Perpetual Motion II, 2000

Richard Notkin

white stoneware

7.5" H x 17" W x 11" D

This fascinating sculpture of a hand is tantalizingly intellectual. The palm of the hand faces upwards with the tips of the fingers gently curved, suggesting a state of relaxation and rest. This position conveys a sense of openness-a desire to give and receive. Notkin's attention to detail is evident in the clearly defined fingernails and distinctive indentations and ridges of the palm. Three spiked spheres lay atop the palm in varying sizes and colors: red, green, and black. These strange objects, somewhere between man-made and organic, add another layer of intrigue, urging us to question the relationship between humanity and scientific discovery. This unique piece is guaranteed to bring both intellectual stimulation and aesthetic value to any collection!

Artist Statement

During the past 38 years, my ceramic sculptures have explored the complex environmental, political and economic impacts of contemporary human civilization upon the ecological and spiritual condition of our planet, and the quality of life of individual human beings. I present these concerns - about which I am passionate (some might say obsessive) - by visually manipulating and juxtaposing various objects, images and symbols to create narrative sculptural works which stimulate the viewer to examine their own innermost feelings. In the past few years, I have begun working with sculpture on a scale larger than my trademark miniature works, and exploring a wide range of clays and ceramic techniques that are new to me. I find myself in a transitional phase that is quite challenging and often difficult, but necessary to the evolution and growth of my art. I feel that to remain viable, an artist must remain forever inquisitive, eternally a student - technically, aesthetically, and conceptually.

Artist Biography

Richard Notkin has been working in clay for over 50 years, and is one of the best known and respected ceramic artists in the United States. He lives and works in Helena, Montana. He earned a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1970, and an MFA from the University of California, Davis in 1973. His series of Yixing (China) inspired teapots and ceramic sculptures have been exhibited internationally and are in more than 75 public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan. He has held visiting artist positions and conducted over 250 workshops throughout the world. Among his awards, Notkin has received three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and grants from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. In 2008, Notkin was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council, and was also awarded the Hoi Fellowship by the United States Artists Foundation. He is also the recipient of the Meloy Stevenson Award from the Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT, and the Honorary Membership Award from NCECA, National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, in 2014.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

U-Building, 1995

Steven Welch

stoneware, glaze

14.5" H x 14.5" W x 6.5" D

This three-walled piece stands tall and strong, bringing to mind the imposing and impenetrable vision of a castle wall. The left side of the sculpture is painted with different shades of blue, while the rest is rendered in varied shades of green. The horizontal lined-patterns are suggestive of a brick, contributing to the idea of the structure as something meant to protect, withstand, or tolerate. This piece will quickly establish a sense of structure and stability when added to one's collection, complementing any surrounding art and figures.

Artist Biography

Steve Welch received his BFA from Mankato State University, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1989 and his MFA from Louisiana State University in 1992. He is a recipient of many prestigious awards including an NEA visual arts fellowship and an Emerging Professional Artist's Residency from the Appalachian Center for Crafts.

Steve Welch was a recipient of The Evelyn Shapiro Foundation Grant in 1995, at The Clay Studio.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Double Jar, 1996

Tom Turner

porcelain, glaze

15.5" H x 10.5" Diameter

This lidded vase by Tom Turner has subtle decoration and a sense of elevation. The overall form invokes a large bubble rising from the base. At the top of the piece, the speckles of brown and green work in tandem with texture in the glaze to create a diamond pattern that dissolves toward the middle of the jar. It is hard not to enjoy the softly rounded forms that Turner has incorporated into this piece. He successfully conveys this idea of a living and breathing object as the jar swells out and in from the top to the center and down towards the bottom.

Artist Biography

Tom Turner is known for a wide range of functional forms. Of these he revisited the covered jar from hundreds of times, perfecting a thin-walled vessel. Up until 1975 Turner worked in both stoneware and porcelain glazed and salt fired. From 1975 onward, Turner worked in porcelain which he glazed and high fired, but after 1976 did not use salt glaze but fired glazed porcelain in an old salt kiln.

While serving in the US Army, he taught ceramics in the Army Special Services where his civilian supervisor introduced him to potters in the area of Columbia, South Carolina. After the Army, Turner set up the Ceramic Arts program at Clemson University College of Architecture, Department of Visual Studies. It is here that he built a small salt glaze research kiln and also where he created his very first "Copper Red Vapor Glaze" on salt-glazed porcelain. He would continue to develop this glaze over several years. In 2005 Turner established his kiln in Marsh Hill, NC to pass on his knowledge. He said of North Carolina, "... it is without doubt, 'The Potter's State."

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Domenica, 2000

Byung Joo Suh

porcelain

21.5" H x 15" W x 8" D

This surrealist sculpture by Byung Joo Suh relays a narrative that blurs the lines between history, fantasy, and reality. The piece shows a large white horse atop matte-black pedestals. A silver ladder hangs from a cavity in the horse's torso, bringing to mind the Trojan Horse. While the head of the horse is rendered in a realistic style, the barrel-shaped body lacks detail, its stylized form creating a mysterious juxtaposition with the realism of the head. This unique tabletop sculpture would be a thought-provoking addition to your collection!

Artist Biography:

Suh was born in Seoul, Korea and earned his BFA and MFA in ceramics from Seoul National University. He was a Shapiro Fellow Resident Artist here at The Clay Studio in 2000. He lives and works in Canada and his work has been exhibited all over the world.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Vessel, c. 1980

Anna Silverton

terracotta

23.5" H x 12.75" Diameter

Exuding elegance in its form, texture, and colors, this Anna Silverton vase is indicative of the artist's thoughtful ceramic practice. Seeking to convey sensual simplicity and deep contemplation, Silverton allows the materiality of the porcelain to shine through simple organic forms. Silverton's attention to detail shines in this tan-colored ceramic vase. Its organic forms and sharp edges are so naturally intertwined that they move with grace and are visually pleasing. This vase will not only fit right in with your home's aesthetics, elevating any space.

Artist Statement

My vases and bowls speak to both past and future-bringing together history and potential through timeless, hand-crafted processes. While I admire both historical and contemporary porcelain, any influence on my own work is more subliminal than deliberate. Each piece I create is unique, and I find satisfaction in the cadence and harmony that emerge when individual forms are brought together in a group. My practice centers around wheel throwing, with an emphasis on the gradual renewal of form and a meticulous attention to finish. Though I am drawn to minimalism, I seek a more sensual kind of simplicity-one that invites touch and contemplation. Glazes are carefully chosen and applied in direct response to form; I am continually experimenting with colour combinations and textures to expand their expressive range.

Artist Biography

Anna Silverton is an established ceramic artist, well known for her finely wheel-thrown porcelain. She has exhibited widely at galleries and art fairs in the UK and has had public/architectural commissions around the world. Her expertise on the wheel is captured on YouTube as part of the Ceramic Review 'Masterclass' series.

Silverton graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Ceramics and Glass in 1987. She subsequently lived and worked in New York USA, where she taught and had a studio at Syracuse university. She returned to the UK and set up her studio in London in 1993, with the help of a Crafts Council Grant. She now lives in Ramsgate, Kent, and creates artwork in her purpose built workshop.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Vessel, 1989

Masuo Ojima

stoneware, glaze

19.75" H x 15" Diameter

This orange and gray striped vase by Masuo Ojima is bold, adorned with beautifully dynamic patterns moving across its surface. The stripes are cinched and never straight, creating a sense of constant motion. Upon closer examination, the colors themselves are just as dynamic as the patterns. Dark and light orange hues move across the surface, contributing to a sense of depth and action. The gray surface color is spotted, reminiscent of organic materials like stone, rocks, pebbles, or pavement.

Artist Statement

I was born and grew up in Japan. The first two decades of my life there established my culture and aesthetic value. I have many memories of wood and clay around me while I was growing up because my father was a cabinet maker and my grandfather was a traditional Japanese roof tile producer.

Ever since I was a child my interests were always inclined to music and the art field. It was so many years later that I encountered ceramic work. In college, I serendipitously came across the ceramic department on campus and was quite intrigued by watching students working in clay. I immediately signed up for class the following quarter and during the first class meeting I was immensely overwhelmed by the feeling and excitement of creating some objects out of my own hands with just an idea and playful mind. It did not take much time to change my mind to go into the art field not knowing what the future would hold.

Several years after finishing my studies at college, I established my own studio and started creating my work. It has been nearly 4 decades since this journey started. Although there have always been struggles, frustration, experiencing terrible results that occur during the firing process, and many more not to mention. Joy and excitement and seeing something new being created can not be replaced by anything. I will be pursuing my work as long as I am excited by the creative process and AS LONG AS my body allows.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Artifact (Hex-Head Bolt), 2003

Steve Montgomery

oil painted glazed stoneware

7" H x 11" W x 8.5" D

If you enjoy large-scale versions of the everyday little things, this mighty screw is the piece for you! This bolt screw is reflective of Montgomery's practice with large-scale ceramic sculptures of industrial and mechanical objects such as tools, screws, nuts, bolts, and the like. The shiny surface and extra large size of this otherwise quotidian object can make any space seem fun and playful-rewiring our usual perceptions of the everyday object into something more meaningful and impactful.

Artist Statement

I've always believed that my beloved but beleaguered hometown (Detroit) afforded me an aesthetic birthright that identified only a fine line between a creative action and a street fight. I was always proud that my hometown was a centerpiece in the evolution of industrialization while simultaneously hyper-conscious of its escalating demise.

Artist Biography

Steven Montgomery was born in Detroit, Michigan. He received a Bachelor Of Philosophy degree in 1976 from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan where he focused on both ceramics and printmaking. In 1978 he received a Master of Fine Arts from the Tyler School of Art of Temple University in Philadelphia where he studied with the porcelain innovator Rudolph Staffel. At Tyler he began his first forays into alternative approaches to methods of low-fired, mixed media ceramic construction and the oil painted ceramic surface treatments that have been a signature of his work throughout his career.

He has been awarded Fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts ('90, '2006, '2009), the Pollock-Krasner Foundation ('99,'16), and awards for ceramic sculpture at international exhibitions in Korea (Gold Prize,'03) and Taiwan (Gold Prize,'04, Merit Prize,'06). He was a 2012 recipient of a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship working as an artist in residence at the National Air And Space Museum in Washington, DC.
His work is included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Art and Design in New York, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery in Washington DC and numerous other public and private collections throughout the US and abroad. He currently teaches at Hunter College, lives in Manhattan and works in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Boat Vessel, 1995

Marcio Mattos

black stoneware, porcelain paper clay, under-glaze, and brushed glaze decoration

10.75" H x 22" W x 3.5" D

This Boat Vessel by Marcio Mattos embodies his love of jazz and improvisational music, and will bring those ideas into your home. Not only is the form of this vessel both unconventional and creative, but the dynamic brushstrokes of shimmery browns and greens across its surface create constant motion and visual interest. The Boat Vessel will serve as interesting and creative centerpieces for the table with the addition of flowers, or can stand alone as a sculptural object.

Artist Biography

The Brazilian-born Marcio Mattos studied acoustic guitar in early teens, eventually switching to double bass and cello after becoming interested in jazz. Later, Mattos entered the Villa-Lobos Institute where he became involved in improvisation and electronic music. Since moving to Europe in 1970, Mattos has performed, recorded, and broadcast in Britain and abroad with such musicians as Evan Parker, Keith Tippett, Derek Bailey, and Marilyn Crispell.

Marcio Mattos became fascinated with clay after seeing an exhibition of tea ceremony bowls at the V&A museum many years ago. He went on to train at Richmond College and later for a degree at Goldsmiths College. He presently creates one-off sculptural vessels and plaques in black stoneware and porcelain paper clay with dry-glazed textural surfaces and brushed decoration.

Marcio's early life as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro was punctuated by the presence of nature - the geography of the tropics. Visually, he was fascinated by the steep mountains that surround Rio and the horizontal expanse of the sea. His current work reflects these early impressions both in his tall, upright forms and fluid brushwork surface decoration.

Music was an important part of his youth: the Bossa Nova movement and later, jazz and contemporary classical music. "I bring into my ceramic work the same creative process which lies behind improvisation in music: the spontaneity and intuitive 'free-ness of the moment of creation and the search of the 'Perfect Imperfection'. I try to leave impressed in clay the immediacy of this process, both in texture and in form, emphasizing the sense of freedom and movement through bold brushwork." Marcio Mattos

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Large Vase, 1993

Jim Malone

earthenware

12.5" H x 7" W x 7" D

This vase by Jim Malone embodies the spirit of the Arts & Crafts Movement triumphed by Bernard Leach -- simple and imbued with the spirit of the artist. It is perfect the person looking for artwork that evokes strength and beauty. The vase is grounded and stable in color, design, and form, presenting earth tone and a sand-like texture that complement the curving shapes and elongated form. Whether it is standing alone or containing flowers and grasses, the vase will be sure to add a sense of that elusive balance we're all looking for to your home or office.

Artist Statement

The means by which my pots are produced is at least as important as the end result. This is what gives the work its character, its soul. I would never, for example, choose to work on an electric wheel. My wheel is a very light Korean type kick wheel which demands sensitivity in use but in return allows a closer, more intimate contact with the material. It is more expressive, emphasizing the soft, sensual, and essentially feminine nature of clay. Pots are coaxed into being rather than forced and, somewhere within its hypnotic and silent rhythm pots are born, almost without notice. After more than forty years of working in this area, I was never interested in spreading wider, only digging deeper, undistracted by fashion or trends, in my endeavor to understand and express the beauty trough pottery form, my legacy will be the body of my work I leave behind. On this I will be judged.

Artist Biography

One of Britain's foremost potters, Jim Malone was born in Sheffield in 1946, just as the first generation of post war potters were beginning to absorb Bernard Leach's "A Potters Book," published six years before. In 1972 he was accepted into the foundation course at Camberwell School of Art where his ceramic tutor, Ian Godfrey, began to open his eyes to the craft. Ian led a visit to the Victoria and Albert Museum to look at Korean pots and Malone was deeply impressed by the life and spirit of the work. From then on he began to look at what he described as the "taproot" - Korean, early Chinese, and medieval English pots in the London museums.

After receiving his degree, he was able to set up a studio in a remote barn at Llandegla on the Horseshoe Pass in Wales. There he built a gas kiln and started to produce. Years later he left Wales and took up a teaching position in Carlisle at Cumbria College of Art in 1982 alongside fellow potter, Mike Dodd. In 1984 Malone and his family found a cottage at Ainstable in the beautiful Eden Valley, a few miles southeast of Carlisle, where he made a new workshop and kiln in the generous space of the attached outbuilding.

Malone is a consummate craftsman, but the pots suggest that he is still amazed by his art, that it offers him surprises every day. This is surely why the work has a vitality and freshness rare in modern ceramics. Malone has been a full-time potter since he left teaching in 1990.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Funnel, 1999

Matt Wilt

stoneware, metal

14" H x 8.5" W x 10.5" D

In his artistic practice, Wilt draws inspiration from commodified goods and waste from our contemporary world to create objects of ambiguous use and hybrid forms. These ideas are perfectly represented in this (non-functional) tea pot and stand, composed of varying shapes and textures such as funnels, pipes, spikes, and metal-like sheets, the piece has an industrial grunge vibe that would be the perfect addition to your home or collection. Together, the assemblage urges viewers to pause, reflect, and reconsider our perceptions of objects.

This piece has been professionally repaired at the uppermost joint of the tea pot.

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.

Artist Biography

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Matt Wilt received 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.

Wilt 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, 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 has been the recipient of numerous awards. He has received a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Grant, an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, and numerous awards in national juried exhibitions. He has been active as a Visiting Artist at schools such as Syracuse University, Tyler School of Art, Northern Arizona University, and Indiana University. Currently, Area Head of ceramics program at Skidmore College, his work is included in the collections of the DeYoung Museum (San Francisco), The Crocker Museum of Art (Sacramento), The Ceramic Research Center (Arizona State University), and many other public and private collections.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Baby, 2007

Margaret Keelan

stoneware, under-glaze

28" H x 12" W x 6" D

Baby, by Margaret Keelan, is a realistic doll-like figure that has gone through multiple processes of glazing, staining, and firing to create an intentional aged look. Keelan's work is centered around the emotions that are evoked with the passage of time-nostalgia and melancholy-as she looks at the relics of her childhood and incorporates those feelings and objects into these deliberately aged dolls. As this particular figure holds a smaller version of itself, it is simultaneously taking on the appearance of an infant and an adult. Wearing red lipstick and seeing with large glossy eyes, the doll and baby are suggestive of the attachments to childhood when one becomes an adult, and vice versa.

Artist Biography

Keelan earned her BA in Fine Art from University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, and her MFA from the University of Utah in 1976. She was the Associate Director of Sculpture for many years at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco, continuing the legacy of her teacher Marilyn Levine. Keelan is known for super realist doll-like figures. The figures are hand built, however they include cast components for the heads and hands that are cast in molds made from 19th century dolls. The pieces are glazed, stained, fired then glazed, stained, fired multiple times. This process gives the figures an aged appearance with surfaces reminiscent of those seen on Santos, Mexican and Central American religious figures. Keelan's super realistic approach to her own subject matter may be a result of her working with Marilyn Levine, who was known for her exquisite trompe l'oeil ceramics.

Artist Statement

For the past few years my sculptures have been glazed, stained, fired, then glazed, stained and fired again to give the surfaces the look of disintegrating paint over weathered wood. This softening and reduction of form so that its essential nature is revealed is a metaphor I am using for life being lived, my exploration of the process of growing up and growing older. These latest small sculptures recall the "Santos" figures of Mexico and Central America and incorporate a reproduced 19th century doll head. Although my figures echo contemporary concerns, the borrowing of earlier styles gives them more of an ageless quality. Linda Gastrom, Professor of Art, states, "The subject conveys a sweet sentimentality twisted into melancholy that touches my emotional core and helps me remember the complexities of childhood and life".

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Vase, 1983

Rob Forbes

porcelain

15" H x 6.75" W x 5.5" D

Looking for something colorful and exciting? The striped colors of white, black, green, gray, and pink on this vase are bold enough to energize any home! This tall vase has a triangular mouth and body, allowing for more interesting floral arrangements. Don't miss your chance to bring home this unique piece!

Artist Biography

Ceramicist, author, entrepreneur, photographer and public speaker Rob Forbes is likely best known for founding Design Within Reach, but his accolades expand beyond this accomplishment. He grew up a son of Southern California academics and attended boarding schools in Northern California. His first professional life was as a ceramicist, with some of his formative years in the field spent in Philadelphia in connection with The Clay Studio. After a year riddled with tragedy, he took a year off in pursuit of researching how to make design accessible - which lead to the founding of Design Within Reach. A wild (and unexpected) success, the next few years were a blur that instilled in Rob a confidence to continue to push the envelope and invest in change - including a variety of start ups, a micro-farm, and using the tools of design to create long-lasting impact.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Pitcher, 1992

Val Cushing

earthenware, glaze

21.5" H x 11" W x 9.25" D

Val Cushing was of the most important and beloved artists and teachers of the 20th century Studio Craft Movement in the US. This piece by Cushing is both bold and traditional, with a historic form rendered in an oversized format. From the earthy green ridges at the top half of the pitcher to the golden swirls cascading around the bottom half, this pitcher exudes a sense of calm. Cushing was dedicated to functional art, taking on challenges to create new and fresh ideas of how ceramics can be both practical and creative. Without a doubt, Cushing's values are apparent in this piece as the pitcher is both aesthetically interesting and perfect for use.

Artist Statement

"I see materials and processes and activities in ceramics to be so endlessly interesting that there is always going to be something out there in front of me that I'm never going to be able to catch up." Cushing explains that his exploration of art is driven by his interests in diversity of ideas, and he cites jazz and improvisation as an example. "A life of clay for me has been an opportunity to be as creative and imaginative as I'm capable of being, therefore fulfilling that need [as an artist to communicate]."

Artist Biography

Val Cushing (1931-2013) was born in Rochester, New York, and received his BFA and MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Cushing was a functional potter, respecting function and the traditional materials and processes of ceramic art. He has created a body of work that is an invigorating infusion of the visual and the tactile.

His full-time teaching career began at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. The following year, in 1957, he returned to Alfred University where he taught pottery and technical courses concerning clays, glazes and related subjects. He retired from Alfred in 1997, after forty-one years of teaching and was designated "Professor Emeritus". Later he taught summer programs at Alfred, Penland, Anderson Ranch, Peters Valley, Haystack and on the island of Maui where he taught for six weeks as the first artist-in-residence at the Hui Noeau. He gave over 250 lectures, workshops and demonstrations that have taken him all over the United States, to Canada, Ireland, England and Japan. His pottery received many awards and honors, has been seen in well over 200 exhibitions, and in numerous one-person shows. His work is in the collections of many public and private museums and galleries in the USA - including the Smithsonian, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt, and the Everson. He received honors from Alfred University, from New York State and from NCECA for his role as a teacher. He is a Fellow of the American Craft Council and of NCECA (The National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts) where he was a founding member and a past president. He received an artist's grant from the National Endowment of the Arts; a Fulbright grant for teaching and research in Manchester, England, an artist-in-residence grant at the Archie Bray Foundation and at the University of Wolverhampton, England.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.

Eating Man Teapot, 1996

Wesley Angeregg

porcelain, wire, plastic

11" H x 8" W x 5.5" D

Looking for something unconventional and animated? Guaranteed to raise eyebrows and turn heads, this sculpture by Wesley Angeregg is perfect for you. With arms raised and mouth agape, the figure holds a fly swatter in one hand and is desperately trying to swat away a small swarm of flies around their head. Well known to create many other sculptures with the same uncanny characteristics, Anderegg enjoys depicting strange, entertaining, and serious scenes in his work. In many ways, this piece is not only a unique addition to one's collection, but will provoke the imagination and stir up some interesting conversations.

Artist Statement

I watch what people do and imagine what they might like to do. Life and society are such that we cannot always say and do what we like. However, in the imaginary world in which my ceramic people live, they can. At the dawn of mankind primitive peoples fashioned clay objects. They sculpted about what they knew and wanted. Pregnant women and animals were the hot topics of the day. I think of my work much the same way. Though the topics may be different I feel a link to those old people sitting around playing with this beautifully plastic material.

Artist Biography

Wesley Anderegg was born in Phoenix Arizona in 1958. He earned a BS degree in geography from Arizona State University, where he began his education in ceramics. Subsequently, he studied ceramics at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado and at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. He was a resident artist at both places.

He sculpts clay figures that are both frightening and humorous, based on a lifetime of watching and listening to people. His earthenware pieces and figural groups suggest an imaginary narrative that often conveys his social and political concerns. His art comments on issues such as pollution, the degradation of the environment, and the role of government in our everyday lives.

His work is included in numerous public collections such as Smithsonian American Art Museum Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC; Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, AL; Fredrick R. Wiesman Museum, Minneapolis, MN; Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT; the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, CA; and Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ

Donated by the Grainer Family

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio.
• 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.

Platter, 1995

Charles Bound

earthenware

3" H x 14.5" W x 15" D

This unique platter by Charles Bound is influenced by the many places that the artist called home - from the United States to England to Africa. Reminiscent of rugged agrarian landscapes, this platter features rich red tones with a large, parchment yellow X just off center. Small touches of moss green, amber, and a smattering of sky blue add a sense of lightness to the work. Designed to hang on the wall, this textural piece has enough character for all to enjoy.

Artist Statement

"Another influence is living and working in Yorkshire" Bound declares. "Nature interests me, the bark of a tree, crude, rough walls, a cliff face, I'd like people to think about these things when they look at my work". Indeed, his work from previous firings, spread around the farm looks strangely at home. Dark textures fit into the livestock-trampled field amid stones, knarled trees and rusting farm machinery. And his kiln, rising half buried out of the soil has the air of an archaeological dig.

Artist Biography

Charles was born in New York City in 1939. After graduating from Union University in 1962 with a degree in English Literature, Charles spent the next three years teaching at secondary level. From 1965 to 1971 he worked for a publishing company, dividing his time between the USA and Africa. By 1972 he was juggling a variety of commitments: teaching, travelling, writing and theatre work, mostly in Kenya.

Charles did not come to study ceramics until 1983, setting up a studio while working as a college technician and teaching. In 1994 he was gifted the use of space on a farm where he could build his own wood fired kiln, which he has been working with since.

He and his wife Joy currently live and work in Wales, UK.

Donated by the Grainer Family.

• All winning bids are paid in full before artwork leaves The Clay Studio. Winning Bids are automatically billed at the close of the Auction at 10:30 pm.
• 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.
• Items with alcohol CANNOT be shipped.