As I said a few days ago I'll be posting information about the potters that are participating our our "Circle of Eight" show we have coming up starting the 1st of July and going through the end of August. Today I'm going to tell you about Ron Philbeck.
Well maybe I should say Ron will tell you about himself!
"I started making pots in 1992 after I returned to my home town of Shelby, NC. I had just left after four years of college at North Carolina State University. There I studied mathematics and horticulture. Ha. Unlikely combo right? My desire was always to go to ART school but I ended up at NCSU for four years and after that I figured it was too late to start all over.
Anyhow I got into pots after I came back from college and it’s a pretty long story, but maybe I’ll put it up here sometime soon. For the most part I had LOTS of help from other really great potters, I took workshops and attended weekend pottery conferences. I made lots of pots, really bad ones for quite some while, before I went full time in 1996.
I made salt glazed stoneware from 1996 till 2008. My strongest influences are potters from the Leach/Hamada lineage. I want my pots to be used, function is very important me.
In 2008 I switched to earthenware for a number of reasons. Propane costs were out the roof, my salt kiln was in need of repair and honestly I really wanted to try something totally different. So I made new pots, developed a few slips and glazes and bought an electric kiln.
The biggest move was that I started decorating. I had been drawing for years but it was a huge leap for me to actually put an image on a pot. I have a blast coming up with new characters and patterns for p0ts. It’s fun to see it develop and it’s also scary to be putting this side of me out there in the public forum. I do feel that these pots are a reflection of who I am and where I am at this point in my life. Folks love them too, which is a bonus."
Ron has just finished a class at Penland and he's cranked up!!
These are not the pots that will be in the show but this will give you an idea of the work Ron is currently producing. (update - we've just posted pieces from the show on our website - click here!). We're excited about the show!! Other Circle of Eight potters I've blogged about are Jennifer Mecca & there are more to come. See more pieces by Jennifer on our website.
Read a press release about the show by clicking here.
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