Shared Spaces

Will and I are showing together in an upcoming exhibit, near Atlanta, Georgia at the Roswell Arts Center West, from September 19- October 14.  Shared Spaces is an exhibit showcasing the new wood and soda fired pieces created in our studio.  Sharing a life and studio together, we each create our individual work and fire together in a wood kiln, fueled by discarded wood pallets.

I hope you get a chance to see the great collection of wood and soda fired pots we sent down there!  You can view the show online here.  Here's the statement we wrote about our exhibit:

  
Looking back we realized that our paths would have crossed inevitably, and that in one way or another, we have been sharing spaces for several years now.  We first met as a result of us both seeking our own paths as potters.  Each drawn towards atmospheric firings from the very beginnings of our clay careers, it was only natural that we would soon be putting our heads together to find our way through the intricacies of soda firing.  After each leaving Resident Artist positions at the Odyssey Center in Asheville, North Carolina, we soon began relying partly on shared firings in a small wood kiln that Will built for himself.  Sharing the labors and excitement of a wood fired soda kiln and combining our talents and observations allowed us to learn together to create the firings we have today. 

Although we choose to fire our work in the same type of kiln, our interests for our work are often different.  We strike a balance between sharing a very similar aesthetic and enjoying the freedom to make individual choices about our own work.  Joy’s forms are embellished with hand carved patterns and impressed textures, and often further enhanced by pooling glazes; Will’s work relies on strong, masculine forms emphasizing both the dramatic and the subtle effects of flame, ash, and vapor leaving their own mark on the surface. 

The last year marked a new transition for us as we began working in the same shared studio and combined our work and our energies to fill and fire a larger wood kiln as Resident Artists at the Energy Xchange in Burnsville, North Carolina.  While we continue to each focus on making our own forms, sharing the same space has brought unexpected benefits. Nearly side by side on a daily basis, we see the constant ebb and flow of each other’s working cycle.  We have found that the energy of one of us often feeds the energy of the other and helps add momentum to each new cycle of making and firing.  Both of us usually have our own intended plan for a certain piece, yet we are still able to offer encouragement to one another, and serve as the source of inspiration or simply a different perspective.  In the last few months we have seen both of our forms evolve and grow in ways that we might not have expected.

We have always shared the same commitment to continually refine our work, down to the little details that only our own eyes can see.   We realized early in our relationship that we shared a common level of dedication and persistence; now we have come to truly rely on each other’s commitment to fire the kiln.  When we peek into the fire to observe the wood flames wrapping around our work, we know our combined energies have helped to feed that fire.  A few days later, unloading our wood kiln proves that we have shared not only the kiln space but the flames as well.