Visiting Artist: Peter Christian Johnson

This past week Edinboro had the pleasure of bringing Peter Christian Johnson as a visiting artist. He is an Associate Professor of Art at Eastern Oregon University. He earned his MFA from Penn State University and a BS in Environmental Science at Wheaton College. Peter has been a resident artist and Visiting Lecturer at the Alberta College of Art and Design, Australian National University, The Archie Bray Foundation, the LH Project, and the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts. His work has been exhibited in Canada, Australia, and throughout the United States.

While here at Edinboro, Peter gave a lecture on his evolution as an artist and demonstrated his construction process. His unique construction process begins with designing each piece using a 3D modeling software on his computer. Then he takes sections from this model, prints them off, and uses them as a template to cut out parts from slabs of clay. Below are some shots from the workshop.

For more information about Peter Christian Johnson visit his website:

www.peterchristianjohnson.com/

The Edinboro University Clay Club would like to thank Peter for flying out for the workshop and sharing his process with us. We would also like to thank Edinboro's Student Government Association for helping make this event possible. 

Alumni Spotlight: Garrett Loveless

Garrett graduated from Edinboro in May of 2013 and is currently living in Springville, Utah.

Since graduating from Edinboro, Garrett has worked as a Technical Assistant in the ceramics department at Utah Valley University. He is currently working in a bronze foundry (Adonis Bronze http://www.adonisbronze.com/) in the patina department. He tries to focus on his work as much as his schedule allows. He is also working on his first bronze sculpture and hopes to complete some mixed media work by with both bronze and ceramic in the future. Recently, Garrett was awarded Best in Show at the Art of Our Century exhibit at the Woodbury Art Museum!

Artist Statement:

The idea of complex artifacts with mysterious functions has captivated many, and has led to theories about Gods, aliens, and time travelers. I have always enjoyed stories and artifacts that challenge what we know about our past, and I try to capture this atmosphere of excitement and intrigue within my work. I probe what was previously known that had to be rediscovered, and the notion that, perhaps, we have failed to recover everything that has been lost.

Largely inspired by Middle Age instruments such as globes, armillary spheres, and astrolabes, I look to old devices that were used in an attempt to bring order to the chaos of the natural world. To me these forms carry the excitement of discovery, an aura of knowledge, and a sense of function. Giving my pieces this idea of purpose, and adding elements that seem out of time, or place, help create an air of mystery. 

I am intrigued by how knowledge and objects that once seemed cryptic and arcane, known by only a privileged few, become common, and then obsolete. Finally, in the absence of their function, they once again become mysteriously arcane. These ideas make me question our relationships with our technology today, what effect such conveniences have on us, and where we would be if they were taken away. 

Check out more of Garrett's work at www.garrettloveless.com 

Annual Clay Club Exhibition: Ranges in Temperature

Edinboro's Clay Club holds an annual exhibition every fall in the Bates Gallery on campus. The show was up from October 6th-10th. Work from both graduate and undergraduate members of Clay Club were on display. This year the theme of the show was Ranges in Temperature. Each piece in the gallery was organized from left to right based on the temperature each piece was fired. As a result it showcases the wide variety of firing processes students are experimenting with here at Edinboro. Check out some of the images below!

Gallery Shots:

 

Undergraduate Work:

                

Matt George                                                               Liana Agnew

Graduate Work:

Marge Gormley                                      Sara Morales-Morgan

Clay Club's Cup and Bowls Sale

Each year our Clay Club holds a sale of cups and bowls made by our members. Every member is required to make 10 cups and 10 bowls. This year the sale was from October 2nd-3rd. More funds were raised through a sale on Saturday, October 4th during Edinboro's Homecoming weekend. We are happy to announce that we raised just under $2,000.00 from these sales! All of the proceeds from this sale go to the Clay Club to help us pay for things like visiting artists, trips to workshops and conferences, other club events, and things such as photography backdrops or lights that students can use.

Thank you to all of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members who came out to support us!

Neil Simak working the Cup and Bowls sale.

Alumni Spotlight: Gratia Brown

Gratia Brown

Gratia Brown graduated from Edinboro's MFA Ceramics program in May 2013. Since graduating, Gratia has focused on completing residencies and gaining teaching experience. Her first year after graduating was spent working with The Ceramics Center in Cedar Rapids, IA as a resident artist and studio manager. During her time there, she also focused on community teaching for The Ceramic Center's studio classes and community outreach/after school programs with nonprofits such as Eastern Iowa Arts Academy and United Way. 

She has recently moved to Grand Forks, ND for a visiting researcher position at the University of North Dakota. Here she teaches Introduction to Ceramics/Handbuilding.

This past year Gratia has been featured in regional/national juried shows including Beyond the Brickyard at the Archie Bray Foundation and Iowa Crafts at the MacNider Art Museum, where she was awarded Best in Show. She currently has a solo exhibition at the MacNider, Mason City, IA and has another upcoming solo exhibition in 2015 at Wartburg College, Waverly, IA. In 2015 she will be presenting a workshop, "The Repurposed Ceramic Object," at Goggleworks Art Center, Reading, PA and will be participating in a show of Watershed Salad Day Artist Alumni at the New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, MA in conjunction with NCECA.