Cville Craft Attack: Featured Artist: Judson Jarvis, Ceramist

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Featured Artist: Judson Jarvis, Ceramist

Hello, fellow Craft Attack devotees. As mentioned, we shall continue to give you previews of the supertalented artists who will be comprising the Holiday Craftacular Show this year on December 10th &11th.

Next up is Judson Jarvis, a ceramist hailing from Afton, VA. All text is exerpted from his artist statement available to read in full on his website.

I have always thought of my work in terms of a house. The aspects that make a good pot function correctly (balance, heft, beginnings, endings, and proportions) are the foundation and structure of this metaphorical house. This house has a fenced yard and in that yard is where the interesting questions are raised. That fence represents the boundaries of my ideas of function, utility, design, my place in the ceramic and arts community. The fence has been contracted, expanded, built from scratch and leapt over to explore other yards.

This all leads to my current work and the balancing act in which I am engaged. My love of functional pottery, Abstract Expressionism, Constructivism, and design are all in my mind while I am working. It is not a calculated formula; it is much more abstracted. The influences manifest themselves in subtle ways. The basis is the functional pot, but the function can be sacrificed slightly or greatly to let some of the other ideas come forward.

My current work is created using the potter’s wheel, hand building, simple hump-molds, and various combinations of all of My these processes. The work is fired in a salt kiln that I built on my property. The salt firing interacts with my forms and surface decorations in interesting and visually exciting ways. My surroundings also influence my work.

Each firing is a little different. Each time I learn a little more. Each unloading stokes the fire to keep working and looking for that balance.

judson jarvis