2024 Ceramics
Joani Feiner | Adel
|
In late 2019 and prior to the Covid epidemic, l had tried my hand at pottery, attending night classes at an art center. I also took several private lessons. I wasn't very good, but l loved it. After the shut down started, l bought a used wheel and started a small studio in our garage. Many hours later l started to develop a sense of direction. As an artist, l am fairly new and growing everyday. I continuously challenge myself with trying different styles on the wheel and with handbuilding. This year l had the honor of being selected by Iowa PBS to design and make a piece to be used as one of their donor gifts. Currently l am making a minimum of 25 exclusive bowls for them. To date most of my pieces have been wheel thrown and functional, although recently l have started making decorative pieces also. I love to try new designs, and I specialize in multiple layers of glaze designed to make my pieces grab the eye. I mainly work with stoneware and porcelain. I am enjoying this journey immensely. After being forced to retire from my career due to an old injury. l have once again found purpose and joy.
I both wheel throw and handbuild my pottery and often alter my pieces after forming them. I also use piercings to alter my pottery. Once the pieces are formed I'll consider which glazes will most enhance them. I use multiple layers of glazes designed to catch the eye. |
Lisa Jontz | Baxter
Backyard Pottery
|
|
Inspired by the beauty of nature in her own backyard, potter Lisa Jontz founded Backyard Pottery in 2001. After moving to a Baxter, Iowa farm in 2006, she found herself creatively stimulated by the gorgeousness of God's country - the bountiful Midwest plains.
Lisa designs highly functional yet artistic pieces so people can incorporate art into their daily lives. Her one-of-a-kind pieces are guaranteed to encourage enjoyment of life’s everyday moments. Alongside Lisa in her studio you may find her husband, son or extended family. She considers their practical and aesthetic advice a treasured component of her creative process. Functional stoneware, high fire gas reduction. |
Sara Krause | Marion
|
Sara Krause is a local artist, based in Marion, Iowa. She has been making pottery for over 10 years, including her time at Coe College, where she majored in art with an emphasis in ceramics. Sara has a pottery studio at home, where she enjoys creating many varieties of wheel-thrown and hand-built porcelain pottery pieces.
Her works include a variety of functional and decorative items, such as mugs, plates, bowls, vases, jewelry and ornaments. Many items are food, dishwasher, and microwave safe. Sara's unique designs are often inspired by nature. Her collection includes a variety of Raku pieces. Raku is a specialized firing technique, stemming from an ancient Japanese tradition. This firing method allows artists to create stunning decorative pieces that would be the envy of any pottery connoisseur's collection. Pieces are removed from firing at 1,750 degrees and either smoldered in a fire pit, or decorated with horse hair, and then quenched in water. |
Eric Peterson | Perry
|
Possessed with a natural curiosity, Eric’s interest in pottery began in high school and further developed at the Octagon Center for the Arts, in Ames, Iowa where he was able to practice and perfect his art with
hours of open studio time at his disposal. Following this training, Eric apprenticed at a local interactive outdoor museum where his hand-thrown stoneware took shape. The simplicity of both form and function became a priority for him and his work reflects that in a variety of functional stoneware and earthenware that appeal to the eye and meet practical needs. Using a variety of clay, glazes, slips, and more recently, hand-etched drawings by his wife, Betsy, Eric’s work continues to develop into a variety of forms including flowerpots made with local Dallas County clay, pitchers, mugs, bowls, porcelain dishes and whimsical ware. Eric’s experience, hard work and fine-honed skills are evident in each piece. |
Ruben Ruiz | Huxley
Deer Creek Ceramics
IG: deercreekceramics
|
|
My fascination with nature is a major influence in my work. My aim is to create pieces that inspire a smile. It was in 2005 that I came in contact with clay for the first time, at the Irvine Fine Arts Center in California where I learned wheel throwing. The hand building part of my work is a self-taught process.
My work is made with porcelain or stoneware clay. I wheel throw most of my pieces and then either alter them, add texture, and/or create sculptural details. Each piece is individually glazed and then fired in a reduction atmosphere at temperature above 2100 degrees. |
Kate Trimble | Dallas Center
|
Hand crafted, functional pottery can augment the nourishment of food by turning the mundane actions of daily living more artful, and cherishable. My pottery is created to bring artwork into daily life while enhancing the interaction between food, drink, and people. I endeavor to create highly utilitarian pieces for people to see, touch, and use on a consistent basis. Food and drink sustain our bodies but the camaraderie of good company sustains our souls.
I have been experimenting with clay since the early 80's. My wheel thrown, functional pottery is supplemented with hand built sculptures. Like most potters, I believe pottery needs to be seen, felt and used. My inspiration comes from viewing our rural Iowa farmland and is expressed in my signature pieces representing birds resting on a wire. My glaze colors reflect the blues and browns and greens of our beautiful landscape. |
Caroline Warren | Indianola
|
Caroline was born and raised on a small farm in Iowa. Always involved in her parents' farm and 4-H, she has a soft spot for animals and nature. Graduating cum laude from Iowa State University in the spring of 2016, Caroline earned a BFA in Integrated Studio Arts. Caroline's art is all connected through her animal designs, which form the base of her brand. She creates unique, folk-style animal paintings on wood, which are used to decorate her hand-thrown pottery using black iron oxide printed decals. Caroline performs every step in the process by hand. Ceramic forms are a canvas to display and spread her animal creations, and love of nature and landscapes.
I make handmade, wheel-thrown ceramics fired in an electric kiln. I decorate my pottery with original iron oxide decals. My ceramic forms are a canvas to display my love of nature and animals. My pottery is functional and modern, and I perform every step in my process by hand. |