Continued from the February issue

Steven Dark

“Although I am well–versed in the conceptual aspects of sculptural clay, I have always considered myself to be primarily a vessel maker,” he divulged in his artist statement. “I am unashamedly interested in and influenced by the long and diverse history of ceramics and pottery making. Classical utilitarian vessels in clay have always intrigued and inspired me.”

“The most recent phase of my work is primarily concerned with the aesthetics of the lower Appalachian folk jug potters and my own idiosyncratic narrative impulse. I use the classic forms of the whimsical face and chicken jugs as a springboard – I then modify them to express my own offbeat sense of humor and curiosity toward the medium and subject matter. No matter what the narrative, it is always my intention to convey a folksy style of personal revelation or reflection.”

He spoke about his inspirations for creating art work.

“Personally the most exciting aspect of being a ceramist is the exploration of process,” he explained. “As a young artist, I was instantly seduced by the power of the potter’s wheel and have been ever since.”

“I tend to work on a series of six to eight pieces at a time, throwing on the wheel the primary forms and decorative parts. When the clay is at just the right stage of dryness I begin the assembly process. To the hollow sculptural form I attach the finer details, cutting, pushing and pulling; adding slabs, coils, and pulled handles until the desired final product is achieved. Regarding the decorative details of the figures, I deliberately aim for a sharp contrast between the eyes and teeth of porcelain and the buff color of the stoneware. The hats and costumes instill a sense of individual personality to each figure. I explore a broad range of human emotions in my expressive search for quirky individuality. I aspire to build a psychological bridge between the viewer and myself by playing the provocateur.”

He said he appreciates having a wonderful place to view pieces.

“It’s amazing to see art in different forms; art right here at the Orange Beach Art Center,” he said. “Those ladies work extremely hard to provide us with a variety of art work.”

“Please come out and see our new artists and their amazing collections.”

John Resner

“I reside in Fairhope, Ala. and all of my pieces are fired for Baldwin County Clay,” he began. “Here at the OBA is this face jug I presented to the Abbot Shi Yongxin of the Shaolin Temple in China as a symbol of our two cultures emerging.”

“The jug is now in China as part of the Shoalin Temple's Museum collection.”

Resner, the American Sports Art Museum and Archives 2011 sport artist of the year for ceramics, uses Baldwin County clay in his work, and he created a jug of the facial features of the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple and who is considered the leader of millions of Shaolin Buddhists.

“He’s got a series of them that depict baseball players as well,” The academy’s communications coordinator, Leigha Bolton said, “They vary in price.”

Resner completed three face jugs—made of clay—for the academy’s Mr. Baseball campaign, which will name the greatest baseball player of all-time later this year. The three face jugs Rezner finished were of baseball legends Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Hank Aaron.

Terri Camp

Terry shared some insight on her early experiences.

She explained that, “I wish I could tell you I had developed a structured plan, but I didn’t, because I didn’t know what I was doing myself. I just knew that I wanted to be the best artists there was! I had to reword my first posts. I searched my e-mail contacts list to see who else might be on Twitter. I followed them and they followed me. How fun is this as an artist.”

Terry said that, “It’s a really good idea to create a profile for all artists. Your one line bio should scream – ‘Follow me, I’m interesting!’ Or, maybe you should just put in the things that interest you. Now, add a nice picture. It helps other people connect with you. After completing my profile, I went to the main screen and clicked on everyone.

Oh…wow! That’s where all the action was. I read some posts and clicked on some names. When I found someone interesting I followed them. When you click on their profile, you can read their tweets. This will give you a good idea if you would like to read what they write and understand their artistic ability.”

Start posting witty tidbits and relevant content. There are a lot of phenomenal artists here on Twitter and Facebook. If you read the tweets, you will learn a lot about art. Today business is thriving and the family is committed to their work, so the chances are good that Brown’s Pottery of Hamilton, Alabama will persist for this generation if not longer. All this is due to the face that Jerry Brown decided to fulfill what he, his family, and many others have learned to appreciate as a very meaningful legacy.

You may reach Terry Camp at (334) 493-9871 or at teecee3369@peoplepc.com. Her company is, “Good Gourd Y’all.”