CRAFTED 2015: CERAMIC TABLEWARE

Displaying works from some of the best contemporary ceramic artists, CRAFTED is an annual invitational exhibition celebrating handcrafted functional artwork. For 2015, guests will see items made for the table, specifically those made to hold and serve food. Ceramic objects have promoted the act of cooking and consumption throughout history. These unique pieces hold the notion of human endeavor, they mark the traditions of holiday dinners and become invested with memories of our most treasured meals. Our mission is to help build awareness and a better understanding of the value that handcrafted ceramics and food can bring to the table.

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Jeffrey Oestreich

Jeffrey Oestreich runs his own ceramics studio in Taylors Falls, Minnesota.  

His work is soda fired with minimal use of colored glaze, the decorations on the pieces are always in keeping with the form of the pot and in carefully planned proportions. Jeffrey’s utilitarian pottery is hand thrown and altered, either by faceting, stretching, or cutting and rejoining.

You can see more of Jeffrey’s work on his website. 

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Jeffrey Kleckner

Jeffrey Kleckner is a ceramic artist based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  

He is engaged in making pots through the rich history and complex process of ceramics. Jeffrey says, “The materials, kilns, firings, and the rhythm of the studio have become a comfortable part of my life, almost akin to refuge.”

Jeffrey’s work is wheel thrown with porcelain or white stoneware clay and reduction fired in a gas fueled kiln. Shapes are altered when wet and sometimes assembled from thrown parts. 

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Autumn Cipala

Autumn Cipala is a ceramic artist based in St. George, Maine.

She works with porcelain as she is drawn to its essential qualities of translucency, luminosity, and strength. She forms her pieces by hand on the potter's wheel and each piece is formed with a balance of clean lines, curves, and volume to draw emphasis to the form of each piece.

You can see more of Autumn’s work on her website. 

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Linda Christianson

Linda Christianson is a ceramic artist based in Lindstrom, Minnesota.  

She studied at Hamline University, and the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work is in numerous public and private collections, including the American Museum of Ceramic Art and the Glenboe Museum.

You can see more of Linda’s work on her website. 

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Hiroe Hanazono

Hiroe Hanazono is a ceramic artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Her work focuses on the tableware – plates, bowls, tumblers and servicing pieces, each designed with a touch of sensitivity and created through slip casting and softly colored glazed surface.

Hiroe wanted to create pots that not only serve as a vehicle for the presentation of food, but also to transcend visual pleasure and to stimulate appetite. Her minimal design of forms allows for beautiful relationships between the vessels and the elements contained within them.

You can see more of Hiroe’s work on her website. 

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Ben Carter

Ben Carter is a ceramic artist based in Santa Cruz, California.  

He received a BFA in ceramics and painting from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and an MFA in ceramics from the University of Florida-Gainesville. 

In 2004, he opened Carter Pottery and has since been producing work for exhibitions across the United States. He uses color, form, and pattern to create nostalgia for a time when communal meals were the core of familial relationships.

You can see more of Ben’s work on his website. 

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Daniel Kuhn

Daniel Kuhn is a ceramic artist based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

He creates one of kind functional and sculptural ceramic works, as well as teaching workshops and classes for multiple facilities. Dan is the owner/operator of Ton Pottery in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh.    

Find out more about Dan’s work through his website

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Kala Stein

Kala Stein is a ceramic artist based in Sonoma, California.

With clay and plaster, Kala is able to make temporal actions permanent; gestures of the hand and tool are captured in the soft clay and plaster molds. She incorporates variables into her systems of making, and these variables honor the value of the craftsman and promise for a continuum of the handmade object. Her work is produced in limited editions.

You can see more of Kala’s work on her website. 

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Tyler Gulden

Tyler Gulden is a ceramic artist, art educator and administrator working out in Walpole, Maine. 

He studied ceramics at Alfred University and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and has been a resident artist at notable craft centers such as the Peters Valley Craft Center, Haystack Mtn School of Crafts, and Watershed.  

Tyler’s  current work follows the tradition of salt firing, in combination with the more contemporary process of soda firing. His work capitalizing on the unique color and surface variations derived naturally from the process.    

See more of Tyler’s work at his website.  

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Chandra Debuse

Chandra Debuse is a ceramic artist working out of Kansas City, Missouri. 

Her functional pottery incorporates narrative imagery, pattern and form to amuse and delight the user, imparting a sense of play. Chandra’s work reflects her approach to make-believe by incorporate bouncing lines, candy colors, low relief and hand-drawn elements into her ceramic service ware, encouraging a sense of discovery and exploration.

See more of Chandra’s work at her website.

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Yoshitaka Fujii

Yoshitaka Fujii is a ceramic artist based in Baltimore, Maryland.  

The design and function of Yoshitaka’s work are influenced by his Japanese heritage. Porcelain and translucent glazes, such as celadon, have historically significance and also suggest the fascination toward elegance and beauty.

In the forms of function, Yoshitaka always references what he saw on the table as he grow up, the seasonal dishes served, and the relationships between the tableware and the viewer/user.

You can see more of Yoshitaka’s work on his website. 

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Jenna VandenBrink

Jenna VandenBrink is a ceramic artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

She studied Studio Art and English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. After graduation, Jenna moved to Pittsburgh with ten college friends and began working at Union Project. Her handmade functional ceramic wares are made with terracotta earthenware, and decorated with colorful slips and sgraffito drawings. Each piece is designed and created to bring joy to the user.

You can see more of Jenna’s work on her website. 

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Keith Hershberger

Keith Hershberger is a ceramic artist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Besides from being a ceramic artist, and working as a digital arts instructor at a non-profit youth and arts program in Pittsburgh, Keith also pursues his lifelong love of music simultaneously. 

He believes that an artist’s job is to find beauty in the unexpected, and to point it out to others. His fascination of texture, by layers, by the effect that the elements and the passage of time have on the surface of objects is the thread that ties all his work together in all media.

You can see more of Keith’s work on his website. 

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Matthew Hyleck

Matthew Hyleck is a ceramic artist based in Baltimore, Maryland.  

Matthew’s work is defined directly by his love for natural objects. He explores the ways in which the landscape changes through the seasons; specifically how a field is defined by its location, refined by its designated purpose and constrained by it fenced borders. 

He believes that the life of a pot becomes complete only when it is used, so his work is made for the table, not for the shelves.

You can see more of Matthew’s work on his website. 

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Teresa Pietsch

Teresa Pietsch is a ceramic artist based in Penland, North Carolina. 

Teresa’s work reflects her need to make objects that are both functional and beautiful. She experiments with textures and other decorative aspects of pottery, her inspiration comes from nature. She sees the tree as a representation of experience and growth, the roots of a tree as they give support and nutrients, the leaves as a vision of life and its cycles.

Her pots are made for people to touch, hold and use them in everyday life.

You can see more of Teresa’s work on her website. 

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Doug Peltzman

Doug Peltzman is a ceramic artist based in Dover Plains, New York.  

He makes one-of-a-kind handmade porcelain and earthenware pottery for the kitchen and home. Doug's pieces incorporate a wide variety of influences, which take the form of highly crafted functional and decorative objects.

You can see more of Doug’s work on his website. 

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Hannah Niswonger

Hannah Niswonger is a ceramic artist based in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Hannah received her Master of Fine Art in ceramic sculpture from Alfred University in Alfred, New York. She has taught ceramics at Harvard University and MassArt in Boston, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and Georgia State University in Atlanta. Besides from teaching, Hannah also exhibits her work regularly in galleries and juried craft shows, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art Show and the Smithsonian Craft Show and CraftBoston.

You can see more of Hannah’s work on her website!