I was thinking......
Connections
by Tom Richards on 06/25/13
I have done many art shows, most were group shows a few were solo. I am about to do another solo show.
I will be exhibiting for most of the month of July at the Epic Center for the Kalamazoo Arts Council. This is an opportunity that I have not had in quite some time. I have been showing my work at art fairs and galleries but it has always been with other artists. This time it is just me, all by myself.
I thought that deciding on what pots to present or a theme to use was going to be a problem. I knew that I didn't want the show to be just a collection of my current work. I wanted there to be a theme, the pots being the connection between me and the work. Thinking through all of this lead me to what the show is. All of my pots are connected, linked to each other from a basic form - I make tea bowls. Whether the side wall of the pot is tall or short - the diameter is large or small, that tea bowl is there......
Here is a copy of my artist's statement.
"Reminiscent Form, Distinctive Look"
As you look around the room you notice the pots. They are different sizes, shapes and colors. These pots were made over a period of a couple years. There is a similarity with all of them, a progression with changes that are sometimes subtle and other times not.
Every piece has a foot or base, a bottom or floor, side walls and a rim. It is the manipulation of these components that changes. All these pots are the same.
The bowl with the tall side walls turns into that vase. Then that bowl shaped vase turns into that tall tight vase. As much as these pots are connected they are completely different - the glaze and the method finale firing method - unique, distinctive.
What ties this all together is me, my hands - as those forms changed so did I.
The show will be at the Epic Center for the Art Hop on July 12 and for most of the month of July. Please stop by if you can
