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Current Exhibitions
Three Jerome Artists
Gallery M
January 15 – March 14, 2010
The 2010 Jerome Artists Exhibition will feature the work of Jane Gordon, Cynthia Levine, and Roberta Massuch, each of whom was awarded a 2009 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant by Northern Clay Center. The awards recognize artists who have displayed strong artistic development to this point and promise further growth during the term of the grant and in the future. An opening reception for the artists will be held on January 15 from 6 - 8 pm.
Jane Gordon received a B.F.A. in ceramics from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Over the past few years, she has created several outdoor installations, which explore the relationship between nature and humans. She incorporates her site-specific ceramic multiples into particular outdoor environments and combines them with elements of plant and animal life. “Installation work is exciting to me,” she states. “I enjoy its flexibility, involvement with site, and ability to immerse the viewer physically in the work.”
Cynthia Levine received a B.A. in French with a minor in studio arts from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Following a residency with Richard Bresnahan at St. John's University Levine discovered the dramatic effect that flashes of soda or drips of ash had on her coil-built vessels. “At this time,” she states, “the primary focus of my work is the coil-built vessel, which provides me with a defined arena from which I can explore my sculptural and formal interests.” For this project grant she focused on translating her ideas about volume, space, and containment into a more vertical format. In 2005, she received a Jerome Artist Project Grant from NCC, as well as an Artists Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. 
Roberta Massuch received her B.F.A. from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb and was a studio assistant and artist-in-residence at the Worcester Center for Craft in Massachusetts. She was a 2008 Fogelberg Fellowship recipient and maintains a studio at NCC, where she teaches both adult and children's classes. In August 2009 she received a two-month studio assistantship from Penland School of Crafts. Massuch's work incorporates soft and firm slabs of earthenware, which are combined by pressing and folding each component together, creating tension with the form. These soft, playful forms evoke feelings of childhood and comfort. Support for this exhibition and the individual artist's grants is provided by the Jerome Foundation, St. Paul.
Fogelberg and Red Wing Fellowship Exhibition
Gallery A
January 15 – March 14, 2010
Northern Clay Center presents an exhibition featuring the work of 2008 Fogelberg Fellowship recipients Rebecca Chappell and Roberta Massuch, and 2009 Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation Award recipient Peter Jadoonath. An opening reception for the artists will be held on January 15, from 6 to 8 pm.
The Fogelberg Fellowship provides emerging ceramic artists an opportunity to be in residence for up to one year at Northern Clay Center. It is intended to support young artists developing their ceramic body of work while immersing themselves in a community environment that encourages an exchange of ideas and knowledge with other ceramic artists.
Rebecca Chappell received her M.F.A. from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2008 and her B.F.A. from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Chappell has participated in solo and group exhibitions across the US. Additionally, her work has appeared in several publications, including Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art and Perception, and Clay Times. Chappell's simple, elegant porcelain forms are highlighted by minimal marks and transparent glazes. For past years, she has been working on a series of multi-part vases, each one individually designed to hold a different, specific type of flower. She states: "I am interested in making objects that require subtle, playful interactions. I see them as objects that need attention and care from an outside force. They ask to be considered and noticed; in fact, they depend on it." Roberta Massuch was awarded a 2009 Jerome Ceramic Artists Project Grant. Massuch's functional and sculptural earthenware is delightful both in form and imagery. Those who visit NCC's exhibition galleries between January and March will find her work featured in the Fogelberg Exhibition as well as the Jerome Exhibition. Please read more about Massuch's recent work in the above exhibition.
The Red Wing Fellowship is made possible by the Red Wing Collectors Society Foundation. It is presented by Northern Clay Center to a deserving individual pursuing a career in pottery or studying or researching the historical aspects of the pottery industry.
Peter Jadoonath attended Bemidji State University where he earned a B.F.A. in studio ceramics and painting in 1998. His studies at Bemidji provided the “foundation of creativity” for Jadoonath that continues to have an influence on his work process and his development of new ideas. He is currently co-owner of Toppot Clay Studio, and a member of Back Alley Gallery located in St. Paul. He exhibits work at local and national festivals as well as local galleries. Jadoonath teaches at Northern Clay Center and at Fired Up, where he is a studio technician. In 2007 he received a Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant.Jadoonath creates stoneware pottery that focuses on “texture, gesture, and building a sculptural presence.” The work he creates is narrative, animated, and open to suggestion and interpretation by the viewer. “I find inspiration from scientific mystery, unexplained history, small complex ideas, and large simple ideas,” says Jadoonath. “Through my craft it is important for me to honor timelessness, tradition, ancestors…. I strive for this by following my intuition, seeking self-realization, working hard, and gathering the patience to take risks.” Jadoonath’s pots are formed using the basic clay building concepts of “squeezing, paddling, throwing, pinching, coiling, folding, smashing, polishing, and carving.” The surface treatment is then built up with layers of colored slips and stains as well as layers of “pitted glazes and thin washes of glaze,” creating a skin that transforms and enhances the textured surfaces of his work.