Mark Hewitt

Lidded Vessel, c. 2020

16.5 x 13 D

Mark Hewitt (born 1955) is a British-born studio potter living and working for most of his life in the small town of Pittsboro, North Carolina. In 2015 he received a United States Artist Fellowship, for contributions to the creative landscape and arts ecosystems of the country. He was a finalist for the 2015 Balvenie Rare Craft Fellowship Award, for contributions to the maintenance and revival of traditional or rare craft techniques. In 2014 he was awarded a Voulkos Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana, for outstanding contributions to the ceramic arts.

Hewitt is known for his functional pottery and especially for his large scale wood-fired, salt-glazed ceramic pots, known as "monster pots." His work is influenced by Asian pottery, African pottery, North Carolina pottery, and especially the English pottery of Bernard Leach. He currently maintains Mark Hewitt Pottery with his wife, Carol, offering large wood firings and creating functional and decorative pots made using locally sourced materials.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Kirk Mangus

El Nino, ca. 1985

8 x 9.25 x 4

Kirk Mangus (1952-2013) was an internationally renowned ceramic artist and sculptor "known for his playful, gestural style, roughhewn forms, and experimental glazing." Born in Sharon, PA, Mangus developed an early love of art from his parents who introduced him to Toshiko Takaezu, world renowned potter. They supported his interest, sending him for classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art and then at Penland School of Crafts. His parents' inspiration and encouragement led him to earn his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (1975) and MFA from Washington State University, Pullman (1979). Mangus would remain friends with Takaezu throughout her life and fired her work over the years in his Anagama kilns in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Kirk Mangus was an early Resident Artist at The Clay Studio, infusing the studios with joy and creativity in the late 1970's.

Mangus was Head of Ceramics at Kent State University from 1985 till his death in 2013 and also taught at Alfred University Summer School, Cleveland Institute of Art, and Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has lectured widely across the United States and internationally. His murals, works in clay, on paper, in wood, and other media pull from a rich and diverse set of influences: ancient Greco-Roman art, mythology, Japanese woodblock prints, comic books, folk stories, from Meso-American through Middle-Eastern and Asian ceramic traditions as well as the people he saw, the places he travelled, and his own dreamworld. Mangus loved experimenting with new mediums, local materials, clay bodies, slips, kiln-building and the firing process.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Robert Winokur

Abstract Sculpture, ca. 1990s

13 x 7 x 3

Robert (Bob) Winokur (1933-2020), a renowned ceramic artist, first became interested in ceramics in high school. He pursued his interest at Tyler School of Art earning his BFA in 1956, then at Alfred University, where he earned his MFA in 1958. It was also in 1958 when Winokur married the groundbreaking and internationally-acclaimed artist Paula Colton Winokur (Tyler BFA and BS Ed '58). Together, the Winokurs maintained a shared ceramics studio for more than 50 years. Winokur's practice evolved over the years, with stylized house forms being a recurrent subject. He considered their physical and metaphorical space as vessels themselves.

His works appear in dozens of public and private collections around the world, including The Louvre, Paris, France; The Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia; International Ceramic Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary; International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva, Switzerland; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art - to name just a few. Among his extensive list of awards and accolades are a Visual Artists Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1979); an honorary fellow of The National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (1983); fellowships in crafts by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2003 and 1988); an American Crafts Council College of Fellows inductee (2002); and a member of The International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva, Switzerland (2004).

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Robert Winokur

Cup and Saucer, ca. 1980s

base: 1 x 3.5 x 6.75
cup: 6.5 x 5.25 x 2.75

Robert (Bob) Winokur (1933-2020), a renowned ceramic artist first became interested in ceramics in high school. He pursued his interest at Tyler School of Art earning his BFA in 1956, then at Alfred University, where he earned his MFA in 1958. It was also in 1958 when Winokur married the groundbreaking and internationally-acclaimed artist Paula Colton Winokur (Tyler BFA and BS Ed '58). Together, the Winokurs maintained a shared ceramics studio for more than 50 years. Winokur's practice evolved over the years, with stylized house forms being a recurrent subject. He considered their physical and metaphorical space as vessels themselves.

His works appear in dozens of public and private collections around the world, including Le cite du Ceramics: The Louvre, Paris, France; The Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia; International Ceramic Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary; International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva, Switzerland; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art - to name just a few. Among his extensive list of awards and accolades are a Visual Artists Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts (1979); an honorary fellow of The National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (1983); fellowships in crafts by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2003 and 1988); an American Crafts Council College of Fellows inductee (2002); and a member of The International Academy of Ceramics, Geneva, Switzerland (2004). Winokur is survived by his two children: Stephan and Michael.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Mark Shapiro

Pitcher

5.25 x 5.25 x 2.75

Mark Shapiro (b. 1955) earned his BA in anthropology at Amherst College. In 1986, he moved from New York City to rural Western Massachusetts to make pots and build a wood kiln. He bought a farm with an unusual feature from which he took the name for my pottery-a stone pool that Russell Conwell, turn-of-the-century preacher and educator and founder of Temple University in Philadelphia had built in 1893. The farmhouse, where Conwell was born, is rich in history-it had been a stop on the Underground Railroad during Conwell's childhood, and he remembered John Brown and Frederick Douglass staying at the house. While doing work on the property he dug up a shard of a gray salt-glazed four-gallon crock that happened to have the makers' stamp on it. "Hastings and Belding, Ashfield Mass." It turned out to have been made only about 15 miles away, at the middle of the last century. It got him thinking about pots that were made, bought, used, broken and disposed of within a specific region and the connection this implies between the community of users and makers.

Mark Shapiro has taught numerous workshops nationally and internationally and mentored many apprentices at his studio, Stonepool Pottery. He edited A Chosen Path: The Ceramic Art of Karen Karnes (University of North Carolina at Pembroke, 2010) and has published many articles. A 2019 Smithsonian Artist Resident Fellow and 2021 Craft Research Fund recipient, he co-curated Crafting Freedom: The Life and Legacy of Black Potter Thomas W. Commeraw at the New York Historical Society (2023). He was a founding member of Pots on Wheels (POW!), and founded the annual Make-In Studio at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. Shapiro is on the board of the American Ceramic Circle and an advisor to Studio Potter and Ceramics in America. He is currently a National Museum of American History Research Associate. His work is included in many public collections.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Randy and Jan Mckeachie Johnston

Collection of Works, various years

Randy Johnston - Orange Vessel: 10.5 x 4.5 x 3.5
Jan Mckeachie Johnston - Brown Vessel: 9.5 x 5 x 4
Randy Johnston - Green Dish: 1.25 x 4.25 x 9

Randy Johnston Biography

Randy Johnston has had an illustrious 47-year career in ceramics. He is recognized internationally as an artist who has pursued functional expression and brought a fresh aesthetic vision to contemporary form, and for his many contributions to the development of wood kiln technology in the United States. He is professor and department chair emeritus at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls, where he taught ceramics and drawing. His work has been exhibited internationally and he is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Bush Artist Fellowship, granted by The Bush Foundation in Minnesota, two visual artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Distinguished Teaching Award in American Arts, from The James Renwick Society of the Smithsonian. Johnston received his MFA from Southern Illinois University and a BFA in Studio Arts from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Warren MacKenzie. He also studied in Japan at the Pottery of Shimaoka Tatsuzo, who was a student of Shoji Hamada. Johnston has presented hundreds of lectures and guest artist presentations worldwide. He has his work in the permanent collections of, Victoria and Albert, London, UK; Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), Minneapolis, MN; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO and numerous international, public and private collections.

Jan McKeachie Johnston Biography

Jan McKeachie Johnston studied at the University of Minnesota, Southern Illinois University, and received her BFA degree from the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. Since 1979 Jan has been active in teaching workshops across the United States and Chile, serving as a visiting lecturer at UWRF, and working in her Wisconsin studio. For the past 40 years she has participated in important national and international exhibitions, including American Shino at Babcock Galleries, New York, NY in 2001; the Moegi Gallery's 18 American Potters exhibit, Japan in 1997; Sculptural Utility, a solo exhibition at Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA in 2004; and A Touch of Humanity, Schaller Gallery in 2018. She has been a guest artist in St. Louis, MO, Kansas City, MO, St. Paul, MN and Santiago, Chile. Her work has also been featured in Clay Times and Ceramics Monthly, and she is represented in many private and public collections, including The Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, VA; Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota; and Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia). She is represented by Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN; Schaller Gallery, St. Joseph, MI; Lacoste Gallery, Concord, MA; and Grand Hand Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Jenny Mendes

A Lady and Her Beau, 2019

Lady: 8.5 x 2.25x 2
Beau: 4.5 x 2.5 x 2.5

Jenny Mendes was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and continued her education at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Years later she returned to Penland School as both resident artist for three years and instructor. She has continued her education and exploration of the ceramic arts through participation in residencies in Paris, Macedonia, Slovenia, Turkey, Serbia, The Netherlands, Philippines and Latvia. Currently she lives and works in Chesterland, Ohio as a full time studio artist and occasional workshop leader.

Artist Statement: Using clay as my primary material, I have found an entry way into my subconscious. I work intuitively with a palate composed of many things. First I create a structure which I overlay with painted patterns of emotional experience, sensory based memories, cellular formations, and other discoveries. Working within a human/animal narrative, I engage in a dialogue that witnesses and reflects an invitation into my world. My ceramic work has always had a life of its own, separate from my desire to control it. If I look back at my ceramics over time, there is a continuous thread that runs through my work, a signature stylistic message from my unconscious to my conscious self. Always learning and relearning how to decipher and translate the special union I experience with this material, I find inspiration from deep connection to self and friends, from my relationships with nature, humans and animals, and from working with energy both tangible and intangible. My daily practice uses active imagination in conversation with the materiality of clay. I would like my work to offer a sense of being buoyed and comforted by love, hope, curiosity and the imagination.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Peter Rose

Vessel Pair, 2011 & 2013

13.25 x 8 D
7 x 5.5 D

Peter Rose, born 1956 in Adelaide, Australia, earned his Bachelor of Education in History and Art in 1981 at Flinders University. After attaining his degree he pursued training in design receiving an Arts and Design Diploma at O'Halloran Hill Technical School. He then went to the South Australian School of Art for printmaking.

During this time Rose became more interested in pottery and decided to go to Japan, where he worked as an apprentice in Bizen, Japan, a town renowned world-wide for wood firing. Rose then spent two years learning the craft of wood firing, the tea ceremony and the Zen philosophy associated with the history of Japanese clay traditions. When he returned to Australia he was accepted into the Jam Factory in South Australia as a clay trainee for two years. After finishing this apprenticeship Rose spent two years traveling to the USA and England working in potteries.

In 1987 Rose settled in Tennessee, where he set up Potters Pond Pottery, building a wood kiln just two years later as a solid foundation for the beginning of his career as a professional potter.

In 2005 Rose was a cofounder of Imani Collective Workshops in Craft, a socio economic empowerment program for women in Eldoret, Kenya

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Ben Carter

Teal Vessel and Dish Pair,

Vessel: 7.5 x 6.5 D
Dish: 1.75 x 9.75 D

Ben Carter is a studio potter, educator, and podcast host/producer based in New Jersey. He earned his BFA in ceramics/painting from Appalachian State University and his MFA in ceramics from the University of Florida. His professional experience includes being an artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT and Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, CO, as well as the Education Director of the Pottery Workshop in Shanghai, China. He has lectured and exhibited widely in the United States, Canada, China, Australia, and New Zealand. Carter was named 2016 Ceramic Artist of the Year by Ceramics Monthly and Pottery Making Illustrated. He has authored two full-length books, Mastering the Potter's Wheel, published by Voyageur Press in 2016, and The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors, published by Quarry Books in 2024.

In addition to his studio work Carter is the creator/host of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast, where he interviews artists about their craft, creativity, and lifestyle. In 2021 he developed The Brickyard Network-a podcast network devoted to the ceramic arts-for the Archie Bray Foundation. He is the editor and producer for Clay in Color, For Flux Sake, The Kiln Sitters, Trade Secret and other podcasts developed for the network.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Lara Scobie

Opposites Attract (Cup Pair), 2020

both 3.25 x 2.5 D

Lara Scobie is a graduate of Camberwell Art College in London, and she holds a Postgraduate in ceramics from Edinburgh College of Art. She has exhibited extensively and has received many awards for her work including Premier winner of The Fletcher Challenge in New Zealand and Honourable Mention at Mino Ceramics, Japan. Scobie is a fellow of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain and a professional member of Contemporary Applied Arts, London.

Graphic pattern and bold colour are a continuous source of inspiration to Scobie's work. She has a deep fascination with pattern and texture and works with these elements to develop a symbiotic relationship of both surface and form.

Although Scobie now makes artwork full time, she has extensive teaching experience having taught ceramics and design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in the UK for over 20 years.

Donated by Marsha gold

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Jim Connell

Thrown and Altered Vase, c. 2015

7 x 4.47 D

Jim Connell lives and works in South Carolina and has been an active studio artist for over thirty five years. Connell creates ceramic pieces in unusual sizes and shapes but his process is firmly grounded in the traditional techniques of pottery making.

Although his process varies, Connell's vessels are generally wheel-thrown. The thick walls are paddled and carved producing a secondary, three-dimensional surface. He says: "I strive for beauty and elegance in my pieces. On my very best days in the studio I get glimpses of it and it keeps me going. It is all about that eternal elusive quest for beauty. I enjoy interplay and tension in my pieces and continually strive to excite my forms through the use of carving. If pressed into service, my ceramics could hold and pour liquid properly; however, their function is purely decorative."

Connell earned his BA from Loyola University (IL), his BFA degree from Kansas City Art Institute (MO), and his MFA degree from the University of Illinois. His work has been exhibited at The South Carolina State Museum, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Clay (TX), Austin Museum of Art (TX), Huntington Museum of Art (WV), Columbus Museum (GA), Huntsville Museum of Art (AL), the Holter Museum of Art (MT), Fine Arts Museum of the South (AL), Downey Museum of Art (CA), Sonoma County Museum (CA), and Roswell Museum (NM). Connell's ceramics are in the collections of the South Carolina State Museum, the Charles Wustum Museum of Fine Arts (WI), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (MN), and the Yixing Ceramic Museum (China).

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Jim Romberg

Taking Flight, ca. 1990

3.75 x 4.25 D

Jim Romberg has been working with Raku ceramics for over forty years. He earned his MFA in ceramics from Claremont Graduate University and was an early student of Paul Soldner. Romberg is well known to collectors and academics for his outstanding and progressive work in sculptural ceramics.

Presenting work that is an interplay of sculpture and painting, Romberg uses the particular characteristics of Raku in an unique way. Rather than leaving the effects to the whims of natural reduction, his process is a deliberate interruption, often described as "painting with smoke and fire" to add a dimension of color, depth and surface that is truly engaging on many levels. His study and appreciation of the origins of Raku ceramics centered around the development of the Tea Ceremony and tea vessels brings a particular contemporary interpretation of Eastern aesthetics and philosophy into his work. The result is a particularly vital expression of an ancient art form "brought up-to-date" inviting contemplation that speaks to us today of the excitement of the creative imagination.

Romberg's work is featured in numerous permanent collections, some of whom are Janss Sun Valley, Northern Arizona Museum of Art, Geneva Municipal Art Collection, The Banff Art Center, and the Mater Collection of Contemporary Ceramics at Scripps College. Romberg's work has appeared in numerous publications and has been described as an important influence in the development of Raku ceramics. The independent publication "Ceramics Today: James Romberg" was published by the International Academy of Ceramics, Switzerland. Galerie Mediart in Paris presented Romberg's solo exhibition "Invocation" featuring his sculptural Raku works and abstract ink paintings.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Debra Oliva

Artist signature on bottom

Dot Jar, c. 2012-2014

3.25 x 4D

Debra Oliva was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She earned her BFA at Northern Illinois University in Drawing and Painting. After graduating, she went on to work in the printing industry for more than a decade. Drawn to clay since elementary school it was not until she married and moved to Michigan that the opportunity to work with clay presented itself. She began taking classes at an area potter's guild and continued her education attending over 80 workshops. She has been working in clay for 23 years and currently teaches adults and children at area art centers.

Her work has been awarded prizes in several national and international shows, and was selected for inclusion in Lark Books 500 Pitchers and the upcoming 500 Teapots II. She maintains a studio in her Okemos, Michigan home and sells her work through galleries and group ceramic shows.

Her ceramics are a combination of coloured clays in black, grey, and brown with the added bling of bright hues. Pattern, texture and fine details are carefully etched onto the surface of this fine covered jar.

Oliva's work is informed by Japanese art and craft traditions, including contemporary and traditional textiles, basketry, costume and Japanese prints. She has an affinity for the simplicity, serenity and precision craftsmanship once may find in the Asian aesthetic. She is particularly interested in the armor and implements of the Samurai warrior. These garments are an amalgamation of craft traditions where she finds endless inspiration for form, color, pattern and texture. It is her intention to create objects that share the same spirit, temperament and timelessness.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Randy Brodnax

Pond Vessel, c. 1995

12.75 x 17.5 D

Randy Brodnax, a life-long potter and educator from Dallas, Texas, creates everything from functional dinnerware to large decorative vessels to clay sculpture. A Louisiana native, Brodnax has retained much of the Cajun joie de vivre with which he was raised, and has spent a career building bridges among clay artists of all levels of experience. In workshops, he entertains as he shares his knowledge with participants, and helps individuals seeking a refined focus, new direction, or simply camaraderie among clay artists.

As master raku potter for over 50 years, he has been featured in numerous books and magazines and has given hundreds of workshops. Brodnax is also known for his entertaining culinary skills, often cooking gumbo while creating pottery. Accordingly, many of his creations exhibit images of nature, animals and fish.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Novie Trump

Beekeeper's Book, c. 2013

Tile: 0.5 x 5 x 4
Accounting for stand: 5.75 x 5 x 2.5

Stand included

Novie Trump is an Arizona based sculptor and installation artist working in ceramic, mixed media and sound. Formally trained in classical archaeology at the University of North Carolina, her work has been selected for juried and invitational exhibitions in the US and Europe and has been featured in numerous publications. Winner of the Fairfax Strauss Fellowship, she has been awarded numerous grants and commissions for public art works, most notably at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC. In 2013, Novie Trump was selected as a Fulbright Candidate by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars.

Formerly the Executive Director of Lee Arts Center in Arlington, VA, Novie Trump currently curates exhibitions and juries for arts organizations throughout the US. She has served on the boards of several arts organizations, most recently as the Chair of the Distinguished Artist Series on the James Renwick Alliance Board, a non-profit support organization for the Smithsonian Renwick Museum. She is also an educator who teaches workshops in ceramics and professional development.

Novie Trump is the founder and director of Flux Studios, a contemporary arts space formerly of Washington, DC and currently based in Jerome, AZ.

Donated by Marsha Gold.

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Paul Donnelly

Celadon Collection, various years

Lidded vessel: 4.5 x 8.25 x 5.25
Pitcher: 5.25 x 6.5 x3.25

Bowl: 5 x 7.75 x 6.5

Paul Donnelly is a studio potter residing in Kansas City, MO. He is currently an Associate Professor of Ceramics at the Kansas City Art Institute working with students in the vessel concentration. He received his BFA from Edinboro University in 1997 and his MFA from the NYSCC at Alfred University in 2008. He has participated in residency Programs at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China and Watershed Center in Newcastle, ME. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has been published in numerous books & periodicals.

Donnelly says about his work: The home is sincere because it is an environment where we can be ourselves. It is the place where how we live is a reflection of who we are. We create domestic values through the objects we choose to collect and how we decorate our surroundings. Functional pottery is important to me as a vehicle for expression because it operates within this landscape. I am interested in integrating my work into people's lives because of the close proximity between (the) user and object. Through use and display, pots will impart meaning that will change with the user's relationship with the work. The objects we interact with on a daily basis can conjure experiences in our lives often becoming an article of sentiment. I intend to create work where there is a similarity between pieces but everything is unique in some way. Variability is one of the potter's strengths in terms of designing work. Crafting an eclectic array of dishes is a response to the ubiquity of objects sold through chain stores.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Sandy Blain

Tulip Vase, c. 2005

7 x 8.25 x 5

Sandy Blain is Professor Emeritus - Ceramics, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Director Emeritus - Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN. Her background includes a B.S. in Art Education from Northern Illinois University, and a M.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Having worked in teaching and administration since 1964, she has a diverse background related to educational programming - classes/ conferences/seminars; gallery programming/installations; fund raising; public relations and personnel development. Her public service work includes involvement with national/regional/state/local craft organizations, often serving as a board member, consultant, conference coordinator, grant reviewer, exhibition juror, or presenter/workshop leader. As a practicing artist, her clay pieces have been seen in juried and invitational exhibitions throughout the country with reviews and photographs in media publications and catalogs.

After moving to Arizona in 2004, Sandy set-up a ceramic studio working with mid-range stoneware and emphasizing functional vessel forms. Her work is inspired by nature as well as architecture and industrial objects. Utilizing handbuilt slab-construction techniques for the simplified forms, and heavily marked / texture impressed surfaces, the combination is enhanced with multiple layers of sprayed glazes. Surface depth with subtle color variation help to convey a timeless expressive personal statement.

Sandy recently retired from her position as an adjunct faculty member at the Mesa Arts Center, in Mesa, Arizona. ​She continues to serve on the Advisory Council of the Shemer Art Center, in Phoenix, and serves as a consultant to various national regional arts organizations. Her studio practice continues to be of utmost importance and she hosts 1 - 2 sales a year at her home studio.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Jenny Lou Sherburne

Piggie Pair

both within 4" x 4" D

Jenny Lou Sherburne has been a production potter for over 25 years. Upon earning her MFA in ceramics from Louisiana State University in 1991, she resumed her studio career with much commercial and critical success. Her bright, gestural, award-winning pots are exhibited nationally.

At her studio in Bakersville, Jenny Lou Sherburne works to infuse a Dr. Suess-style joy with her own love of the functionality of pottery. Jenny states that her work celebrates the "beautiful excesses of both mother nature and human nature." She does this by utilizing bright colors, ornate textures, and fanciful forms.

Artist Statement

I believe that life is a gift. Making pots is my way of celebrating and maintaining this belief. The process of creating compels me to question my assumptions and listen to my intuition which, in turn, provides me with clues about how to live my life.

My inspirations range from garlic cloves to onion domes, from the Isle of Crete to the Land of Oz and from Antonio Gaudi to Dr. Seuss. I see humor, beauty and growth everywhere and I am devoted to creating work which reflects these aspects of life.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Matt Wilt

Fuel, c. 2015

7 x 12.5 4.5

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Matt Wilt earned his Bachelor's degree in Ceramics and Art Education from Penn State University. After completing undergraduate school, Matt worked for two years at Boston Valley Terra Cotta, an architectural terra cotta restoration firm in Buffalo, New York, where he began to work more extensively with plaster molds and imitative glaze surfaces.

Matt completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at Ohio University, in Athens. He was then awarded The Evelyn Shapiro Foundation Fellowship through The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While working as a Resident Artist at The Clay Studio (1995-1999), Matt continued to show nationally and internationally and taught at several universities and art schools, including the University of Pennsylvania, Moore College of Art & Design, and Arcadia University. Wilt is currently a professor of art at Skidmore College.

Artist Statement

I strive to combine objects and forms from the diverse culture and society in which I live, the United States of America in the 21st century. Initially, this approach resulted in vessels derived from street trash such as mufflers and styrofoam cups, buoy forms on the Delaware River, and the urban architecture of Philadelphia. I am conscious of the connecting threads that link the many disparate elements of history, culture, and what it is to be human.

Donated by Marsha Gold

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Eric Pardue

Marked "EP"

Vessel, c. 2005

7 x 5 x 5

After receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alfred University, Eric Pardue went on to serve a Winter Residency at Watershed Center for Ceramic Art in Maine and a studio assistantship at Peter's Valley in New Jersey. Along with these, Eric spent a year as an apprentice for Jeff Shapiro in New York. After completing this apprenticeship, Eric moved back to his home state of West Virginia to set up the studio that he maintains in Milton, WV.

"In my current ceramic work, I am combining layers of underglaze, slips, glazes and decals of images that I come into contact with during my daily activities into a narrative. These narratives may refer to a specific current situation, past experience, a specific song lyric, or passages from books. Although the references I make are personal and come from my experiences, I do intend for the viewer to build on my intentions with their own ideas and to develop their own story as they interact with the piece."

Donated by Marsha Gold

Shipping is NOT included in the winning bid.

• Items can be packed and shipped, and the winner will pay the cost.
• Items can be picked up at The Clay Studio for no additional cost.
• All winning bids or purchases will be billed to the credit card on file.
• All items will be shipped to the address given with registration.
• Please allow two weeks for shipping