rjknight

I am primarily a functional potter, making practical items for everyday and special occasion use. Having a handmade mug from which to drink your morning coffee, or a special vase to hold the flowers from your garden, make these everyday events more meaningful. Handmade items enrich our lives by adding affordable art to our environment.

The first time I saw pottery thrown on a potter’s wheel I was in my late 20’s and attending an artist demonstration day at a local art center. I immediately signed up for classes and, as they say, the rest is history. I took classes at the art center for several years, taught classes there, and worked one summer as a potter’s apprentice before deciding college was the next step. After earning a BFA from Kent State University, I worked at a living history museum as their potter. Now I work from my own studio at home.

My influences are many. All pottery, both current and historical, influences me in some manner, whether that influence is aesthetic or physical: proportion, process, design, craftsmanship, functionality, color, the maker’s story or that elusive something that makes a piece extra special. I’ve been a sewer since grade school so fabric patterning and texture influence surface texture on clay. The human form – parts of a pot are often referred to as the neck, shoulder or belly. Nature and natural forms, of course, influence most craftmen’s design sensibilities, even when not immediately obvious.

Clay is challenging. Being a good potter requires lots of experimentation, problem solving skills, marketing expertise, business acumen, not to mention patience, hard work, chemistry know-how and good design judgment. Did I mention hard work?