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2011 Exhibitions 

'tis a gift

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New Millennium Japanese Ceramics

September 23 – November 6, 2011

View works on our webstore

This exhibition was the final event of Northern Clay Center’s year-long 20th Anniversary celebration. Guest-curated by Daniel H. Rosen, it featured objects by younger, emerging Japanese sculptors who work in clay, outside the tradition of functional Japanese ceramics. Participants included Chiho Aono (Linz, Austria), Makiko Hattori (Obu City, Aichi Prefecture), Takashi Hinoda (Kyotanabe City, Kyoto), Rina Hongo (Tajimi-shi, Gifu-ken), Naoto Nakada (Machida City, Tokyo), Kyoko Tokumaru (Tokyo), and Jumpei Ueda (Toluca, Estado de Mexico, Mexico). These artists still work in forms and with ideas that are embedded in and expressive of a particular sense of materials and pop culture, and that play with and against Japanese traditions. The exhibition also included a mix of artists not shown previously in this country, with those who have had some exposure here already.

Chiho Aono received both her BFA (1997) and MFA (1999) from Tama Art University in Tokyo. For the past three years she has been an Artist-in-Residence at Charlotte Wiesmann Studio in Linz, Austria.

Aono has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions in Japan, Korea, and Austria. In her work, she seeks to capture movement by creating amorphous shapes that have a kinetic energy. She uses vivid colors and vibrant surface patterns to add to the inherent tension in the forms. Some of her sculptures hang from architectural elements, creating an effect of oozing or dripping that has been frozen in time.

Makiko Hattori received both her BFA (2007) and MFA (2009) from Aichi University of Education in Kariya, Aichi. She has received several awards for her work and has been included in group and solo exhibitions in Japan and Taiwan. Hattori obsessively constructs her white or black sculptures with thousands of tiny clay fragments. The finished works have a textural surface similar to forms from nature such as coral or fur.

Takashi Hinoda earned a BA in ceramics from Osaka University of Arts in Osaka Prefecture in 1991. He was an Artist-in-Residence for a year at Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park. Since 2002, Hinoda has been a lecturer at Kyoto Saga University of Arts in Kyoto. His work can be seen in the collections of the National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan; Musée de la Ville de Vallauris, France; and Mint Museum of Craft + Design, North Carolina. Hinoda’s sculptures are painted with images based on manga (Japanese comics). He uses heavy black lines in the imagery to abstract the form, thus creating a three-dimensional story.

Rina Hongo received her BFA from the Kyoto University of Art and Design in 2007 and has exhibited her ceramic sculpture in Mino and Tokyo. She uses newspaper and slurry to form her ceramic artworks, which are later covered with silk screens that are printed on cloth. The cloth burns away in the firing, revealing brick-like patterns and textures on the surfaces of the clay. Hongo is presently in residence at the Tajimi City Pottery Design and Technical Center. Starting in July she will begin a three-month McKnight Ceramic Artist residency at Northern Clay Center.

Naoto Nakada comes from Tokyo; he completed his undergraduate degree and graduate courses at Nagoya University of Arts in Nagoya and Tama Art University in Tokyo, respectively. He has exhibited his sculptures in solo and group shows in Tokyo, Kyoto, Chiba, Osaka, and Shiga. Through humor and ambiguity, Nakada’s ceramic installations elicit interaction with the viewer. He occasionally employs materials other than ceramics in his mini-installations and outlandish sculptures, but does so to draw a point of comparison. Starting in July, he will also begin a three-month McKnight Ceramic Artist residency at Northern Clay Center.

Kyoko Tokumaru earned her MFA in ceramics from Tama Art University in 1992. She spent several years in the states as an Artist-in-Residence at centers such as the Archie Bray Foundation, The Clay Studio, and Bemis Center for Contemporary Art.

Tokumaru has exhibited her work throughout Japan and her work is included in several collections including Contemporary Craft Museum, Portland; the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park Museum, Shiga, and MICOM Museum, Obera, Argentina.

Jumpei Ueda received his BFA in ceramics from Osaka University, Osaka, and his MFA from Kyoto City University of Arts, in Kyoto. He is currently at a residency in Mexico, granted by the Gotoh Memorial Foundation
Newcomer’s Prize of Art. His work has been exhibited throughout Japan as well as in Hawaii. Ueda is well-known for his ceramic sculptures that comment on motifs borrowed from Japanese traditions and pop culture. His sensitivity to the material and Japan’s history, as well as his craftsmanship, set him apart from other artists working in similar ideas.

This exhibition was underwritten with generous support from Bruce and Martha Atwater, the Butler Family Foundation, Continental Clay Company, George & Frances Reid, and the Windgate Charitable Foundation.

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2011 Artists of NCC

July 16 – August 28

Galleries M and A

Every two years, Northern Clay Center turns the exhibition spotlight on our many talented teachers, students, resident artists, current artists on staff and clay camp-goers.  We invite you to view the wide variety of art making that goes on at NCC: functional and sculptural works, made with low- and high-fire clays, traditional reduction glazes and soda-fired surfaces, and everything in between. For this special 20th Anniversary edition of Artists of NCC, we've also invited ceramic artists who were members of the Board of Directors and/or the Artists Advisory Committee from October, 1990 to September, 1991—the first year of full operation of the Center.

Participating founding artists include: Robert Briscoe, Marshall Browne, Victoria Christen, Gary Crawford, Gary Erickson, Ron Gallas, Randy Johnston, Peter Leach, Warren MacKenzie, Jan McKeachie-Johnston, Michael Padgett, Donovan Palmquist, Joellyn Rock, Monica Rudquist, Susan Spencer, Mary Swartout, John Turula, Elaine Woldorsky.

Participating teaching, staff, and studio artists include: Mary Aguilar, Suzanna Schlesinger Altman, Marion Angelica, Sue Bergan, Megan Bergström, Margaret Bohls, Karen Brown, Kasey Bullerman, Philip Burke, Malcolm Burleigh, Tom Carli, Krissy Catt, Kevin Caufield, Alex Chinn, Elizabeth Coleman, Attila Ray Dabasi, Peter D'Ascoli, Mark Davison, Stephanie DeArmond, Leila Denecke, Sara Eno, Ann Fendorf, Sara Fenlason, Kathleen Fitzgerald, Joel Froehle, Daniel Gardner, Nick Giles Lauer, Katharine Gotham, Adam Gruetzmacher, Ursula Hargens, Patricia Haynes, Lois Ann Helgeson, Lauren Herzak-Bauman, Karin Holen, Franny Hyde, Roxanne Jackson, Peter Jadoonath, Matt Jorgensen, Andy Juelich, Matthew Krousey, Jamie Lang, Cynthia Levine, Joan Lieberman, Lee Love, Peter Lupori, Roberta Massuch, Marta Matray, Tippy Maurant, Kate Maury, Karen McPherson, Emily Merhar, Anna Metcalfe, Sarah Millfelt, Pauline Mitchell, Kathy Mommsen, Christian Novak, Susan Obermeyer, Claire O'Connor, Kip O'Krongly, Kristin Pavelka, Angela Renee, Jennifer Rogers, Kathryn Rosebear, Jack Rumpel, Irene Saito, Chris Scott, Katie Sherman, Ginny Sims, Audra Smith, David Swenson, Julia Timm, Matt Van Dusen, Mary Ann Wark, Holly Williams, Lucy V. Yogerst.

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CELEBRATE!

July 16, 1 – 4 pm

NCC Galleries, Studios, Parking Lot

CELEBRATE! is the sixth major event of NCC's 20th anniversary year. As the “word cloud” says, we're inviting everyone for an afternoon of fun and food, art and games, silliness and celebration. And, we're throwing in a community service: the repurposed pot sale will help everyone clean out their cupboards for a good cause—the Anonymous Potter (AP) Studio fellowship—and at the same time, find unrecognized treasures from someone else's cupboard.

There will be
New ceramics — the opening of the 2011 Artists of NCC exhibition in Galleries M and A, with work by current NCC instructors, studio artists, students, and staff, along with work by founding board members, artist advisory members, and NCC's founding executive director and potter Peter Leach.  We will also celebrate the July Artists of the Month in the Sales Gallery.

Old and maybe new ceramics — the repurposed pot sale in NCC's library. We anticipate a terrific supply of exactly the older pots everyone's been searching eBay and the neighborhood antique store for. Prices will be reasonable and set to move the goods.

Games — in the parking lots, such thrills as timed tallest pot throwing, longest unbroken coil, and a new favorite: the shivered-plate toss / target practice / frustration exorcism competitions.

Food and drink — grilled meats and veggie substitutes, plus salads, sides, ice cream, and beer and sodas (drinks for a small charge). Picnic in the back lot under tents.

Reunions — connect with old friends and new, share stories and memories. We will be recording randomly collected stories to excerpt in our next history book.

So whether it's hot or chilly, rainy or dry, come to NCC for an afternoon of fun with friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, and fellow clay enthusiasts.

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5 McKnight Artists

May 13 – Juy 3

Galleries M and A

New work by 2010 McKnight Fellowship recipients Heather Nameth Bren (Roseville) and Linda Christianson (Lindstrom) is exhibiting in Gallery A. Gallery M features the work of three McKnight Resident Artists: 2009 recipients Jonas Arčikauskas (Lithuania), Ryan Matthew Mitchell (Montana), and Alexandra Hibbitt (Ohio).

Heather Nameth Bren used her McKnight Fellowship year to explore large-scale work, as well as to identify new and deepen past  gallery connections for later exhibition of this new body of work. Bren received her MFA from the University of Kansas in Lawrence and was part of an international exchange at Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent in England. She is an assistant professor of art at Northwestern College. Prior to her appointment at Northwestern she taught at Bethel University in Roseville, Minnesota; Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas; and Lawrence Art Center in Lawrence, Kansas. Bren's work has been included in such exhibitions as Northern Exposure: A Survey of Contemporary Ceramics in Madison, Wisconsin; NCECA 2009 Clay National Biennial Exhibition, Tempe, Arizona; Not Not Clay: Really Contemporary Works, Minneapolis; and From Our Perspective: A National Women's Art Exhibition in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Bren creates conceptually based sculptures that incorporate a combination of traditional and experimental ceramic-making techniques. Bren states; “ I create images and forms re-framed by abstraction and inspired by historical reference. Whether I am handbuilding, casting, re-casting or re-glazing ceramic objects, I always address transformation. The re-appropriation of an existing object re-contextualizes and opens surrounding ceramics in contemporary art.”

Linda Christianson used her Fellowship year to produce work that will be featured in upcoming exhibitions in England and France. Additionally, she is currently in the process of converting her library of images to a digital portfolio. Christianson received a BA in studio art from Hamline University in St. Paul. She has been a studio potter for over 30 years and maintains a studio and woodkiln in Lindstrom. Her pots have been included in group shows such as La Mesa, Santa Fe Clay, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Yunomi Invitational, Akar Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa; Tablewares: An International Collection, Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney, Australia; and Ahead of the Need, Schaller Gallery, Red Lodge, Montana. Christianson has presented workshops and lectures around the globe, most recently at North Harris College in Houston, Texas; Sheridan School of Art in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island.

Christianson creates beautiful wood-fired pots which speak to everyday use and function. She states; “The pots must have a compelling visual interest on their own, yet give way to utility. In many ways they act as a stage set: appearing and disappearing at rest and in use.”

Jonas Arčikauskas received both his BFA and MFA in ceramics from Vilnius Academy of Art in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he currently maintains his studio with his wife, Dalia Gentvainyte, also a ceramic artist.  In addition to having been a professor of ceramics at Vilnius Art Academy, Arčikauskas has held various positions in the theater world in Lithuania, including stints as the Art Director at Lithuanian National Drama Theatre, a stage and costume designer at Kaunas Drama Theatre, and a decorator at the Lithuanian Russian Drama Theatre.  In addition, he has done stage, costume, and makeup design, video installation, and lighting design for dozens of theater productions in Lithuania, Latvia, and Japan. Arčikauskas has received numerous grants and awards for his ceramic work, including four Lithuania Federal Grants. 

Arčikauskas is interested in ceramics as the "art of personal expression." Its connection with the earth and its role as a key player in modern interior and exterior design, and modern culture, is of great interest to him. He recently completed the construction of his second "Pit", which he describes as containing ideas and holding the meaning of an art object and its motivation. "A pit or a hole is a dark side of a human being. Every artist wanders, as Dante had done, through his vision of hell," says Arčikauskas. His pit sculptures are dug into the floor/ground and lined with high relief sculptural tiles of stoneware and porcelain clay bodies. The pit is covered with a large piece of glass that blends with the floor's surface. 

During his residency, Arčikauskas created a composition of 21 sculptural figures. He described the opportunity of sharing creative experiences with his fellow studio artists at NCC as "priceless."

Ryan Matthew Mitchell received his MFA from the University of Montana at Missoula and his BFA from Montana State University at Bozeman. He recently completed an artist residency at the HAP International Tri-City Wood-Fire Festival in Beijing, Fuping, and Guilin, China. Prior to that, Mitchell was a resident artist under the LH Project in Joseph, Oregon; at Australia National University in Canberra; and at The Clay Studio in Missoula, Montana. His wood-fired sculptures have been included in such exhibitions as Altered Narratives in Phoenix, Arizona; Ceramic Montana at the UC Gallery at the University of Montana; In the East at XYZ Gallery in Beijing, China; and Beautiful Conundrums at Plinth Gallery in Denver, Colorado.

Mitchell looks "for meaning and truth in the residue and rubble of our daily world, rather than in the pursuit of our ideals." His large-scale works average two to four feet in height and employ wood-fired stoneware and porcelain, as well as such mixed media as steel rebar and concrete.

Alexandra Hibbitt currently lives in Athens, Ohio, where she is the assistant professor of ceramics at Ohio University School of Art. She received her MFA from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred, a Higher Diploma Ceramics from Gerrit Rietveldd Academy of Art and Design in Amsterdam, and her BA in 3-D design from the Central School of Art in London. She has been a visiting artist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Arizona State University in Tempe, and the University of Minnesota, among others. Hibbitt's ceramic work has been featured in such publications as 500 Ceramic Sculptures (Lark Books) and Ceramics Monthly. Recent exhibitions include 3 Weeks at the International Ceramic Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary; In the Margins, the Icehouse Contemporary Arts Center, NCECA, in Phoenix, Arizona; 23rd International Ceramics Symposium Bechyne, the School of Ceramics, Bechyne, Czech Republic; and Souvenirs of Louisiana, Rosewood Gallery, Kettering, Ohio.
While in residence, Hibbitt created a body of work that addresses "the mediation of experience through technology," the intersections of craft, art and design, and notions of cultural identity. She combined handcrafted and digitally formed materials as she created ceramic forms that will be scanned and later digitally fabricated into medium density fiberboard and Plexiglas.

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Michael Simon: A Life in Pots

Gallery M

March 12 – May 1

This exhibition includes pots from over 30 years of making, by noted American potter Michael Simon.  Simon (Athens, Georgia) studied with Warren MacKenzie at the University of Minnesota, where he received a BA in studio art in 1970.  Shortly after graduation Simon moved to Georgia, where he has maintained a studio for the past almost 40 years.  In 1979, he attended the University of Georgia in Athens and received an MFA in ceramics.  Since then, in addition to his studio work, he has taught numerous workshops across the country.

Starting early in his career, Simon selected one or two pots from each firing that he felt were particularly good or interesting.  The exhibition features a selection of those pots, and thus will offer a wonderful look at the development of an American potter who was enormously influential in the last third of the 20th century, and whose work is now avidly collected, when available, by museums and individuals. 

Simon states this about his work: “The source of my work is found in the role that pots perform within the household. Largely, this means food preparation, serving and storage, but a sliding scale does exist between function and expression….  The various formats—cups, bowls, pitchers, jars—advance in constant evolution.  Change proceeds slowly and subtly, but the growth carries on and is most satisfying….  Slow progress comes into view in the development of the work in total, not the beauty of any one pot.  There is no end.” (from Michael Simon: Evolution)

The exhibition is accompanied by NCC's publication of an elegant book—Michael Simon: Evolution.  The book, which is lavishly illustrated with color images of Simon's pots, includes a foreword by Warren MacKenzie, essays by Mark Pharis and Glen Brown, and the edited transcript of Simon's interview with Mark Shapiro that originally appeared in The Studio Potter magazine.  It also includes reflections by Simon on his forms, his craft and his life, along with biographical material and photos of many of the pots.  The book was edited and designed by Susan Stokes Roberts, and is distributed by the University of North Carolina Press. 

On Sunday, March 13, from 1 to 3 pm, there was be a conversation among Michael Simon and the participants in the Classmates exhibition, about the development of their respective work and careers.  The event was free, in the InFlux Room at the Regis Center at the University of Minnesota. 

SPECIAL NOTES:

• None of the pots in Michael Simon: A Life in Pots exhibition are available for sale.
• NCC is currently developing a national tour schedule for this exhibition. 
• You can now see the conversation with Michael Simon, Wayne Branum, Randy Johnston, Mark Pharis, and Sandy Simon by clicking here.

Classmates

Gallery A

March 12 – May 1

Gallery A features work by four potters selected by Michael Simon, with whom he shares a common start in clay and a mutual respect and admiration: Wayne Branum (Wisconsin), Randy Johnston (Wisconsin), Mark Pharis (Wisconsin), and Sandy Simon (California).  These four artists along with Simon were undergraduate students together at the University of Minnesota during the late 60s.  All of them have gone on to have successful careers in the ceramic world.  

Wayne Branum studied at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and at the Rhode Island School of Design.  He notes: “My ceramic work began with and is rooted in utilitarian pottery.  The pots have evolved, from Asian and American traditional pottery forms, into forms influenced by a lifelong interest in buildings and architecture.  Most notable for me are rural agricultural vernacular buildings that evoke a sense of the Midwest and of a time past.”  Branum is also an award-winning principal with SALA Architects, specializing in domestic architecture.

Randy Johnston received an MFA (1990) from Southern Illinois University, in Edwardsville, Illinois, and a BFA (1972) from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He also studied at the pottery of Shimaoka Tatsuzo, who was a student of Hamada Shoji, in Mashiko, Japan.  Johnston is professor of ceramics at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Chair of the Art Department.  Since 1972, he has run his private studio in that area, where he creates thrown and altered wood-fired pots inspired by the Mingei traditions.  His work is exhibited internationally and he has received numerous awards, including two Visual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Johnston's work is in numerous public and private collections.  He states: “As I work in clay, … the starting point is the choice to investigate the formal range of the vessel (pot) structure in clay, and the belief in the potential that the pieces must entertain, suggest a narrative and allude to things outside of themselves.”

Mark Pharis studied ceramics at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.  Since 1985, he has been a professor in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota.  His work has appeared in numerous exhibitions and can be found in collections around the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; Gardner Museum, Toronto, Canada; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California.  He states: “my forms and volumes are arrived at through the use of two-dimensional paper patterns and made from clay slabs.  My work process owes much to the traditions of patternmaking, which are found in sewing and sheet metal work.”

Sandy Simon received her BFA from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities in 1970.  She has taught ceramics as a visiting instructor at a variety of institutions including San Francisco State University, the California College of Arts and Craft, Oakland and the University of Georgia “Studies Abroad Program” in Cortona, Italy.  Since 1994, Simon has owned and operated TRAX Gallery in Berkeley, California, where she also maintains a studio.  Her work has been exhibited throughout America.  Simon keeps her forms minimal, thus highlighting the beauty of a shape, detailed addition of wire handles, or subtle alterations including cutting, piercing, and relief.  Her pots feel modern, yet familiar and comforting.  She says: “I want my pots to express timelessness and spontaneity.”

Three Jerome Artists

Gallery M

January 14 – February 27

Three Jerome Artists, the 2011 Jerome Artists exhibition, features the work of Elizabeth Coleman, Roxanne Jackson, and Pete Scherzer, each of whom was awarded a 2010 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant.  This award recognizes artists who have displayed strong artistic development to this point of their careers and who anticipate further growth during the term of the grant and in the future. 

Elizabeth Coleman received an M.F.A. in visual art at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and a B.F.A. in ceramics and glass from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  She completed residencies at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, Vermont Studio Center, and Women's Studio Workshop.  Coleman has exhibited her work throughout the U.S. and has pieces in several public and private collections.  Her current body of work involves carving of unfired brick clay to create contemporary narratives.

Coleman draws from her childhood toys and mementos as inspiration in her work.  She says of these inspirations, "Almost forty years later, these animals are my best friends, but they too are dying.  I create urns for their ashes, memorialize them in portraits carved in clay, and transform some of them into Haniwa-like guardians.  Drowned in slip, then covered in glaze, they are fired and become immortal watchers."

Roxanne Jackson received an M.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a B.S. in botany, with a minor in studio art, from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.  She has exhibited her work around the United States, and will be featured in an upcoming solo show at the Canadian gallery Artcite in

Windsor, Ontario.  She's currently an Artist-in-Residence at the Ceramic Center of Berlin.  Since receiving her M.F.A., she has taught in Portland, Oregon; Lincoln, Nebraska; St. Cloud and Minneapolis.  Her ceramic sculptures often highlight the animalistic qualities in humans. 

She explains: “I am concerned with confronting the shadows of the unconscious, having a dialogue with the grotesque and, therein, discovering beauty.  The tenor of my work is macabre and emotional as I deal with extreme axioms to dramatize the dualities of our nature; these polar aspects reside within us and include vulnerability and strength, the light and the dark, the human and the inhuman."

Pete Scherzer received an M.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York, and a B.F.A. from Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio.  He has participated in art fairs and group exhibitions across the U.S.  Additionally, Scherzer's functional pottery has appeared in Ceramics Monthly.  For the past six years he has been the studio manager at Northern Clay Center.  Scherzer's ornate and elegant earthenware forms are highly decorated through the use of sprigs and molds, and the application of opaque glazes.
   
He says, “My pots are meant to embellish their setting and bring attention to the function they perform.  They put on a show and ask for attention in addition to dealing with service.  Historical associations, form, surface, and function all combine and interact.  I still operate within the guidelines of the plausible domestic object, but there has been a shift towards elaborate, eccentric results.”

Fogelberg and Red Wing Fellowship Exhibition

Gallery A

January 14 – February 27

Northern Clay Center presents an exhibition featuring the work of 2009 Fogelberg Studio Fellowship recipients Kip O'Krongly and David Swenson, and 2010 Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award recipient Kristin Pavelka.

The Fogelberg Studio Fellowship Program provides emerging ceramic artists with an opportunity to be in residence for up to one year at Northern Clay Center, and is intended to support young artists to develop their clay work while immersing themselves in a community environment that encourages an exchange of ideas and knowledge with other ceramic artists.  

Kip O'Krongly received her B.A. in studio art from Carleton College in Northfield.  She continued her study of ceramics in studios across the country, working as an apprentice in Montana, setting up her own studio in Seattle, and taking numerous workshops, as well as managing the clay program at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.  She currently maintains a studio at Northern Clay Center, where she is also the materials and glaze technician.

She says about her work, “I draw on the broad use of functional ceramics to spark conversation and encourage thoughtful awareness of the objects and issues we encounter in everyday life.  With low-fire clay, slips, stencils and sgraffito decoration as my visual framework, I explore my interest in the intertwining and complicated connections between food production, transportation and energy use.”

David Swenson received his B.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.  He relocated to the Twin Cities after receiving a 2009 Fogelberg Studio Fellowship.  Swenson is currently in charge of building maintenance at Northern Clay Center.

“I produce parts and construct assemblages by incorporating various processes to achieve sculptural forms that allude to function.  Movement and gesture through form allow the work to remain flexible, while keeping play at the heart of my making.  Careful engineering entertains notions of elevation and suspension to train a material that would otherwise be less apt to maintain itself.  Evidence of the making attests to the importance of process as well as using that detail as ornament.”

The Red Wing Award is made possible by the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation.  The 2010 award was made to Kristin Pavelka.

Kristin Pavelka received her M.F.A. in ceramics from Pennsylvania State University and her B.A. from Carleton College.  In 2005, she received a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant through NCC, as well as a Summer Residency at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana.  Her functional pots have been exhibited throughout the United States.

“I think about many things when creating my candy-like coated functional earthenware pots.  Forms are inspired by Midwestern architecture and the body, classical pots and contemporary containers ranging from 1950s kitsch to modern day fast food containers.” Pavelka's glaze palette is greatly influenced by Martha Stewart, candy and mid-20th century design.  Her everyday environment serves as inspiration to her patterned décor.