Introducing our June Pots for Membership Artists!

Hey again! Summer is here at last and we're following the holiday with some pots that are worth celebrating!

Each month, Studio Potter features a small selection of artists and their work, which is available for sale in our online store for thirty days only. In exchange for the sale of their piece, the artist (or a chosen beneficiary) will receive a one-year free membership to the journal. 

Here are the July featured artists: 

Brett Freund

Brett is currently making and living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was an artist in residence at St. Petersburg Clay Company, St. Petersburg, Florida, before attending Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, where he received his MFA in 2011. After school, he was a Lormina Salter Fellow at Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland. In 2012, Ceramics Monthly named him one of that year's Emerging Artists. Freund’s work incorporates color, sketching, and repetition. He intuitively constructs from slip cast parts. Each resulting product communicates preciousness, but is manipulated with a chaotic energy. Although he is using prototypes and reproducible parts, he is creating decorative objects with personal, interior spaces. His work is currently featured at both the Northern Clay Center and at Lillstreet Gallery. 

When working I think about my own definitions of preciousness and value. How does an object qualify itself as being important? Is what I’m after rare like a diamond, does it take time to grow like a crystal, or is it a symbol that references a status or identity? Most importantly, how can I scrutinize hierarchies without undermining the possibility of growing in my craft?

Learn more about Brett's work at http://www.brettfreundportfolio.com

Check out Brett's piece on our store Here! 

Simon Levin

In 1993, Simon fell in love with the movement of flame through a wood-kiln. This led him to an MFA from the University of Iowa. He now owns Mill Creek Pottery in Wisconsin, where his apprentices and he work to advance the cause of wood-fired pottery. In 2013 he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Taiwan, where he explored the potential of local materials. Recently Simon has been a visiting artist, lecturer, and kiln builder at The China Academy of the Arts in Hangzhou. There he is further developing wood-fire technology, which originated in Asia and has evolved in the incubator of the U.S's ceramics community. 

As my journey in clay continues I may discover more spokes, and more ways to speak eloquently outside of my own narrow world.  Travel and the continued exploration of core human connections strengthen my belief in this new artistic direction.

 

Learn more about Simon's work at https://simonlevin.com

Check out Simon's piece on our store Here!