Dan Schmitt

Selected Works, Artist Statement, Education,  Selected Exhibitions, Research & Workshops,
Professional Organizations, Awards, Recently Published, Currently Showing, Collected by.

Selected available works

Vase
9 1/4" Tall		 Teapot
3 3/4" Tall
Dinner Set of Three
Plate 10 1/2" Diameter		 Wine Cups
4" Tall 
2 1/2" Diameter
Covered Jars
5" Tall 
5" Diameter		 Large Spiral Bowl
7 1/2" Tall 
13" Diameter
Dinner Set of Three
Plate 10 1/4" Diameter		 Teapot and Tea Cups
Teapot 6" Tall 
8" Diameter
Tea Cups 2 1/2" Tall
3 1/2" Diameter
Teapot and Mugs
Teapot 6" Tall
6" Diameter|
Mugs 3 3/4" Tall
3 3/4" Diameter		 Large Bowl
6" Tall
13 1/2" Diameter
Covered Jar
9 1/2" Tall
8 1/2" Diameter		 Red Stoneware and Porcelain Vases
Red Stoneware Vase 5 1/2" Tall 
5 1/2" Diameter
Porcelain Vase 9" Tall
3 3/4" Diameter
Covered Box
3 1/2" Tall 
7" Diameter		 Place Setting

 

Artist Statement:

I am continually drawn to the many layers of meaning that pottery carries. Historically, cultures have formed strong and lasting identities around their ceramics – China with porcelain, Japan with teawares, Italy with majolica and terracotta, etc. Ceramic materials themselves carry a matrix of assumptions. For example, porcelain symbolizes purity, preciousness, translucency and high technology. Pottery as a vessel for cuisine identifies us with our cultures as strongly as our food and eating habits do. Pottery is part of the furniture of our daily lives and is an indicator of our personas – elegant or casual, literal or metaphorical, traditional or modern. Edmund de Waal comments, “Pots ask us key questions. Not just if we like the look of something, not if it brings us pleasure, though both these things are under rated, but what our relationship with things is actually about.

By making and selling in an urban environment, the pots I make are a reflection of this environment. Historically, pots made for use were made in quantity and were made with production in mind, as opposed to creating a precious few rarified objects. The work I make follows this historical approach and is made to be compatible and companionable with each other. I make tableware – mostly cups, bowls, plates and teapots. These are the pots that we become most acquainted with through daily use. The pieces I make are intended to be interacted with – they are made to be put out on the table and used. A statement by British potter Walter Keeler captures the intent of making functional work: “The goal in this complex process is the finished pot performing its function; a surprising object doing a commonplace job.”

I am currently working with porcelain and red stoneware with a clear glaze and black glaze finish. This allows me to focus on form, using the glaze to finish the piece rather than to decorate it. I feel this helps unify the clay and the glaze rather than creating a separation between the two.

I enjoy the fluidity of working with clay and exploit the process of potting for my decoration – making use of finger grooves, trimming lines, glaze pools and marks from handling and firing. I am continually interested in how these elements give a pot “life.” The depth of surface created by the translucent properties of porcelain and the way clay and glaze interact with light creates an interesting tension between “inside” and “outside.”

Education:

M.F.A. Ceramics 1996 - 1998 Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. At Kent Dan  studied Wheel-thrown Pottery, Ceramic Sculpture, Woodfired Ceramics, Contemporary Issues in Pottery and Ceramic Sculpture.

B.A. Fine Arts 1992 - 1996 University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington 1995 Ceramics Research in Mashiko, Kyoto, and Tokyo, Japan.

Selected Exhibitions:

2005
  • "New Works in Clay," White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon.
  • "Bowled Over," The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2004
  • "Art and Food," RedSky Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina.
  • Holiday Exhibit, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • The Clay Studio Benefit Auction, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2003
  • "Dinner for Two/Tea for Two," Invitational at The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
  • "Influences, Interpretations, and Traditions from Asian Ceramics," White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon. A nationally curated exhibition with fifteen artists.
  • Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Award.
  • Celebration of American Crafts, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven, Connecticut.
2002
  • Utilitarian Ceramic National at Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana. Exhibit traveled to Southeastern University, Hammond, Louisiana, and Louisiana College, Pineville, Louisiana.
  • University of Puget Sound Alumni Exhibition, Kittredge Gallery, Tacoma, Washington.
2001
  • "USA Clay, Survey of American Ceramics," Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
  • "Functional Porcelain: Dan Schmitt, Kevin Hluch, and Claire Weissberg," The Clay Place, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  • Solo Exhibition, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, Oregon.
  • "Artists on Their Own: Ideas of Function," Greenwich House Pottery, New York, New York. 
  • 23rd Annual Contemporary Crafts, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona.
  • "Studio Days 2001: A View of Contemporary Ceramics," Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
  • "Clay Interpretations: Pottery by Six Artists," White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon.
  • "Works by the students of Ken Stevens," Kittridge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington.
  • National Juried Cup Show, Gallery 138, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
  • "Two Views of the Cup," Vermont Clay Studio, Waterbury Center, Vermont.
  • Holiday Show, Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, Pennsylvania.
2000
  • Emerging Artists Space, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon.
  • Everett Center for the Arts Benefit Auction, Everett, Washington.
1999
  • Holiday Show, Portland Center for Contemporary Crafts, Portland, Oregon.
  • "Handmade Oregon", Portland Center for Contemporary Crafts, Portland, Oregon.
  • 13th Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration, BonaKeane Gallery, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.
  • 19th Annual Northwest International Art Competition, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, Washington.
  • "Eating Right: Surpassing Function and Changing Rituals", Portland Center for Contemporary Crafts, Portland Oregon.

Research and Workshops:

1998
  • Workshop with Don Reitz, Salem, Oregon.
  • Workshop with Patrick Horsley, Eugene, Oregon.
1998
  • Summer Study Tour of Tuscany, Italy.
  • Workshop with Rob Barnard, Kent, Ohio.
1997
  • Workshop with Jackson Lee, Kent Ohio.
  • Workshop with Mary Roehm, Kent, Ohio.
  • Workshop with Richard Notkin, Kent, Ohio.
  • Workshop with Dr. Dong-Hun Chung, Kent, Ohio.
1996
  • Workshop with Marek Cecula, Kent, Ohio.
1995
  • Japanese Ceramics Summer Program, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington.
  • Workshop with Fred Olsen, Tacoma, Washington.
1994
  • Workshop with Takashi Nakakato and Malcolm Wright, Walla Walla, Washington.
  • Japanese Ceramics Summer Program, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington.
1993
  • Apprenticeship with Chinese Sculptor Jason Wu, Snohomish, Washington.

Professional Organizations:

Awards:

1997
  • Blossom Scholarship Award, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
1996
  • 2nd Place Award, "Beyond Borders", Northwest International Art Competition, Viking Union Gallery, Bellingham, Washington.
  • F. Carlton Ball Ceramics Scholarship
  • University of Puget Sound Art Department Scholarship
1995
  • F. Carlton Ball Ceramics Scholarship
  • Bill Colby Art Scholarship
  • Frances Chubb Memorial Scholarship

Recently Published:

Currently Showing:

Collected By:

 

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