Because of the thickness of the multiple layers, the glazed pieces often have a raised effect. We are using a porcelain body to achieve a very refined surface and form, and to enhance the brilliance of the colors and glazes. Recently, I have also been painting landscapes on tiles which are then framed as wall pieces.
Fine craftsmanship and function have always been important concerns in all our pottery work. Our creative philosophy is very simple: Love what you do and bring joy to others through your life work. Have fun, be happy, and it will all be expressed in the work.
You may reach us by calling : 828-280-1107 or email us at julieandtylarson@gmail.com.
Clay art, soul art.... a piece of happiness to be enjoyed for a lifetime ---"Inspiring", "magical", "whimsical", "powerful"….a few of the words that people have used to describe my ceramic clay creations. I make fun, colorful owls, horses, birds and more...each hand made from clay, a unique, signed work of art.
My clay beings are created in a beautiful place beside a pure and wild river ....beauty is everywhere! I am instructed and supported by the beauty of nature.
My clay artworks are expressions of my joyful relationship with this natural world. I co-create with the clay, participating with the piece as it comes into being. Magic! The marks of this exciting process are visible in the surface texture. Into this texture I brush on colorful under glazes, terra sigillata or slip. Under glazes while permanent have a soft matte finish. I am grateful to have been working with clay in this way for 27 years!
Creating beautiful functional pottery has been our driving force since establishing our pottery in the early 70’s. Using the wheel, Henry explores the dynamics of each piece’s inner space as it is enclosed by its outer skin, its wall. Even simple cups can have some sort of spatial dynamics, rigidly confining or loosely expanding, expressing its function. Mary prefers hand building shapes from clay slabs, from simple tall squared vases and cups to complex teapots and pitchers, often featuring elements of the human form. Mary adds texture to the surface of most of her piece’s, followed by brushwork, in colorful glazes, of complementary images. Of these, we have a fondness for images koi fish, for birds such as egrets, herons, cardinals, wrens, and for the gallery of animals in prehistoric cave art.
We are truly restlessly peripatetic; we have had studios in Santa Cruz, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Charlottesville, VA; and currently Asheville, NC. We have participated in two dozen or so craft shows wherever we had a studio and have sent pots to numerous galleries, mostly in the east coast. There have been several articles on our pottery/studios (they’re in a box), notably one in ‘Studio Potter’ featuring New Mexico potters. Such a long time ago!
And we have a blog: http://mrymikpo.blogspot.com
Reiko was raised in Japan where pottery has a long and rich history so she quite naturally developed a love for it.
After receiving a B.A. from Tama Art University in Tokyo she studied ceramic making at Bunka Gakuin Art Institute. She then did a pottery- making apprenticeship at Tsukamoto Ceramic Company and worked as a studio potter in the area of Mashiko, a renowned folk pottery town.
Relocated to the US in 1998 and founded her Studio Tabula Rasa. Here she was exposed to new clay techniques, materials, shapes and styles. From these experiences she developed her signature black & white, sgraffito stoneware and her earth tone, subtly-imaged glaze work pottery.
In addition to transforming her style of pottery, moving to the US exposed her to different craft such as contemporary jewelry and encaustic mixed-media. Although she works between multiple media her art retains its organic feel, shapes and colors as well as her unique imagery.
Reiko has shown her work nationally and in Japan. Her work has been selected by numerous shows and galleries including the Smithsonian Craft Show, the American Craft Council Shows and the Charlotte Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Her Black & White and Glazework pottery is in the Charlotte Mint Museum's permanent collection.
I’ve been making pottery over 25 years and am still fascinated by it. My work is primarily functional in nature – wheel-thrown of high-fire porcelain and carved at the leather-hard state to create areas for the glaze to pool and spots for light and shadow to play.
I draw a lot of inspiration from a dress shop my grandmother once owned. For me, the best things about “College Frocks” were the seamstresses who made dress alterations. Upstairs, amid a hoard of fabric scraps and threads of every color, they magically transformed the frocks, tailoring them to perfectly fit each person.
When I discovered clay and it was no accident I was drawn to its ability to mimic fabric. I compose my porcelain teapots and vessels as if from a dressmaker’s pattern. Fabrics pressed into the surface create texture. Cutting and darting give shape and form. Colors are layered: brushed, rubbed and sprayed, resulting in soft surfaces. No two are alike. I alter each piece until it is, to my eye, exactly right in shape, color and size, to me, a perfect fit.
Examples of my work can be found in private and museum collections, including The Smithsonian’s American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, DC, The Fuller Museum of Craft in Brockton, MA and the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC. The Kamm Teapot Foundation has several pieces. Memberships include the Southern Highland Craft Guild and the James Renwick Alliance.
For more information, visit www.laurapeeryporcelain.com
I first realized my love for clay when I was five; when my brother and I found clay in the creek behind our house in Macon Georgia. In elementary school I realized I had something to offer when my teachers and peers appreciated my artistic contributions for class projects.
But it wasn’t until I was in college that I first learned how to throw on the potter’s wheel and so much more about the medium.
I believe that my love for the arts and my abilities therein were a gift from God. After many years of ignoring what I knew was missing from my life, I came to realize what I was meant to do. Now, I nurture the artist in me and I am so grateful for every second that I am able to work at it.
I use white porcelain and throw forms on the potter’s wheel, which are sometimes altered and carved into ornamental or functional pieces such as vases, luminaries, cups, bowls, tea pots and pitchers.
Some of my glaze combinations are reminiscent of water, sand and driftwood.
My current body of work includes pierced vases, luminaries and sculpted porcelain boxes that resemble sun bleached coral.
I love using porcelain because of how beautifully the light and shadow accentuates the designs and textures; smooth, rounded and beveled edges, contrasting surface textures and finishes.
I love its translucency and how the colors look beautiful through the porcelain and the negative spaces in the designs. My favorite part of the creative process is when I allow myself time to play and have fun exploring new ideas.
I'm a member of Asheville Area Arts Council ("AAAC") and of Asheville's River Arts District ("RADA").
Visit Vivian at www.viviansaichdesigns.com
I am attracted to clay and all that it can do. It is the bowl we eat from, the cup we drink from, the plate we serve with. It is a personal object that is used day to day. Clay is displayed on the wall like a painting or as a freestanding sculpture. The world of tiles and architectural ceramics enhance our environment through its beauty and durability. The surfaces offer infinite possibilities. I love creating work with wonderful texture and color whether it has a designated function or whose function is purely aesthetic. I am, at heart, a handbuilder. I do sculptural work which is sometimes figurative, abstract or a combination of both. I prefer natural looking surfaces which are layered and multifired. The use of a hand crafted item is a different experience than the use of a manufactured item. There is a personal connection between the user and the maker.
Trish has been studying clay for many years through the various classes available to her when she lived in the Atlanta area. Taking classes at Penland was a life changing experience and a turning point in her desire to become a studio ceramicist. She and her husband moved to Western North Carolina in 2007 and she has pursued her claywork full time after her career as a kitchen designer. Immediately after retirement, she enrolled in Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program in clay where she received her Associate’s Degree in 2014. She currently is a member of the Odyssey Coop Gallery in the River Arts District in Asheville, NC. She is also a founding member of Artisans on Main in downtown Weaverville where her studio is and where her work is primarily displayed.
Visit Trish at www.clayworkbyhand.com
