• Exhibition Programs
• Current Exhibitions
• Upcoming Exhibitions
• Past Exhibitions
• Exhibition Opportunities
• American Pottery Festival

 

• 2008 Exhibitions
• 2007 Exhibitions
• 2006 Exhibitions
• 2005 Exhibitions
• 2004 Exhibitions
• 2003 Exhibitions
• 2002 Exhibitions
• 2001 Exhibitions
• 2000 Exhibitions
• 1999 Exhibitions
• 1998 Exhibitions
• 1997 Exhibitions
• 1996 Exhibitions
• 1995 Exhibitions
• 1994 Exhibitions
• 1993 Exhibitions
• 1992 Exhibitions

2007 Exhibitions 

'tis a gift... The 17th Annual Holiday Exhibition and Sale

November 18 – December 30
Sales Gallery and Gallery M

Holiday Open House: Sunday, November 18, noon – 4 pm
Enjoy treats, artist demonstrations and hands-on work with clay.


Once again, NCC had a spectacular selection of work from more than sixty regional and national ceramic artists.  Ranging from figurines to soup tureens, ‘tis a gift…,our 17th annual Holiday Exhibition and Sale offered quality to brighten the season.

Participating Artists

Jennifer Allen, Martye Allen, Judith Altobell, Posey Bacopoulos, Chris Baskin, Margaret Bohls, Robert Bowman, William Brouillard, Kevin Caufield, Victoria Christen, Blair Clemo, Michael Connelly, A. Leila Denecke, Josh DeWeese, Marc Digeros, Paul Dresang, Sanam Emami, Gary Erickson, Jil Franke, Willem Gebben, Bill Gossman, Katharine Gotham, Ryan Greenheck, James Grittner, Richard Gruchalla and Carrin Rosetti, Ursula Hargens, Sarah Heimann, Butch Holden, Todd Holmberg, Bob and Cheryl Husby, Sarah Jaeger, Eric Jensen, Shirley Johnson, Matt Kelleher, Kristen Kieffer, Maren Kloppmann, Gib Krohn, Steve Lee, Lee Love, Warren MacKenzie, Tim Marcotte, Ruth Martin, Laura McCaul, Allison McGowan, Jan McKeachie-Johnston, Ron Meyers, Jeffrey Nichols, Mike Norman, Jeffrey Noska, Susan O’Brien, Jeff Oestreich, Elizabeth Robinson, Steven C. Rolf, Monica Rudquist, Irene Saito, Patricia Sannit, Pete Scherzer, Deborah Schwartzkopf, Jo Severson, Laurie Shaman, Megan Bergström Shanahan, Sandra Daulton Shaugnessy, McKenzie Smith, Will Swanson, Munemitsu Taguchi, Christy Wert, Geoffrey Wheeler, Tara Wilson and Michael Wisner. 

---

Christopher Willey: Community

November 18 – December 30
Gallery A

“For our house is our corner of the world.  As has often been said, it is our first universe, a real cosmos in every sense of the word.”  
– Gaston Bachelard

Artist Christopher Willey brought to Northern Clay Center his floor installation titled Community.  The piece is composed of thousands of small white houses arranged in a configuration derived from a map of the subdivision in which he grew up.  As Willey wrote, “Between those two houses, I broke my father’s favorite fishing rod.  Over there, in the garage of that house, I shared my first kiss.  Here, on these streets of my childhood, I can locate the stories from a place called 'home'….”

Willey is not alone; many people may recognize themselves in his “community” and may have an insider's appreciation for spending one's formative years in a subdivision.  Whether or not you are an insider, this work resonated with anyone who has seen the world from an airplane, looked down and wondered, “What is the meaning of life on earth?”  These visually striking formations with their organic and geometric patterning have obtained an
iconic place in our culture's psyche.

Christopher Willey grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and went to college in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  During his education at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Willey studied abroad at the Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy, and at the Burren College of Art, County Clare, Ireland.  In 2004 he earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in drawing.  His drawings have been published in New American Paintings magazine.  His prints were selected for the 25th National Print Exhibition in New Canaan, Connecticut.  In 2006 Willey was awarded a Mary Nohl Suitcase fund grant to Zurich, Switzerland, where he made site-specific installations for a group show at Galerie sie-un-do.  In 2007, Willey moved to San Francisco, California to pursue his Masters of Fine Arts in new genres at the San Francisco Art Institute.  More of Christopher Willey's work can be seen at www.christopherwilley.com.

---

 

Eat With Your Eyes

September 28 – November 4
Gallery M

Opening Reception: Friday, September 28, 6 – 8 pm
Eat With Your Eyes was an invitational exhibition celebrating the art and design and pleasure of sharing food.

The exhibition included six dining room tables and four side tables commissioned from local and regional sculptors and furniture designers.  The dining tables featured place settings for six to eight people along with serving and decorative pieces.  Side tables focused on appetizers, sushi, desserts and tea, and “conversation with coffee and chocolates.”  Each dining table and table setting had been paired with a chef, who created a dish of food specifically designed for selected pieces of pottery.  Images of these installations have been included in the exhibition catalogue published by NCC.

The opening reception featured a feast of foods prepared by the collaborating chefs and others, designed to suit the pots on which the food is served. 

Side Tables

The exhibition began with an appetizer table described by the artists Mary Roettger and Willis Bowman as “Primo Vesco Indictum (primo: first, at first, at the start, at the beginning; vesco: to feed, to eat; indictum: to lead in, introduce, induce, influence)”  This stand-around table was organic in shape, to encourage the guests to gather together to meet one another around appetizers at the beginning of a dinner party.  It was designed to allow the host to prepare and serve simple foods, offering a way to start conversations among guests because of its shape and inherent playfulness.  The “nesting tables” have the potential to expand to accommodate small to medium gatherings and the serving dishes are integrated into the table design.  The topography of the table itself changes when the table is in use and when the pieces are stored.  The major materials were wood and clay.

The sushi table seats two people and was a collaboration between Kinji Akagawa (sculptor) and Randy Johnston (potter).  The material for the table originated from a majestic old tree from Johnston’s woods that fell in one of last year’s storms. Akagawa’s interpretation of the sushi bar format combined with and Johnston’s woodfired stoneware forms provide a delightful feast for the eyes.

A dessert and tea table created by Stanton Sears was fashioned with Pennsylvania slate with carved geographical references to landscape formations around Lake Pepin.   The pottery was a combination of majolica pieces by Linda Arbuckle and a porcelain tea service by Margaret Bohls.  

Teri Kwant (designer and public artist) and Katharine Gotham (potter) collaborated on a coffee and chocolate table titled “Eat Your Words.”  This long narrow table will force the viewers to opposite ends where they will encounter text printed on chocolates and fabric banners.  The artists seek to comment on human conversations and inevitable conflicts that play themselves out in dramatic episodes at tables.  They note that tables can be a forum for important discussions that alter the course of our lives and the relationships that we have with one another.  The artists ask us to examine the “things we said” and the “things we should have said.”

Dining Tables

The dining room tables were designed to seat four to eight people; each had a different theme and focus, from brunch to dinner.  The exhibition space and the catalogue both include photographs of the hand-made pottery from the exhibition filled with a wide range of cuisines from around the world.

The first dining table was made by Tom Rose.  Kathy Erteman created the place settings and other forms; the table included woodfired bowls and pitchers by Ben Krupka, and serving forms and vases by Mary Barringer.  An Nyguen, owner of Rice Paper in Minneapolis, collaborated on food for this setting. 

Michael Manzavrakos created the second dining table from a recycled mahogany bench he had been saving for just the right occasion.  The pottery was by Jan McKeachie Johnston, with fiber art by Nancy Gipple and a centerpiece by Nancy MacKenzie.  Raghavan Iyer, author of Betty Crocker’s Indian Home Cooking (Wiley, 2001) and The Turmeric Trail:  Recipes and Memories from and Indian Childhood (St. Martin’s Press, 2002), was the chef for this table.
The third dining room table was created by sculptor Irve Dell, with place settings by potter Jeff Oestreich.  Other participating potters who provided a variety of serving and decorative pieces for this table included Adam Posnak, Marlene Jack, Davied Pier, Andrew Martin, and Lisa Orr.  The collaborating chef was Alex Roberts of Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis.
Bob Lindell and ARTSERVE created the fourth table, which has place settings by Silvie Granatelli and vases, serving dishes and other forms contributed by potters Meredith Brickell and Kari Radasch.  The collaborating chef is Lucia Watson of Lucia’s in Minneapolis. 

The fifth table was built of solid mahogany by Willie Willette Works with porcelain place settings by Sandy Simon (with drawings by Robert Brady) and centerpieces by Maren Kloppmann.  The collaborating chef was Lenny Russo of Heartland Café in St. Paul.

The sixth table was a Strut Table by Blu Dot.  The place settings were created by William Brouillard and the table was set with an eclectic, modern aesthetic typical of many households with collections of a variety of wonderful hand-made pottery.  Pieces include a soup tureen by Pete Scherzer, vases by Judith Salomon and Greg Pitts, and candlesticks by Bob Bruch, as well as work by David Pier and Andrew Martin.  The food will be a variety of dishes from the Grand Café, Gardens of Salonica and Emily’s Lebanese Deli.

Workshops and Lectures

Throughout the six-week exhibition, collaborative events took place with many local and regional restaurants, chefs, and food and drink specialists.  NCC organized workshops, presentations, and panels among the potters, table designers, chefs, and food designers.  These special events ranged from hands-on family workshops at NCC such as “Mug Making for Hot Chocolate” to a panel discussion titled “Table Talk,” focusing on work by Twin Cities artists who provoke dialogue through desserts.  

Participating Potters

Participating potters are Linda Arbuckle, Mary Barringer, Margaret Bohls, Meredith Brickell, William Brouillard, Bob Bruch, Kathy Erteman, Katharine Gotham, Silvie Granatelli, Marlene Jack, Maren Kloppmann, Ben Krupka, Andrew Martin, Jan McKeachie Johnston, Jeff Oestreich, Lisa Orr, David Pier, Greg Pitts, Adam Posnak, Randy Johnston, Kari Radasch, Mary Roettger, Judith Salomon, Pete Scherzer and Sandy Simon. 

Participating Table makers

Table makers for this exhibition are Kinji Akagawa, Willis Bowman, Irve Dell, Blu Dot, Teri Kwant, Bob Lindell and ARTSERVE, Michael Manzavrakos, Tom Rose, Stanton Sears and Willie Willette and Willie Willette Works. 

Collaborating restaurants, chefs and food specialists

Lynne Alpert and Patricia Jacobsen, Minneapolis
Emily’s Lebanese Deli, Minneapolis
Gardens of Salonica, New Greek Café and Deli, Minneapolis
Dan and Mary Hunter and the Grand Café, Minneapolis
sushi chef Ichiro of Wasabi Restaurant, Minneapolis
Raghavan Iyer: chef, cookbook author and culinary educator, Eden Prairie
Mary Leonard and Chocolat Céleste, St. Paul
Cal Moriyama and Kabuki Japanese Restaurant, Eden Prairie
Moose and Sadies, Minneapolis
An Nguyen and Rice Paper, an Asian fusion restaurant, Minneapolis
Alexander Roberts and Restaurant Alma, Minneapolis
Larry Russo and Heartland Café, St. Paul
Lucia Watson and Lucia’s Restaurant, Minneapolis
Peace Coffee, Minneapolis
Larry Millfelt, Hudson
Ray Zemke of Cellars Liquor Store in Woodbury
Beth Fisher and Caroline Glawe of TWO CHOW
and many more…

---

Panoramic Fusion 

September 28 – November 4

Gallery A

Opening Reception: Friday, September 28, 6 – 8 pm
"Panoramic Fusion" in Gallery A featured new work by Jonathan Bridges and Nicolas Darcourt, two emerging ceramic artists with similar material sensibilities. 

Both Bridges and Darcourt used the firing process as an important transitional step toward their own unique sculptural ends.  The artists believe that this approach allows more freedom in their creative process; rather than opening the kiln to find the work finished after a firing, they open a kiln door and find themselves confronted with a fired ceramic object that becomes a starting point for further investigation.  Often, the artists find that this process requires them to assemble multiple elements both during the firing and post firing.  The title of the exhibition, Panoramic Fusion, refers to a far-reaching and comprehensive view that intentionally merges diverse ideas and materials.  As the artists state, the result is “an expression of life coinciding with clay in the 21st century.”

---

2007 American Pottery Festival

September 6 - 9
Galleries M and A

2007 was not only the ninth year for Northern Clay Center's annual fundraiser and celebration of all things potted—the American Pottery Festival—it was by far the most successful in our history.  Why?, you (and we) might well ask…There seemed to be a number of factors: first, there were a number of new artists participating.  While the rotation system we have in place is sometimes painful for the staff, as we see work rotated out that we still love, at the same time the audience here for new work by new potters (and of course some of the familiar stand-bys) continues to grow.  Second, many of the artists attended and talked eloquently about their work in presentations and individual conversations with visitors.  Third, there were some avid collectors of objects ceramic who visited from across the country.  Some were in organized groups: 26 members of the Renwick Alliance came for a tour organized by tireless Renwick member and previous APF visitor Larry Hawk; six individuals from the region signed on for NCC's architecture, art, and clay conversation and party tour; and then a number of people found their way here on their own.  Finally, all the elements aligned to make for a wonderful weekend of pots and potters and people who like both. 

As a unique combination of fundraiser and public program, the APF continues to be an experiment in how to fit into a single weekend the best contemporary pottery, the most interesting slide talks, the most informative workshops, the most fun, and the best financial return for the participating artists and the Center.  After this year's remarkable results, we will try to keep what worked this year, but always continue to adapt the format and content so there is always something new for our returning collectors and visitors and artists, as well as for new visitors.  Many thanks to each of the participating artists, our volunteers and supporters, and not least, to the clay aficionados who make this event worth running.

Artists featured in 2007 were:
Christa Assad (CA), Andy Brayman (MO), Bernadette Curran (PA), Josh DeWeese (MT), Kowkie Durst (OR), Sanam Emami (NY), Julia Galloway (NY), Steve Godfrey (AK), Ursula Hargens (MN), Sarah Heimann (NH), Bryan Hopkins (NY), Ayumi Horie (NY), Gail Kendall (NE), Ben Krupka (CT), Elizabeth Lurie (MI), Warren MacKenzie (MN), Ron Meyers (GA), Sequoia Miller (WA), Brenda Quinn (NY), Alison Reintjes (OH), Pete Scherzer (MN), Mark Shapiro (MA), Andy Shaw (PA), Betsy Williams (NM).

---

Artists of NCC

Galleries M and A

Closer than the Venice Biennale, NCC’s biennial exhibition—2007 Artists of NCC—showcases contemporary ceramic arts, the work of our talented faculty and studio artists , along with selected adult and young students.  Visitors will find inspiration in the wide range of high quality work that is emerging from the kilns of NCC.  Preview examples of work by NCC's studio artists and teachers online, then gather friends and walk, bike, drive, or take the light rail to NCC and enjoy the show.

Teachers, Studio Artists, and NCC Staff participating include Kate Bauman, Sue Bergan, Megan Bergstrom, Margaret Bohls, Rachelle Reis Branum, Karen Brown, Phil Burke, Cynthia Burns, Tom Carli, Kevin Caufield, Ryan Casey, Krissy Catt, Becky Chappell, Alex Chinn, Blair Clemo, Eileen Cohen, Theresa Crosby, Ray Dabasi, Sandra Daulton-Shaughnessy, Leila Denecke, Nick DeVries, Kevin Edholm, Nancy Edwards, Sara Eno, Ann Fendorf, Donna Flanery, Joel Froehle, Wendy Fuglelstad, Art Gannett, Katharine Gotham, Jim Gubernick, Ursula Hargens, Lois Ann Helgeson, Mike Helke, Leah Hughes, Peter Jadoonath, Chris James, Lea Anne Jasper, Shirley Johnson, Shawn Kaiser, Julie Kinney, Joe Kress,  Terry Leigh, Cynthia Levine, Marian Lucas, Angie Renee Lund, Peter Lupori, Kate Maury, Sarah Millfelt, Kathy Mommsen, Jamie Moorehead, Kathleen Moroney, Karin Munchmore, Susan Obermeyer, Mary Otremba Olsen, Patti Olson, Jennifer Otis, Noh Kyoung Park, Dawn Perault, Claudia Poser, Mary Roettger, Erik Riese, Kimberlee Roth, Irene Saito, Elizabeth Smith, Eric Stull, Melissa Titus, Martha Walsh, Steve Wicklund, Michele Wiegand, Craig Wood, and Lucy Yogerst.

Students and clay-campers were also invited to submit one piece for a juried selection process.  A panel of three faculty members selected student and clay-camp works for inclusion.  Students participating include Andriana Abariotes, Tom Abel, Marion Angelica, Bob Arnoldy, Judy Babcock, James Bass, Laura Batzli, Tim Carlson, Richard Cary, Erin Cole, Peter D’Ascoli, Steven Damer, Ken Darling, Mark Davison, Jim Dinerstein, Danny Drinkwine, Kathleen Gabrielsen, Kristine Hites, Jim Holan, Maia Homstad, Franny Hyde, Rob Kohlmeyer, Mark Lellman, Douglas Lissick, Lisa C. Matheison, Pauline Mitchell, Jim Mulfinger, Ann Neuendorf, Mark Neuman-Scott, Melvin North, Elaine Palmer, Robyn Peterson, Natasha Poppe, Kathryn RoseBear, Jack Rumpel, Grif Sadow, Lou Scott, David Shelby, Kate Smith, Phillip Smith, Mary Anne Barrows Wark, Erick Wiger, Judith Yourman, and Sara Zuk.

An opening reception for the artists took place Friday, July 13, 6 – 8 pm.

Pictured above: Peter Lupori, Fugue II, 2006, ceramic, 17 x 7 x 7", photo by Maria Kaiser; Kate Maury, Bowl, 2006, porcelain, 11" dia.; Jennifer Otis, Crazy Old Coots (Nest Building in the Amsterdam Canal), 2007, soda fired stoneware, antique wheels, plastic bag, 17” x 21” 23”; Mary Roettger, Dusty Blue Coil, 2006, earthenware, 26 x 12 x 12", photo by artist; Margaret Bohls, Green Leaf Teapot with Trivet, 2006, porcelain, earthenware, 10.5 x 8 x 8".

 

---

Five McKnight Artists

Galleries M and A

New work by 2006  McKnight’s Minnesota Artist Fellowship recipients Bob Briscoe (Harris) and Mika Negishi Laidlaw (Mankato) was exhibited in Gallery A.  Gallery M featured the work of three McKnight Resident Artists: 2005 recipient Yonghee Joo (Korean/living in New Jersey), and 2006 recipients Junko Nomura (Japan/living in Minnesota) and Nick Renshaw (British/ living in the Netherlands).  An opening reception for the artists took place Thursday, May 10, 6 - 8 pm.

Bob Briscoe attended Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas and he has been working as a studio potter since 1967.  Briscoe has shown his work in craft shows across the country, from the Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington DC to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, Colorado.  He has pieces in many collections, including the Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, and the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul.
Briscoe’s ash-glazed stoneware pottery is always created with an intended purpose in mind.  “I make pots to hold liquids, serve food, and display flowers,” says Briscoe.  “The forms I use are spare, with large, simple areas, heavy textures, weighty bases, and substantial rims and attachments.  I focus on the foot and the rim of a form as the defining elements.  They are intentionally rough and crude to achieve this definition.”  (source: http://naia-artists.org/gallery/briscoe_r/)   Briscoe describes his recent work as “mining deeper into the vocabulary I have evolved over three–plus decades of making work.”  We all look forward to what this “mining” will unearth. 

Mika Negishi Laidlaw received her M.F.A. from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas in 2000 and her B.A. in Studio Art from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1994.  In 2002, Laidlaw was an Artist-in-Residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana and from 1994-1997, she was an apprentice at Akishino Pottery in Nara City, Japan, where she studied traditional Japanese pottery under Masaya Imanishi.  She is currently an Assistant Professor of Ceramics and Design at Mankato Statue University, Minnesota.  

Laidlaw’s hand-built sculptures are inspired by her interest in the beauty of human bodies.  “The curves and folds of a body are what I am strongly drawn to,” she says.  “I see them as the beauty that changes every moment.”  Her ultimate goal as an artist is “to create works that can grab somebody by his/her heart.”  Laidlaw’s sculptures are ambitious works of art that contribute an important voice to the world of contemporary figurative ceramics.  

Yonghee Joo received an M.F.A. from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, in 2004 and her B.F.A. from Seoul National University, Korea, in 1993.  She has previously been an Artist-in-Residence at the Greenwich House Pottery in New York and was awarded a 2nd place award in the exhibit “Earth, Wheel and Fire,” an internationally juried ceramics exhibition at the International Museum of Art & Science in McAllen, Texas.  As her piece titled “Would you like to share my dinner?” demonstrates, Joo’s work combines sculptural elements of figures, flowers, and insects with traditional functional forms as she pursues her dual conceptual interests of human psychology and personal meditations on nature.

Junko Nomura received her M.F.A. in Ceramics from State University of New York at New Paltz in 2006 and a Diploma in Ceramics from Okayama Prefecture Bizen Ceramic Center, Japan in 1996.  About her work, Nomura says, “I am moved by the power of nature, and I am interest in the notion of tracing the history of life on earth.  My interest in, and knowledge of, archeology, history and psychology informs my work.  I create intuitively, not intellectually, but I know that all I have absorbed goes into the alchemy that is my process….”  Nomura’s sculptures emphasize the material properties inherent in clays and glazes and her installations create metaphoric spaces she refers to as “subconscious landscapes” that are powerful and sublime. 

Nick Renshaw received his M.A. from the Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1997.  He has worked in such locations as the European Ceramic Center in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Pratt University in Brooklyn, New York, and Helsinki, Finland.  Renshaw’s work generally includes large- and small-scale sculptures, each use a variety of techniques, from coil building to casting.  He describes this process as one that creates “tensions brought about by combining contrasting organic and industrial ways of making…”  In an article about Renshaw’s work titled “Native Procreation in Eboracum,” (September, 2005 Ceramic Art and Perception No. 61), author Siobhan Wall describes his installation of figurative work as “pastel-coloured humanoids arranged in rows.  These ambiguous characters, reminiscent of the Chinese terra-cotta army of Qin Shi Hung, seem innocent rather than warrior-like.  Some of the faces are also similar to those belonging to the ominous cybermen seen in the British television series Doctor Who.  This makes their uncomprehending anonymity both nostalgic and compelling because we are unsure whether they are benign or threatening.”  Renshaw’s McKnight Residency at Northern Clay Center occurs February through April 2007. 

Pictured above (left to right):
Mika Negishi Laidlaw, Untitled, 2001, ceramic, 25” x 25” x 13”; Yonghee Joo, Would you like to share my dinner? 2006, porcelain, 7” x 6” x 3.5”; Nick Renshaw, Deep Blue Suspension, 2007, stoneware, 60 cm, Junko Nomura, Untitled, 2006, various clay bodies, cone 7, 18” x 18.5” x 8”, Bob Briscoe, Raked Noodle Bowl, 2005, stoneware, 5” x 6” x 6”.

---

Magnificent Obsessions: Collecting with Passion and Knowledge

March 9 – April 29
Gallery M

Several local collectors of ceramic art generously agreed to lend selected pieces from their private collections for this exhibition at Northern Clay Center. The objects from their collections showed not only the range of possibilities for expression in clay, but also what happens when individuals apply a balance of mind and heart to the decisions about what to acquire. An opening reception was held Friday, March 9, from 6-8 pm.

Magnificent Obsessions showcased pieces from the collections of Andy and Linda Boss (St. Paul), David Brinkman (Red Wing), Lili and Sheldon Chester (Minneapolis), Joanne Jones-Rizzi (Minneapolis), Michael and Tamara Root (Minneapolis) and Sharon Shapiro (St. Paul).

The collection of Andy and Linda Boss focused on work by modern-day icons of the studio pottery movement. Pieces on exhibit included work by Bernard Leach (England, 1887-1971), bowls by Daniel Rhodes (United States, 1911-1989), a vase by Hans Coper (Germany/England 1920-1981) and a set of cups and saucers by Lucie Rie (England, 1902-1995).

David Brinkman showed great enthusiasm when discussing the pieces he selected for this show, embodying the phrase "collecting with passion and knowledge." Among the pieces that Brinkman lent were a Tokkuri (sake bottle) by Nakazato Takashi (Japan), a vase by Marguerite Wildenhain (1889-1981), a vase by Jens Thirslund (Denmark, 1892-1942), and a chawan with navy bean straw ash glaze by Richard Bresnahan (St. John's Pottery, Collegeville, Minnesota). Brinkman co-hosted the gallery talk on Thursday, April 5, from 6-8 pm in Gallery M.

Sheldon and Lili Chester lent pieces that exemplify their interest in collecting ethnographic arts. The pieces from the Chesters' collection represented contemporary work that contains references to the human figure. Highlights included a mask by Roxanne Swentzell (Towa Artist from Santa Clara, New Mexico), "Under the Ice" by Roger Aksadjuak (Rankin Inlet Fire Chief and Artist, Nunavut, Canada), and "R U Hungry" by potter and fashion/jewelry designer Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico). Lili Chester co-hosted the gallery talk on April 12 from 6-8 pm in Gallery M.

The collection of Joanne Jones-Rizzi was composed primarily of functional pottery that she uses in her daily life. "One of my greatest pleasures in life is preparing and sharing food with friends" she says. "My pots provide me with opportunities to accessorize the food that I prepare and to bring a certain aesthetic to these gatherings. It makes perfect sense that pieces have to be functional or I won't buy them." For this exhibit, Jones-Rizzi agreed to live without her beloved collection of pitchers for six weeks, allowing people to see work created by potters such as Jack Troy, Annie Hoffman, Mary Barringer, Sam Taylor and Carole Ann Fer.

Michael and Tamara Root selected several stunning examples of teapots from their collection to lend for this exhibition. Highlights included a gorgeous porcelain teapot with creamer and sugar by Ruth Duckworth (Illinois) and an impressive Oribe-style teapot by Goro Suzuki (Japan). The Roots spoke about their passion for collecting ceramics on Thursday, April 12, from 6-8.

Sharon Shapiro's collection included many wonderful examples of historic and contemporary pottery. These pieces often represented purchases made during her travels around the world. Shapiro's travels have taken her from the flea market in Paris to Shigaraki, one of the oldest pottery centers in Japan. The ceramic pieces she brought home with her are as marvelous as the stories she tells about discovering them. Highlights include Italian maiolica plates, a Gouda vase purchased in Amsterdam, and an early 1800's folk art "bird whistle" from England that is a favorite of her grandchildren. Shapiro co-hosted the gallery talk on Thursday, April 5.

Pictured above: Bernard Leach tiles, stoneware, 3" x 3" ea., from the Boss collection

---

Don Reitz, 2007 Regis Master

March 9 – April 29
Gallery A

Northern Clay Center was very pleased to honor Don Reitz as the 2007 Regis Master. As the 21st ceramic artist to be so recognized, Reitz is of a generation whose impact on the craft and art of clay will continue to be felt for years. The best clay artists are a peculiar and unique combination of chemists, botanists and pyrophiliacs, sensualists, visionaries and practical realists, who make something out of dirt that surprises us (and sometimes them) with its unexpected rightness. Don Reitz is one of those.

Reitz was born in 1929 in Pennsylvania. After a stint in the Navy, he attended Kutztown Teachers College, where he first started working with clay; after graduating he taught art in the Dover (New Jersey) public schools for three years. In 1960, he began graduate school at Alfred University. As soon as he received his MFA in 1962, he accepted a teaching position at the University of Wisconsin, where he stayed as a teacher for the next 26 years. Reitz has also taught workshops all over the country, with a special attachment to Penland School of Crafts.

In his own work, as well as in his teaching, Reitz is particularly known for his work with salt and wood-firing, creating complex textured surfaces on both utilitarian ware and large vessel forms. He essentially re-introduced salt-firing in this country, expanding the understanding and appreciation of the possible effects and beauty of the process. He combines the instincts of a poet with the skills and knowledge of a craftsman in his chosen medium, as well as a talent for enriching and matching surface to form, to produce pots of extraordinary presence. He is deeply engaged by the material itself, and the unpredictable but sometimes controllable processes of firing.

Reitz's work has been exhibited in hundreds of exhibitions, one-person as well as group shows. He is represented in major museum and private collections, including the High Museum of Art (Atlanta), Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and both the National Museum of American History and the Renwick Gallery (part of the Smithsonian Institution). He lives and works in Arizona.

The Elvehjem Museum of Art in Madison, Wisconsin mounted a retrospective of Reitz's work in 2004, and published an accompanying catalogue. Several quotations by and about Reitz are especially revealing – and delightful. Jody Clowes wrote: "Reitz trusts making, not thinking, and emotion is his essential subject matter…. 'Chunk' [a sculpture] embodies what Reitz has come to prize most: the mud-ness, the clay-doing-what-clay-does-ness that he has sought…"¹

Then, in Reitz's own words: "I wanted to embellish the surface, to enrich it, not to hide the clay. I love what the clay does because the clay, in fact, is me. It is my motion, my spirit, my energy, my mark, my signature's all over it. Therefore, I wanted to be fired and covered with stuff I liked and enjoyed."² All of the Regis Masters have willingly, even enthusiastically embraced risk in their work, pushing themselves and their medium beyond the expected or the predictable. The possibility of failure as they try new forms and new processes is always there. Perhaps their greatest legacy is to instruct the rest of us that such creative risk-taking is worth it.

Northern Clay Center exhibited work by 2007 Regis Master Don Reitz in Gallery A from March 9 to April 29. Reitz delivered the 2007 Regis Masters lecture on Saturday, March 10, at 2 pm, at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

¹Jody Clowes, Don Reitz, Clay, Fire, Salt, and Wood, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2004, p. 12
²ibid, quoted from an unpublished letter to Jack Troy (July 28, 1993), p.56

To browse the sculptures in the exhibition, click here.
Click here to learn more about the Regis Masters Series.

---

Northern Clay Center Sales Gallery Artists at Waseca Art Center

February 16 – March 24, 2007

Curator Pat Beckmann, Executive Director of Waseca Art Center, selected and presented a variety of pots by six artists from Northern Clay Center’s Sales Gallery for an exhibition at Waseca Art Center. This exhibition included Kevin Caufield, Ursula Hargens, Maren Kloppmann, Tim Marcotte, Mike Norman and Monica Rudquist. Waseca Art Center is located at 410 North State Street in Waseca, Minnesota, four blocks north of the intersection of Highways 13 and 14.

---

Open and Closed

January 12 – April 15
Landmark Center, St. Paul

Located in the historic Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, Open and Closed provided an opportunity for the public to see outstanding work by contemporary potters and woodworkers exhibited side by side. Sponsored by the American Association of Woodturners and Northern Clay Center, the show explored variations on the theme of open vessels and lidded containers made either on the potter’s wheel or on a woodturning lathe.

---

Four Jerome Artists

January 12 – February 25
Gallery M

Northern Clay Center exhibited work produced by 2006 Jerome Ceramic Artist Project Grant recipients Ursula Hargens (Minneapolis), Jamie Lang (Golden Valley), Cheryle Melander (Minneapolis), and 2005 Jerome Residency recipient Kathleen Moroney (Ireland). 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.

Pictured above (left to right): Ursula Hargens, Platter, 2004, earthenware, luster, 14" x 14" x 2.5"; Jamie Lang, Untitled, 2006, terra cotta, white slip, 6" x 12.5" x 3"; Cheryle Melander, strays (detail), 2006, slip cast, 400 pieces, site variable, 20’ x 7’; Kathleen Moroney, Untitled, 2006, porcelain, 11" x 7" x 5.25" ea.

---

Common Denominators: Pre-Historic Ceramics of the Neolithic and Metal Ages

January 12 – February 25
Gallery A

This exhibition of approximately forty ancient vessels presented a rare opportunity to experience some of the earliest ceramics of Asia, Africa and the Americas. Guest-curated by Douglas Dawson, all of the pieces are similar in that they are hand-built (created without a potter's wheel), earthenware, and pit-fired. Surfaces employ ancient techniques such as burnishing, incising, slip decoration and appliqué. The earliest pieces, Jomon vessels from Japan, are over 10,000 years old. This show also included ancient pottery from the Americas (2500 BC – 16th century), vessels from the Khorat Plateau of Thailand (ca. 1800 BC), Yayoi pottery from Japan (6th century AD), and vessels from West Africa (ca. 10th century AD). According to Dawson, this work gives voice to "several universal components of the earliest pottery: the irresistibility of bilateral symmetry, the recognition of the potential of the surface for projection of important cultural information, and the primacy of the vessel form over figurative sculpture."

Pictured above: Casas Grandes Olla, Mimbres, Southern New Mexico, 1280 – 1450 AD, 9" x 9" dia.