The
Nutting Gallery at West Liberty University will present an exhibition that
looks at pottery in its "WV Mud Show," through March 21.
The
exhibition features clay work by two of West Virginia's finest potters, Gary
Shaffer and Kurt Teeter, according to Robert Villamagna, Nutting Gallery
director and assistant professor of art.
Shaffer
lives and works in Brooks, located in the New River National River area. He
produces high-fired stoneware and porcelain pottery, mostly wheel thrown, and
fires reduction cone 10 in three kilns – one for glaze ware, one for salt
firing and the third for wood firing.
Shaffer
began making pottery in a high school program in Wellsburg and went on to study
ceramics at Glenville State College. He taught art and mathematics but began
making pottery on a full-time basis.
Functional
pottery is the focus of Shaffer's work. It is where he has always found great
satisfaction. Using a wide variety of glazes and brushwork designs, he
sometimes refers to himself as a "multiple personality potter."
Shaffer
is a frequent juror for the Tamarack Art Center, Beckley, W.Va., and has been
involved in the artist-mentoring program there. He also participates in local
education in the arts efforts, as well as local arts councils. He also helped
build the wood-fire train kiln at Concord University.
From the
advice of his mentors, Teeters attended West Virginia University and attained
his Masters of Fine Arts degree in May 2011.
In 2008,
he received a grant through the Luce Foundation to study in Jingdezhen, China .
He also received the Global Education Opportunities Grant through West Virginia
University to study Talavera ceramics in Guanajuato, Mexico.
Teeters'
work has been shown throughout the United States in juried exhibitions and
invitational exhibitions.
Currently,
he is working with Susan Ting at Zenclay in Morgantown as a studio manager and
resident artist. At Zenclay he teaches the art of ceramics to people who look
to the arts as a release from the everyday tasks. He also organizes exhibitions
in the three galleries at Zenclay.
"Utilitarian
pottery is about connection. Pottery connects us to our daily needs through a
means of service. A cup serves as a vessel to partake essential to life
liquids, a casserole serves as a vessel to share a cooked meal with family or
friends, and a pitcher serves the purpose of serving others with drink.
"These
aspects of servitude and connection are why I feel pottery is so important in
our contemporary culture where the digital revolution has all but taken many of
these connecting aspects of life from our
existence,"
Teeter stated in a release.
"My
pottery is a canvas that is separated into two different facets; first, the
facet of floral, second, the facet of pattern. Both of these styles offer
something different in the means of rendition, yet both have a common aspect of
life and our daily routines. The floral work is derived from Chinese Qinghua
(cobalt oxide and white porcelain) to characterize vitality and life that we
strive for as a species. I use but a piece of the peony from these Ming Dynasty
Chinese pots to characterize these aspects of life."
"The
patterned facet is based on repetition of similar geometrical shapes. I find
that repetition of pattern is associated with daily routines. I find that we
all have some sort of routine in our daily lives: the way we begin our day, the
route we take to work, or the means of entertainment in the evening.
Pots fit
into this idea as they are the objects that hold our routine consumable needs
in daily life."
"My work
continues to change as I change. My work is my timeline that shows my feelings,
my attitude and my dedication to the concept of artist. The day my work becomes
repetitive in execution of the same idea over and over, is the day I am no
longer creative as an artist. I am not who or what I was three years ago, and I
hope that I am not the same person 40 or 50 years from now. My work will
continue to be a progression of my development, not only as a ceramic artist,
but as a person over the course of my
life."
The
Nutting Gallery is located in the Hall of Fine Arts. Gallery hours are 8:30
a.m.-2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Hours for weekends and other times are
by arrangement only. For information, contact Villamagna at
rvillama@westliberty.edu or 304-336-8370.
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