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*Registration and
Cancellation |
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GALLERY
HOURS: Wednesday –
Saturday 12 – 6 PM and by appointment |
The Gallery @ Good Dirt features
some of the best work by professional potters and allows you to view fine
functional pottery in a natural, elegant setting. |
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CARYN
VAN WAGTENDONK
CRISHA
YANTIS
MIKE
KLAPTHOR |
RECENT SHOWS |
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Six very talented young potters
from Asheville will present a show of functional pots entitled “Pushing Tradition: Asheville’s New Voices.” Featured potters are Josh Copus (curator), Kyle Carpenter, Joy Tanner, Matt Jacobs,
Courtney Martin, and Naomi Dalglish. Pushing Traditions – Curator’s
Statement Asheville was still in the beginning
of its renaissance when I first moved to the area nine years ago. The relatively small size of the city, the
close proximity to my childhood home in Virginia, and surrounding mountains
were some of the things that first attracted me to the area. I had also heard from a lot of people that
Asheville was a pretty ‘hip’ place and the city that had lain
dormant since the depression was clearly starting to awaken, but it was only
after getting involved in the arts community that I began to notice that
something really special was happening. The groundwork for a vibrant
contemporary arts community was already in place around Asheville, thanks to
the previous generations of artisans and collectors that had gravitated to
the area. The mountains of western
North Carolina have a long and varied historical connection to the arts,
dating back to the Cherokee and continued by organizations such as the Black
Mountain College and the Penland School of
Crafts. Those historical threads have
combined with the resurgence of energy as old buildings are reborn as art
studios and new ideas have flooded the area to create the Asheville of today. I feel that my own personal path
as an artist has, in many ways, mirrored the growth and evolution of the
Asheville area as a center for the arts.
When I first began my work with clay, what I found was a very
supporting foundation of established artists who were willing to share their
many years of information and experience.
The echoes of old folk pots filled the mountains and mixed in my mind
with the voices of academics and back-to-the-landers
alike, creating the basis for what I make and why I make it. The more I learned, the more I wanted to
learn and I soon realized that I was hardly alone in this pursuit. Everywhere I looked, I noticed other young
artists making the same decisions and seeking out the same sources as I
was. As our paths continued to cross,
friendships were formed and soon a group of new voices began to rise from the
influence of the Asheville area. This exhibition represents a
portion of those voices and offers an example of the energy and excitement
found in the work of a new generation of ceramic artists from the Asheville
area. The artists in this exhibit are
my friends, they are an integral part of my community and we have all shared
in the experiences of learning to do this as a living. It is my pleasure to bring this group
together for this exhibition and it is my hope that this work conveys the
enthusiasm that we feel for ceramics and the place that we all call home. |
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The Gallery @ Good Dirt featured the superbly functional pots of
Carter Gillies and Jim Peckham throughout the month of May. |
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Carter attends to every last
detail of his pots’ form so that handles meet your grasp like an old
friend, cups nestle in your hand as though the wet clay took its impression,
and drinking lips lie on yours like a kiss. The forms dance as the
crisply ribbed spirals crescendo from base to rim. The textures and
indentations created during the forming process provide the perfect foil for
his atmospherically fired pots as ash and vapor play around the pots’
sensuous lines. His electric-fired work makes very thoughtful use of
glaze both visually and functionally. He balances glossy surfaces on
the insides of pots with satin matte glazes on the exterior. His glazes
curl underneath the feet of his pots so that smooth glaze contacts the
surfaces upon which the pots rest. The extra effort involved in firing
each piece on a disc of clay pays dividends both functionally and
aesthetically. If you aren’t familiar with Carter’s work,
you owe it to yourself to come see, feel, and enjoy his beautifully crafted
pieces first-hand. Fans can expect to be treated to some exciting new
forms and surfaces that really sing. Jim Peckham’s
pots serve as a functional background for masterful use of the wax-resist
technique. His background in drawing and painting comes to the fore as
he cleverly divides the three dimensional space on his forms. He layers
multiple glazes with rhythmically repeated leaf motifs painted in wax between
the layers. The result is a crisp pattern that still allows some
variation in color due to the vagaries of the firing. Jim also creates
wood-fired pots that allow the passage of flame to paint the surface of the
pots as vapors interact with the clay body, flashing slips, and shino glazes. Both of these potters have had long
associations with Good Dirt, and it is an honor to be able to display their best
work in the Gallery for our second anniversary. |
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PORCELAIN MILLEFIORE by Soon Bae Kim Korean-born artist Soon Bae Kim
takes neriage,
or marbleized clay, to new heights of sophistication and complexity. Her delicate porcelain pieces display
intricate patterns in a bold palette of colors. These exquisite treasures will be on
display in the front half of the Gallery @ Good Dirt, and the remainder of
the space will be devoted to functional pots by local favorites. |
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For the first time, the Gallery
@ Good Dirt has created an online catalogue.
The catalogue affords students and collectors of pottery a glimpse of
the pieces on display from anywhere in the world. After the opening reception, collectors may
use the online catalogue to select pieces to be shipped via UPS. The catalogue lists dimensions, prices,
materials and a high-quality photograph of each piece. Although this information is provided
through the Good Dirt website, ordering and payment is by phone at 706-355-3161. Just give us a call to discuss your
selection with a knowledgeable gallery representative who can convey much
more information about the piece than is possible with two-dimensional
photographs. The Gallery @ Good Dirt
does not charge a handling fee or inflate packing and shipping costs. UPS prices are added directly to your VISA
or MasterCard transaction. Questions
and comments about this online catalogue are always welcome at
gooddirt@bellsouth.net. |
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GOOD DIRT
hosts birthday
parties, sorority/fraternity functions |
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