I went to college in 1967 intending to pursue math, but emerged in 1971 as an art major specializing in graphics with a teaching certification. I had taken the necessary basic ceramics class as part of the core requirements, but my focus was on image-making through graphic techniques. I taught high school art for two years, and I knew exactly one iota more than the other art teacher about ceramics, so I taught those classes. Needless to say, I was forced to learn more about ceramics to keep ahead of the eager students. I often called the professor at Purdue, Marge Levy, to work out details. After a few years of high school teaching, I was offered a teaching assistantship at Purdue, and pursued my masters degree over the next 3 years.
During that time I was exposed to a variety of styles of working by visiting artists. It was a very stimulating program. I also — at some vague point — decided I could actually try making my living at being a ceramic artist. If I knew then what I know now, I might have done otherwise. It was not easy, but the bliss of ignorance led me somehow forward, and ceramics became my profession.
Over the years I have worked with raku, earthenware, stoneware at different times, and for the past 20 years, porcelain. My intention from the beginning was to make functional pieces that could be enjoyed as strong visual objects. There would be delight in using the piece, and delight in beholding it, exploring it. I wanted to make strong and elegant forms, and — perhaps springing from my earlier interest in graphic art — cover the surfaces with rich gestural graphic elements.
The first 5 years were very instructive, with many setbacks in what I wanted to make and what the kiln gave back. And financially it was always touch and go. Eventually, I began to gain control, and customers began to want more of what I was making. About 10 years in, I could count on a regular income, through a combination of studio sales, galleries, art fairs, and some teaching. This blend has always been a juggling act, but each informs the others, and I think where I am today is a result of the variety of experiences of making, selling, learning, teaching, failing, and succeeding. The last 20 years has been very fruitful, working almost exclusively in porcelain. I made the switch from stoneware to porcelain, noticing that my glaze colors and details showed up much more clearly with the white porcelain surface as a canvas than with stoneware (which starts out with a darker background). Most of my work is made on the potters’ wheel, sometimes altered afterwards, but I also do a lot of work with press-molds and with the extruder. Sometimes I combine formation techniques. By varying my formation techniques, combined with varying glaze and stain application, I try to nudge my work gently into different directions, and occasionally it pushes back, sometimes with a “No, can’t do that!”, sometimes with an “Aha! Do that again!” It’s like a relationship that takes some time to find the right rhythm, but when it does, it is very inspirational.
I received my BA from Lawrence University in 1971, and my MA from Purdue in 1979, and have attended numerous workshops over the years. Still, most of my inspiration now comes from travels, friends, nature, and my own work in a feedback loop on itself. This has all resulted in there’s not enough time in the day to address all the ideas that come up. Or maybe I’m just slowing down? I’m turning 76 this year.
Scott’s Pots – 50 Years of Clay
This show is a retrospective. I’ve been playing with clay for over 50 years now. Earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, raku, salt-glazing, etc. As someone who started out his college studies as a math major, my career has been an interesting unfolding of imagination tempered by rules, and rule-breaking. I’ve mastered many techniques and glaze puzzles, and the results often stun me when unexpected colors or effects present themselves. Lately, I’ve been throwing more caution to the wind, letting the clay speak for itself, letting glazes chime in. Sometimes I try to “unlearn”, to find the child in myself feeling clay for the first time. Deliberately be crude or naive with the material and just have fun. This has resulted in some pieces that are unrecognizable to my regular customers. But they excite me, and the new discoveries will become part of my expanding vocabulary and hopefully find a place in rhythm with my more familiar body of work. (or not ….. it’s the fun that counts now)
This show is intended to review – decade by decade – my progress, my surprises, and the many avenues I’ve explored. I’m not done yet, but this is a look back while I briefly take a breath. I hope it inspires and excites you.
