Crimson Laurel Gallery Opens the 2013 Season With Three New Exhibitions !

On March 1, 2013, Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, NC will open "Animated Lines:  Ceramics by Deborah Schwartzkopf"  &  "In the Mix: A Ceramic Artists Forum".  

Deborah Schwartzkoph

The processes Deborah Schwartzkopf uses yield complex forms defined by animated lines and soft planes. Multiple parts are pieced together.  At times she combines wheel thrown and hand built parts and at others a singular method is used.  The slab parts are patterned and laid over bisqued clay molds. She builds these molds with reclaimed clay and shapes them with the wheel or by coil building. According to Deborah "Pots are a place where I embrace abstraction of emotions and communication in form.  Birds are starting places in my study of stance and expression. I want to capture their expressions of precision and breath­­. The awkward pelican and elegant, buoyant loon embody curious shapes I mesh with geometric, sensual, and architectural elements. On the surfaces of my work, I merge our culture’s signals and nature’s placement of hue."

"In The Mix" -  Contemporary Practices in Ceramics

2013 marks the second year of the Ceramic Surface Forum sponsored by the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN. The forum is made up of invited artists that represent many facets of the field such as graduate students, professors, studio artists, and art center facilitators and directors. Participants are chosen based upon their handling of the material through a variety of decoration and construction processes, firing ranges and functions. For one week in the winter these artists engage in discussions, collaborate, research, and take risks among their peers and friends. "In the Mix" is an exhibit that highlights these artists, their work and their continuous commitment to the ceramic field. Participating artists include Benjamin Carter, Elisa DiFeo, David Eichelberger, Carole Epp, David Lee Gamble, Tracy Gamble, Rachel Garceau, Alex Irvine, Elizabeth Kendall, Roberta Massuch, Richard Nickel, Kelly O'Briant, Sandi Pierantozzi, Nathan Prouty, Adams Puryear, Emily Reason, Shawn Spangler, Natalie Tornatore, and Lana Wilson.

The exhibitions will open on March 1 and remain through April 25.  Please join us for an artist reception Saturday, March 2 at 6pm. The exhibitions can be seen and purchased online beginning Friday, March 1 at midnight.  For more information call 828-688-3599 or online at www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com. ;

Source • Material An Exhibition on Water and the Ceramic Cup-Curated by Lindsay Rogers

On November 1, 2012, Crimson Laurel Gallery in Bakersville, NC presents "Source Material: An Exhibition on Water and the Ceramic Cup". This is one of our most anticipated exhibitions of the year among collectors and potters alike. Lindsay Rogers, University of Florida,  has been selected to curate this year's event. Lindsay has selected 68 of her favorite ceramic artists from around the country for "Source Material" and they represent a broad range of unique styles and techniques. 

Josh Stover

Lindsay Roger's inspiration for the exhibition was water. According to Lindsay "Water is everywhere. As abundant as an ocean and as delicate as a drop, water is the source of all life. This eternally human need consistently shifts the way we build our tools, our cultures and our lives. Historically speaking, water has become a dictator of form, an aesthetic inspiration, a human habit and an honest informer of the ecological state of our world. In this exhibit, contemporary ceramic artists will address the theme of water through the form of the ceramic cup." 

Artists to include:

Julia Galloway

Adam Field, Adam Posnak, Amy Smith, Andrew Avakian, Audrey Rosulek, Ben Krupka, Birdie Boone, Brett Freund, Brian Jones, Chandra DeBuse, Cheyenne Chapman Rudolph, Chris Pickett, Courtney Martin, Courtney Murphy, Dan Anderson, Dandee Pattee, Diana Fayt, Donna Flanery, Doug Peltzman, Emily Reason, gwendolyn yoppolo, Hayne Bayless, Hiroe Hanazono, Jana Evans, Jason Burnett, Jeff Kleckner, Jennifer Allen, Josh DeWeese, Joshua Stover, Julia Galloway, Kari Smith, Kathy King, Kelly O'Briant, Kristen Kieffer, KyoungHwa Oh, Leah Leitson & Martin Tatarka, Leanne McClurg Cambric, Linda Arbuckle, Liz Zlot Summerfield, Louise Harter, Mark Errol, Frank Martin, Martina Lantin, Mary Barringer, Michael Hunt, Michael Kline, Natalie Tornatore, Nicole Gugliotti, Nicole Aquillano, Nigel Rudolph, Ronan Kyle Peterson, Sanam Emami, Sean O'Connell, Shadow May, Shane Mickey, Shawn Spangler, Shoko Teruyama, Simon Levin, Steven M. Godfrey, Steven Roberts, Sue Tirrell, Sunshine Cobb, Susan Feagin, Tara Wilson, Tina Gebhart and Victoria Christen.

The exhibition will open on November 1 and remain through December 31. Please join us for an artist reception Saturday, November 3 at 6pm. The exhibition can be seen and purchased online beginning November 1 at 12:00am. For more information call 828-688-3599 or online at www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com

Internationally recognized wood fired artist Peter Callas to lecture in Bakersville

Peter Callas

On July 7 at 5pm Crimson Laurel Gallery will host a lecture by internationally recognized ceramic sculptor Peter Callas at the Historic Mitchell County Courthouse in downtown Bakersville, NC.  The lecture will include an overview of Peter's 40 year career, his 23 year collaboration with Peter Voulkos and a discussion of "Serendipity: An International Exhibition of Wood Fired Sculptural Ceramics" that opens on July 1.  Andrew Glasgow, the retired executive director of the American Craft Council, will introduce Peter and offer opening remarks.

"Serendipity: An International Exhibition of Wood Fired Sculptural Ceramics" will feature fourteen artists from five countries and also includes a functional element that features eight exceptional wood fired ceramic artists .  This exhibition is curated by Asheville NC sculptor Eric Knoche.  Eric's goal for this exhibition is to present a group of artists from across the spectrum of wood fired sculptural ceramics never before seen in this part of the world.  He is particularly interested in how various artists have adapted the wood fired patina to their own sculptural work.

The sculptural artists included in this exhibition include Ted Adler, Mary Bowron, Joy Brown,  Peter Callas, Jason Hess, Eric Knoche, Tim Rowan, Mat Rude and Jeff Shapiro from the United States, Neil Hoffman from Australia,  Nina Hole and Ann-Charlotte Ohlson from Denmark, Koichiro Isezaki from Japan and Michal Puszczynski from Poland.  The functional artists include Chris Campbell, JD Jorgenson, Lucien Koonce, Simon Levin, John Martelle, Dan Murphy, Tara Wilson and Shumpei Yamaki.

Tim Rowan

The exhibition will open on July 1 and remain through August 31.  Please join us for an artist's reception at 6pm on July 7th. Crimson Laurel Gallery following the Peter Callas lecture which takes place at 5pm.  The exhibition can be seen and purchased online.  For more information call 828-688-3599 or online at www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com. 

Containmnet III Artist Reception May 5th at Crimson Laurel Gallery

Andrew Massey

On April 28 we opened one of our most anticipated exhibitions of the year called "Containment III: A Nesting Instinct".  "Containment" challenges the invited artists to think outside the box and create works inspired by the containment theme. The concept behind "Containment III" is for a ceramic object to be "nested" within, on,  or beneath another ceramic object.  The works created this year are truly unique in many respects.  This exhibition is now in it's third year and is a favorite among collectors.  The exhibit features more than 30 outstanding artists from around the country.

Daniel T. Beck

Among the artists featured in the exhibition is Deborah Rogers, a wonderful folk artist from Virginia who has made three great exhibition pieces including a piece titled "I Wanna be in Do-Dad Heaven" that deals with the material things that we all keep close to our hearts.  Deborah works in clay with found objects and all of her pieces are beautifully decorated with colored pencil.

Artist include: 

Daniel T. Beck, Micah Cain, Kyle Carpenter, Chandra DeBuse, Lynn Duryea,  David Eichelberger, Mark Errol, Jana Evans, Nathan Falter, Mary Fischer, Rachel K. Garceau, Terry Gess, Martha Grover, Julie Guyot, Erik Haagensen, Leslie Hinton, Andy Sloan Jackson, Daniel Johnston, Brian Jones, Heather Knight, Andrew Massey, Richard Nickel, Erin Paradis, Chris Pickett, Andy Rogers, Deborah Rogers, Valerie Schnaufer, Molly Kite Spadone, Liz Zlot Summerfield, Ryan Takaba and Angelique Tassisstro

Leslie Hinton




Join us for an Artists Reception May 5th at 6pm, Crimson Laurel Gallery, Bakersville NC. 28705. This exhibition will remain through June 29.  The exhibition can be seen and purchased online.  For more information call 828-688-3599 or online at www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com.

Come find out what's inside the box 

"Encore" - New work by Alex Matisse

MARCH 15 – APRIL 13

We thought our most successful successful solo show of 2011 deserved an encore. This show features Alex's favorite pots from his last two firings. Alex Matisse lives and creates his work in the Mountains of Marshall NC. He apprenticed in the workshops of North Carolina potters Matt Jones and Mark Hewitt.

"The pots in this collection are from the 3rd and 4th firings of my kiln. Each firing has been distinct and varied and each has had success and failures. These are a few of those success, a harmonious marriage of form and glaze and flame.

My favorite pots are those made on the good days. It is a joy when the clay, pinched between knuckle and middle finger, seems to rise off the wheel toward the sky with its own momentum and volition. The pitchers in this show were made on such a day: their weight and mass distributed perfectly.
On the bad days, when the clay is short and dry and the eye wants more than the hand can match, the hardest part is not in the mechanics but in the mind. When everything seems to elude me, staying calm and collected is the most difficult part of all. Those days come and go like the March rains we will soon see and, I'm learning, are followed by the sun." - Alex Matisse

This Exhibition opens live "online only" March 15th at midnight.
www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com

Two New Online Exhibits at Crimson Laurel Gallery

Shop CLG online for the holidays! Crimson Laurel Gallery has expanded "Shop CLG" online and opened for the first time "CLG The Ultimate Gift" with a huge selection of items perfect for the holiday gift giving season. We're featuring many unique items from area artisans including holiday ornaments, caps, scarves, honey, goat cheese, bath and beauty items, jewelry, books, and lots of really great pottery. "CLG The Ultimate Gift" features some of the finest ceramic pieces we exhibit at Crimson Laurel Gallery. Be sure and place your order early to make sure you receive your gifts for the holidays. Free gift wrapping is available for all online purchases. Crimson Laurel Gallery will be open daily through December 31. Be sure and make us one of your destinations for holiday shopping.

Happy holidays from Crimson Laurel Gallery!

"Interpreting the cup" - Process, Influence and Intent. Nov 5th.

Cups today and throughout history have reflected the way we live. Whether it’s function is utilitarian, or an abstraction of an idea, this simple form is complex. Artists from all over the world have been selected for this exhibit to represent how they interpret the ceramic cup through their range of processes, influences, and intentions. This exhibit will feature more than 400 cups representing 84 of the finest potters from around the world. The exhibit is curated by Jason Bige Burnett.

Jason selected the artists based on the range of possibilities found among firing methods, construction techniques, and surface design. He is fascinated with how artists use traditional and more contemporary processes, from digging their own local clay to slip casting with commercial made slips. Then he focused on the unlimited ways to decorate surfaces from dipping into glazes to brushing on slips and carving into the pot or layering with decals and overglazes. Then he began to look at influences of the artists themselves and their own creative styles and whether or not work was utilitarian or conceptual.
Among the pieces in this exhibit Jason is particularly intrigued by Pattie Chalmers use of the ceramic cup as a fragment in her narrative sculpture that observes relationships and social phenomena. He also appreciates that Benjamin Carter's utilitarian cups are essentially a metaphorical landscape for southern comfort and hospitality. He found a sense of intimacy in the surfaces of Emily Schroeder's fingerprints and Susan Feagin's collaged fragments of written letters and journal pages as opposed to the controversial content that can be discovered in works by Tom Spleth and Triesch Voelker. Also, the range of narrative discovered on the cups surfaces of Ayumi Horie, Kathy King and Rough and Perfect. In the work of Elisa Helland-Hansen's mugs and gwendolyn yoppolo's cups and saucers Jason recognizes the beauty of form. The fantastic range of atmospheric surfaces can be found in the work of Shawn O'Conner, Lindsay Oesterritter and Judith Duff. Finally, Jason is fascinated by the influences of kitsch and souvenir portrayed by potters like Amy Santoferraro, Jeremy "Jr." Kane and Mark Burns. Every artist included in this exhibit contributes in some significant way to interpreting the cup.

This exhibition will open on November 5th and remain through December 31st. The exhibition will also be available online on November 4th at Midnight! Please join us for an artists reception on November 5th at 6pm. For more information call 828-688-3599 or online at www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com.