Shawn Ireland Pottery
Artist Statement
I make pots for holding food and flowers and lately, candles. I choose to make these pots with a foundation in folk tradition. For me, this involves using many local clays and glaze materials and firing with wood. These ingredients promote surprises and keep my craft connected to the natural world.
My pots continue to change over time under the influence of pottery making traditions adopted from my friends and teachers, Will Ruggles and Douglass Rankin. Lately, several trips to central Italy have inspired a figurative direction in the form of candlesticks, vases and bowls. Coupled with these experiences is a growing understanding of the relationship between my clay and glaze materials and wood kiln.
The clay I mix by hand is a blend of ingredients from North Carolina and Georgia. Twenty five percent of the body is a local red earthenware. The nontoxic glazes, which melt at 2300 degrees, are composed primarily of local feldspar, silica, red clay, kaolin and ash from my woodstove.
The pots are fired in a two chambered kiln fueled with wood which is salvaged from burn piles at a nearby sawmill. The combination of wood flame and ash, which melts into the clay and glaze, can produce colors and surfaces reminiscent of objects found in nature. Like these objects, wood fired pots can look similar to each other but never identical. This unpredictability and variation makes every kiln load a new opportunity to explore.
The pots are oven and dishwasher safe. Though I have never had a problem with daily microwave use, I can’t recommend it. Do not heat the pots on an open flame or electric burner and avoid extreme temperature changes such as freezer to preheated oven. Feel free to email if you have pottery questions.
Artist Bio
Born: Lancaster,PA.
BFA Kutztown University 1990.
1990-1995 Attended 25 pottery and painting workshops at Penland School of Crafts. 1993-1995 lived at Penland as part of the CORE STUDENT work exchange program.
In 1991, after a two month workshop with Will Ruggles & Douglass Rankin, I fell in love with clay and fire and was determined to be a wood fire potter.
1996-1999 RESIDENT ARTIST at Penland School of Crafts.
Built a catenary wood kiln and made pots full time, experimenting with local clay & glaze materials. Also began to explore oil painting.
Established Shawn Ireland Pottery in 1997.
Participated in numerous national exhibitions & Craft Shows since 1994- including Mint Museum Potters Market and Smithsonian Craft Show.
VISITING ARTIST INTERNSHIP: University of Georgia, Athens.
I have spent three semesters potting and oil painting in beautiful Cortona, Italy. 2006-2008.
