|
 |
Blue Moon Clay Studio |
| |
|
Biography
I was schooled at Manhattan’s Hunter College
and received my Master of Arts from SUNY Albany in 1987.
Though I grew up in the greater New York City area,
it was the quiet of the land and not the city, that
captured my heart. My home was a modest brick house
squeezed in among others along the beaches of the Atlantic
Ocean, specifically, Rockaway Beach. My earliest memories
are of sand, water and salt air; at night, as I gazed
out from the front porch, I saw a shimmering black skyline,
not that of Manhattan, but the vast expanse of the moonlit
ocean. |
| |
|
|
 |
Now, more than
20 years away from the shore, my early life of inhaling
nature’s salty breath comes out in my work. I
form soft earth into subtle polished vessels among the
rolling hills of upstate New York. Instead of using
glazes, I experiment with natural materials, polished
porcelain and the random markings of fire upon earth.
Like the unpredictability of waves chasing the shoreline,
each firing yields surprising results upon the surface
of my pots, never are two alike.
I came to ceramics after working in broadcasting for
10 years. I studied at the Arts Center of the Capital
Region in Troy, New York and apprenticed with several
experienced potters. I call my training self-taught,
but this, of course, does not happen in a vacuum. My
influences are varied, from my first teacher who encouraged
me to continue, to my dear friend John Visser, whose
30 years of ceramic experience became my personal training
ground.
This I know: I love unglazed work, simple and strong
forms and a quiet meditative aesthetic. From there I
expand and explore. Lately it’s celebratory figurative,
carved vessels and fire paintings upon a tile canvas.
|
|
|
AWARDS AND HONORS
2008: Third Place, Ceramics.
Winterpark Art Festival, Florida.
2008: 500 Tiles - Artist Submission. Lark
Publishing, 2008
2008: Independent Artist Grant. New
York State Foundation for the Arts
2007: SOS Grant International Exhibition,
Thailand. NYS Council on the Arts.
2007: Best of Show. Longboat Key
Fine Art Festival. Longboat Key, Florida
2007: Third Place, Ceramics. Under
the Oaks, Vero Beach, Florida
2007: Patrons Choice Award. Deland
Museum Art Festival, Florida
2006: Award of Excellence, Ceramics.
Beaux Arts Festival, Florida
2005: First Place, Ceramics. Glastonbury
Art Show, CT
2005: Judges Choice. New Smyrna Beach,
FL
2005: Juror's Choice. WMHT Public
Television Art Auction, New York
2005: Judges Choice. Berkshire Art
Festival, MA
2005: Honorable Mention. 57th Street
Art Fair, IL
2005: Patron's Choice Award. New
Smyrna Beach, FL
2004: First Place, Ceramics. Glastonbury
Art Show, CT
2004: Juror's Choice. WMHT Public
Television Art Auction, New York
2003: Judges Choice. Berkshire Art
Festival, MA
2003: Second Place, Ceramics. Bruce
Museum Craft Festival, CT
2003: Juror's Choice. WMHT Public
Television Art Auction, New York
|
| Brenda
McMahon |
|
2242
Route 113 Greenwich, NY 12834
518.692.7742 |
| ©
2008 |
| |
|
|
|
|
