Most of my interest as a potter/artist is to create variations on a theme. I think of my work as a never ending spiral hinging from one thought, color or pattern. Rarely do I make the same piece twice but they all belong to a long lineage of past ideas constantly tweaked for improvement. It is important to me that the pieces read as soft, pillowy, welcoming, touchable and well crafted. These days my focus has been on creating a cone six electric pallet of colors at emote joy and comfort. My surfaces have included flowers, polkadots, swirling leaf patterns, checkers and triangles. I think of pottery and craft as a more approachable way to live and interact with art. Ultimately my goal is to contribute my version of beauty with another person’s everyday life. 

I MAKE LARGE-SCALE, SCULPTURAL VESSELS. I CHALLENGE PRACTICALITY, AS MY VESSELS FOCUS ON PROPORTION, SCALE, AND VOLUME. I EXAGGERATE VOLUME AND PROPORTION, CREATING INDULGENT FORMS AND GENEROUS COMPOSITIONS. CAPTIVATED BY BULBOUS AND ELEVATED FORMS, MY VESSELS PUSH AGAINST THE BOUNDARIES OF STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY, EXPLORING MATERIAL CAPABILITIES. ON SOME LEVEL, MY WORK COULD BE UTILITARIAN; BUT NOT ALL OF MY WORK IS INTENDED FOR USE. I PRODUCE REGAL OBJECTS, CELEBRATING PROCESS AND MATERIAL. THROUGH MY EXAMINATION OF FORM, MY VESSELS EXPAND THE REALM OF UTILITY, OSCILLATING BETWEEN SCULPTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL MATERIAL STUDIES.

BUILDING AT A LARGE SCALE FEEDS BOTH A PHILOSOPHICAL AND A PHYSICAL INVESTIGATION.I AIM TO MAKE WORKS THAT STAND ON THEIR OWN, HAVING A FORMAL AND INTENTIONAL VERNACULAR WHILE STILL LEAVING ROOM FOR GROWTH AND PLAY. THE SCALE OF THE OBJECTS SUSTAIN A HUNGER TO ACHIEVE REFINEMENT AT DIMENSIONS LARGER THAN MYSELF. I AM ENAMORED WITH THE PROCESS OF MOVING GREAT SUMS OF CLAY; ENERGIZED BY THE LABORIOUS METHODS. SCALE OFFERS A PRESENCE OF MATERIAL SURFACE, ALLOWING THE ESSENTIAL GEOMETRIES OF EACH VESSEL TO BE PROMINENT. DRAWN TO HISTORIC CERAMIC VESSELS, I AM INTRIGUED BY THE BASIC COMPONENTS AND PHILOSOPHIES OF UTILITARIAN WORKS. DISTILLING CERAMIC ANTIQUITIES TO ELEMENTAL GEOMETRIES, MY VESSELS ACT AS MODERN GEOMETRIC SKETCHES OF ARTIFACTS FROM THE PAST.

JASON WAS BORN IN TEQUISQUIAPAN, MEXICO, AND MOVED TO THE MIDWEST AT SIX YEARS OLD. FOR THE LAST DECADE, HE HAS WORKED AS A PROFESSIONAL ACTOR ACROSS THE US. HE NOW LIVES IN ASHEVILLE AND HAS REDISCOVERED HIS PASSION FOR POTTERY. AFTER FINDING HIS ARTISTIC HOME AT ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS, HE IS NOW A FULL-TIME POTTER AND LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT. HE THANKS HIS WIFE, THALLIS, FOR PUSHING HIM TO CREATE AND TO NEVER GIVE UP.  

POTTERY IS A BEAUTIFUL MARRIAGE OF NATURE AND ART. I AM IN AWE OF HOW WE CAN TAKE RAW MATERIALS AND BRING THEM TO LIFE. I FEEL IT IN EVERY POT. ITS AMAZING TO ME THAT THE SIMPLEST FORM STILL HOLDS THE ENERGY AND PERSONALITY OF ITS MAKER. IT’S REMARKABLE THAT A POT, A STATIC OBJECT, CAN CONTAIN SO MUCH MOVEMENT. IF A PIECE CAN STIR EMOTION, NOSTALGIA, MEMORY AND/OR JOY, TO ME, IT IS WORK THAT SINGS. THIS IS THE KIND OF WORK I STRIVE TO MAKE, THE KIND OF WORK THAT INSPIRES AWE. 

IN MY WORK, I USE SIMPLE SHAPES AND SOFT CURVES IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH AN ARRAY OF SURFACE DESIGNS. THE CHOICE TO USE A SIMPLISTIC FORM HIGHLIGHTS THE COMPLEXITIES I ADD TO MY SURFACES THROUGH A VARIETY OF SLIP DESIGNS, GLAZE APPLICATIONS AND FIRING TECHNIQUES. BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN WHIMSICAL EXPRESSION AND POTTERY THAT OFFERS A HIGH LEVEL OF FUNCTION AND DESIGN IS THE CURRENT OBJECTIVE OF MY STUDIO PRACTICE.

MADDISON GRAYBILL WAS BORN AND RAISED IN NORTHERN COLORADO. SHE RECEIVED HER BFA WITH A CERAMICS EMPHASIS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO IN 2018. AFTER COLLEGE, HER CERAMIC JOURNEY TOOK HER CROSS COUNTRY TO SPEND THE SUMMER AT TOUCHSTONE CENTER FOR CRAFTS, IN FARMINGTON, PA AS A CERAMIC ASSISTANT. IT WAS AT TOUCHSTONE THAT MADDISON PARTICIPATED IN HER FIRST WOOD FIRING AND FURTHER EXPLORED HER SLIP-CAST AND MOLD-MAKING PRACTICES. SHE HAS SINCE MOVED TO ASHEVILLE, NC, AND HAS BEEN A RESIDENT ARTIST AT ODYSSEY CLAYWORKS FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. HER CURRENT BODY OF WORK IS PRIMARILY COMPOSED OF SLIP-CAST BALLOON REPLICAS THAT SHE IS EXPLORING A VARIETY OF SURFACE DESIGNS AND THE USE OF MIXED MEDIAS.