About Us
I imagine how the work of my hands and heart may be of benefit. Perhaps, working as a potter develops beneficial qualities: caring attention, commitment, honesty, courage, passion, hard work, love of beauty, and a willingness to get one’s hands dirty.
I make work that connects both the functional and the decorative; I am seeking to make pots that people want to touch, hold, and use. Finding inspiration from trees and plants, my pots reflect ideas that are centered in life, growth, and experience.
With my ceramic vessels I hope to create a comic book interpretation of the natural world with a focus on the rocks and trees and their role in the perpetual organic comedy of growth and decay.
The physical and creative nature of working with clay satisfies my desire to play, construct, experiment, and to get dirty. Patterns in textiles, architecture, nature and quilting inspire me to create works that invite touch and evoke a sense of nostalgic comfort.
With Guest Artists
Bill’s functional and sculptural ceramics continue to be exhibited and published in many international, national juried/invitational exhibitions and publications. His work is included in private and public collections including the Tennessee State Museum, the Arkansas Arts Center, the City of Orlando, Florida Permanent Collection, San Angelo Museum of Art, TX, the Haan Museum of Indiana Art, the Tokoname Cultural Museum, Japan and the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, China.
It is the atmospheric kilns that I find most appropriate for creating the surfaces of my pots. It is important that the pots catch the flame and force it to flow through the crevices and around the body of the pot. I want my pots to catch the flame and be scarred by its’ movement. I imagine the flame moving through the kiln in much of the same manner a river would flow through a valley. I try to recreate the same feelings and emotions that I
receive in nature and relive them in my work. My pottery allows me to experience personal memories and express emotions while still allowing the viewer to be able to relate to the forms and functions of the pieces.