Artist of the Month
October Artists: Linda and Jim Dalton
Linda, a native of North Carolina, has been passionate about learning to create pottery since she first saw a potter at work. She and her husband, Jim, have gradually developed what started as a hobby for Linda into a full-time vocation for both, creating high-end functional and decorative ceramic art.
Linda and Jim use horsehair to create the distinctive black lines of horsehair pottery, which is fired in a raku kiln. The successful experimentation fueled their curiosity as to what would happen if - Indeed, their entire pottery journey has been an exciting experimentation. They have added driftwood, and after adding commercially available bamboo, they are now growing their own black bamboo. Seeing spider webs while on walks in the woods led to experimenting with putting the spider webs onto pottery pieces and firing them in the raku kiln.
Their current body of work includes high-fire functional and decorative pieces. Before firing, glazes are applied in layers. Careful attention is paid to how each glaze will react with the other glazes and how they will run over each other. Glazes are applied by dipping or spraying. Glazes that have variable results are especially chosen for the happy surprise factor.
The pieces are loaded into the gas kiln and fired for 14 to 16 hours, reaching a temperature over 2300°F. When the final temperature is reached, the kiln is held at that temperature for at least an hour to achieve the high gloss and depth of color desired.
Venus Collective
From left to right:
Megan Lassen, Emily Flores, Jennifer Harkey, and Annie Grimes Williams
The Venus Collective, a group of North Carolinian women artists, aims to support and foster the development and growth of the members through networking, teaching, and inspiring each other toward the vision of artistic exploration and self expression with the goal of connecting the group’s communities through the language of art.
Interested in Becoming One of Our Featured Artists?
Email us your contact information, 5-10 images of your work, an artist statement, and a headshot for jury review.
February Artist: Brett Beasley
An alarming percentage of humanity lives with medically diagnosed chronic diseases. Sometimes these diseases are invisible illnesses, not apparent at first or even second glance. Many times, people put up a façade of normality and hide behind a mask of denial. Regardless of healthy life choices, a chronic, debilitating illness affects day-to-day activities.
My life was flipped upside down when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease that causes damage to the nervous system through demyelination of nerves in the brain. Fortunately, medication allows me to carry on a normal life. Unfortunately, flare-ups still occur. Though it may not be apparent to others, the destructive internal effects have physical consequences on my body.
Through my sculptures, I reference this disguise of wellness. Internal damage is caused by a disease, but on the exterior, there is a deceptive rigid structure. The coil-built framework is cloaked in a metallic bronze glaze to imply strength and integrity. Conversely, the interior geometric shapes erupt with a volcanic and reactive glaze suggestive of a growing illness. All the while, the entire piece is susceptible to destruction, as ceramics is fragile and easily broken if mistreated- similar to an ill patient. The vulnerability of a structure, whether it be the human body or a work of art, can be an opportunity to express empathy and communication.
View More of Brett's work - https://www.beasleyceramics.com/
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External Demyelination
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Chronic Fatigue
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Disrupted Impluse
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Manganism
March Artist: Kait Kelsey
I am intrigued by the forms and functionally that wheel thrown ceramics can produce. I am lured by the two dimensional representations of the entities I see in my life as they are transposed onto the three dimensional forms. In my newest life chapter in the Carolinas I am drawing inspiration from the local foliage and fauna to create surface decorations that elevate the overall form into everyday functional artwork. The claybody I use is earthenware sourced from the Appalachian mountains. It has a beautiful deep red coloring which forms a strong foundation for the blue stains I use like paint to feed my fascination with the natural etherealness of the creatures I see in my life and mind.
April Artist: Ralph Mello
Ralph creates wheel-thrown stoneware with high-fire gas reduction glazes. He enjoys making classical, sculptural, and functional forms using different textures, colors, and shapes.
“I enjoy art of many mediums. For my pieces, I draw inspiration from the historic, classical ceramics of the Chinese and Greek as well as the whimsical fantasy of Antoni Gaudi’s architecture. Art and nature provide a limitless resource to choose from while doing my work.
I have shown my work around the Charlotte area at the Carolina Clay Matters Pottery Festival, Huntersville Art Walk, Guild-sponsored display at Charlotte Douglas Airport, Art in The Park in Blowing Rock NC, Festival in the Park, and The Union County Art Guild Doug Helms Memorial Art show at which I won the Potters House Award in 2010. I currently have a home studio and I am a studio artist at Clayworks on Monroe Road.”
May Artist: Heather Cohen
I am Heather Cohen, a textile designer and artist originally from Zimbabwe with over four decades of design experience, currently residing in North Carolina.
I hand paint natural fabrics with different methods, such as Batik, Shibori and watercolor applications, and then sew them into shawls and women’s tops. The Batik method is the application of melted wax, which resists dyes, resulting in the motifs and design. The wax is then removed by ironing, boiling and dry cleaning. Shibori and Tray Dying is a process of careful folding, pleating and scrunching during dye applications.
My designs and color combinations are inspired from my surroundings growing up in Zimbabwe. All of my creations are unique and one of a kind.
June Artist: Jodi Lynn McNeeley
Jodi Lynn has always been driven by a desire to paint something, make something, or fix something. After taking numerous art classes at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC and participating in several ceramic workshops in the region, Jodi Lynn built a studio on her property in South Charlotte. Her Industrial Technology Bachelor Degree, ceramics education and free form carvings have emerged as her signature style, creating unique pieces with structural integrity and aesthetic interest.
She is heavily influenced by Mexican and Chinese Folk Art. As a form of journaling, her carvings many times feature people she has met on her journey. She is a Charlotte, NC transplant from Texas by way of New Mexico.
Jodi Lynn’s pottery and ceramics capture the magic of story-telling and the human connection of friendship, family and community that develops as we journey through this thing called life. The vibrant, whimsical colors, and rich carvings of human connection are influenced by her own journey from the desert Southwest in the U.S. to mainland China where she adopted her daughters. It was there she first formed one of the greatest human connections of all - mother and child.
July Artist: Nanette Pengelley
Nanette Pengelley is a queer, Jamaican-American capricorn and metalsmith from south Florida. She went on to study in Quito, Boston, and Florence. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2015 with her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Nanette has been exploring her practice within her brand, Hew Jewelry. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina, and spends summers teaching in New England.
"My work centers on the use of found objects. When I integrate semi-precious materials, I introduce these unique discoveries into a transitive context. As a result, my process is a derivative of my environment. Through experimentation, I endeavor to locate myself in my surroundings, as an artist—as a person. To put it simply, my work is shaped by materials that I am attracted to, and oftentimes I find myself captivated by an object because of my encounter with it. In this way, my experiences are carried forward with me, through the act of making."
July Artist: Evelyn Ward
Handmade pottery connects us with the maker every time we use it. It can be part of a humble daily ritual or a big celebration, making both a little more special. I try to make balanced pots that are nice to have in your home for daily use, special occasions or just have around to look at. I really enjoy making pots and hope that they bring a little light to people’s lives.
I’m currently working with a dark stoneware clay because I love the rich color of the clay body and wanted to have some areas of bare clay showing through on the surfaces of the pots.
Using a printing technique called monoprinting, I cut out a design from pieces of paper and coat them with colored slip. Once the slip has dried a little, I put it on the pot, paper and all. When the slip has adhered to the pot, I pull the paper off to reveal the design. Not all of the slip always sticks, leaving the surface with an imperfect texture.
I love those imperfections, the clean lines and the printed quality I can get from this process. I started out as a printmaker and have always gravitated to the qualities of hand printed images and this process is really suggestive of that.
August Artist: Courtney Fall Tomchik
Growing up in the mountains of WNC I was surrounded with natures beauty. I grew up in an artist family and have always created in some form of media. I started out collaging magazine art and then painting on fabric and canvas. I have a BA in ceramics from Appalachian State University and have been able to further my skill and knowledge through workshops and classes. When my son was born in 2003. I was working in the interior design field and decided to take my ceramic art professional and do fine art shows with some gallery representation. I have been professionally selling my work full time since he was born in 2003. Working in clay since 1988.
My current body of work is more mixed media with a ceramic base using found objects to interject more interest and give new life to what has been discarded. I raku fire and use multi layers of texture in my ceramics which creates more interest. This process is done with gas and results in iridescence and variation in colors. I have formulated my own glazes to have more earth tones. I work in my studio in Clemmons, NC.
My ceramics embody earthy tones, multiple layers of texture, with added found objects and a deep appreciation for imperfections. They invite viewers to immerse themselves in a serene and contemplative experience, where nature and art intertwine. The colors and textures merge to bring light from the creation. As an artist, I draw inspiration from the nature that surrounds me allowing it to shape and breathe life into each piece of my work
September Artist: Esther Rodgers
Esther is a creative fiber artist, known for her innovative art yarns and unique fiber preparation. She focuses on spinning textured, non traditional yarns, as well as artyarns with stories. She begins with raw wool, then washes, dyes, spins and weaves (and sometimes knits and felts) the wool to make one of a kind textile art. She focuses on spinning textured, non traditional yarns, as well as artyarns with stories.
Esther loves to share her knowledge. She is a a full time fiber arts educator and teaches workshops around the world. She has written articles for PLY and SPINoff and is featured in books by Lexi Bieger and Ashley Martineau.
She offers individual zoom workshops and group classes on an exciting variety of creative fiber art topics, has a Craftsy class on Fiber Preparation, as well as four Long Thread Media videos about creative and art yarn spinning, expressive weaving and color blending.
Esther is a SAORI weaver and has a certified SAORI studio. She enjoys designing and constructing garments with her handspun and handwoven fabric, and loves teaching classes based on the SAORI principles and techniques.
