 |
I
first encountered clay at age 6, sculpting animals in the basement
of a hobbyist / ceramics teacher in Queens, New York. I intermittently
continued building with clay throughout grade school. In high
school an art teacher demonstrated throwing on the wheel and
encouraged my interest in ceramics. In 1964, while employed as
a research microbiologist in New York City, I began attending
evening classes at Greenwich House Pottery.
After marrying in 1965 and while raising two children, I continued
working part-time with clay for the next 14 years. I worked as a volunteer
in numerous community programs and helped
establish a
potter's support group - the Hudson River Potters. In addition to creating
my own work, I attended many ceramic classes and workshops, and studied
weaving and basketry as well. I also became the founding director of
a non-profit municipal gallery, The Gallery at Hastings on Hudson.
In 1978 my husband and I decided to take advantage of an opportunity
to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area. I realized this was my opportunity
to focus on clay full time, something I had long wanted to do. After
settling with my family in Palo Alto, I established a studio in Mountain
View,
"Plum Tree Pottery". Working in the shade of a yellow plum
tree, I concentrated on developing distinct forms and glazes.
In 1989 I moved my studio to a warehouse in downtown Palo Alto where
the evolution of my work continued. Recognizing that my warehouse studio
would not be available much longer, my family and I moved 7 miles west
to Portola Valley in 1993. We immediately made plans to build a studio
at home. I now have the pleasure of making pots in a studio of my own
design.
I enjoy making pots for everyday use; each is a subtle variation of
a form - usually thrown in a series. I am a perfectionist (as much
as the process allows) and am constantly in search of the perfect surface
and ideal form while striving to create pots that have life and vitality.
I have a casserole included in the permanent collection of the Renwick
Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, DC. |
AWARDS |
Peoples’s
Choice – Favorite Dinnerware, ‘Dinnerworks 08’, Louisville,
KY |
2008 |
Honorable
Mention, “Made by Hand, Meant for Use”, ARC Exhibitions,
Andrews Univ., Berrien Springs, MI |
2005 |
|
Award of
Merit, California State Fair,
Sacramento, CA |
2004 |
|
Best Functional, “State
of Clay”, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society, Lexington, MA |
2002 |
Purchase
Award, “Focus on Function”, The Minneapolis Institute of
Arts, Minneapolis, MN |
2000 |
PROFESSIONAL
AFFILIATIONS |
The Palo Alto
Art Center Foundation
Co President and Board of Directors
- current
Baulines
Craft Guild
Master Craftsperson
Association
of Clay & Glass Artists of California
Exhibiting Member Board of Directors 1981-present, President 1991-1993
Craft
Emergency Relief Fund
Board of Directors 1992 - 1997
National
Council on Education in the Ceramics Arts
Ceramics
Monthly
Editorial Advisory Board
|
COLLECTIONS |
Nora
Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Claudia Chapline, Stinson Beach, CA
Virginia Breier, San Francisco, CA
The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Forrest Merrill, Berkeley, CA
Kay Sekimachi, Berkeley, CA
Bermuda National Gallery, Hamilton, Bermuda
Please
click here MS Word version of Jan's Resume |
