Artist: Shawn Ireland
Shawn Ireland, NORTH CAROLINA
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I make pots with food, flowers and candles in mind. I choose to
make these pots with a foundation in folk tradition. For me, this involves
using a variety of hand processed local clays and glaze materials, single
firing in a wood burning kiln, and using a kick wheel. These ingredients
promote surprises and keep my craft connected to the natural world.
My eclectic pots continue to change over time under the influence of
pottery making traditions adopted from my teachers, Will Ruggles and
Douglass Rankin. While I make useful pots for the home, several trips to Italy
have inspired a figurative direction in the form of candlesticks, vases and
bowls which I call Animalware. I work quickly and playfully with the clay,
searching for forms which are functional and sculptural.
The clay I mix by hand is a blend of ingredients from North Carolina
and Georgia. Thirty percent of the body is local red clay. The nontoxic glazes,
which melt at 2300 degrees, are composed primarily of local feldspar, silica,
red clay, kaolin and ash from my woodstove.
I fire in a two chambered, 130 cubic ft kiln fueled with poplar, oak and
maple strips which are salvaged from burn piles at a nearby sawmill. The
pots are raw glazed and single fired for 18-20 hours. 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 start.
EDUCATION AND SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
Kutztown University, Pennsylvania, USA
1990 Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina, USA
Penland Award Scholarships for the following artist taught clay and painting intensives:
1991 Will Ruggles & Douglass Rankin workshop, Linda Christianson workshop,
Bill Brouillard workshop,
1992 Randy Johnston workshop
Penland School of Crafts Teachers Assistant Scholarship Award:
1991 Susan Parks workshop, Charlie Malin workshop
1992 Steve Loukes workshop, Wayne Ferguson workshop,
George Lowe workshop
1995 McKenzie Smith & Terry Gess workshop
2000 Pinkney Herbert workshop
Peters Valley Craft Center, New Jersey, USA
Teachers Assistant Scholarship Award:
1992 & 1995 Will Ruggles & Douglass Rankin workshop
EXHIBITIONS
Selected Solo & Two Person Exhibitions
2018 Bandana Pottery & Shawn Ireland: Conversation & Exploration. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
2016 Travel, Collect, Create: A Potter’s Inspiration. Haywood Community College, Clyde, NC
2015 Shawn Ireland a Venezia. Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice, Italy
Natural Affinity (with Ellen Langford). American Folk Gallery, Asheville, NC
2014 Ireland & Murphy. Andrew Charles Gallery, Asheville, NC
Works From Cortona, Italy. Solo Show. University of Georgia, USA
2013 Shawn Ireland Solo Show. AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2011 Pots & Paintings. Solo Show. Crimson Laurel Gallery, Bakersville, NC
Recent Work: Shawn Ireland. AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2010 Shawn Ireland. MADE Shop, Kutztown, PA
2009 Menageries & Madonnas. Two Person Show. American Folk Gallery,
Asheville, NC
2007 Shawn Ireland-Potter. Crabtree Creek Gallery, Micaville, NC
Recent Works: Paintings & Pots (with John Anthony). Butternut Gallery,
Montrose, PA
2003 Shawn Ireland & Michael Kline. Bennett Gallery, Knoxville, TN
Selected Collaborative Exhibitions
2019 Adams, Ireland, Pittenger, Windsor-Mann. Gay street Gallery, Washington, VA
Handbuilt. Signature Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Thanksgiving Table 2019. AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
7th Annual Face Jug Show. American Folk Gallery, Asheville, NC
Functional Ceramics Show. Wayne Center for the Arts, Wooster, OH
2019 Yunomi Invitational. AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Miniature Show. American Folk Gallery, Asheville, NC
2018 Bowl Show. American Folk Gallery, Asheville, NC
International Wood Fire. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
Red Handed Invitational. Clay Lady’s Campus, Nashville, TN
CU Copper. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
Miniature Show. American Folk Gallery, Asheville, NC
Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
2017 Lineage: Celebrating Rock Creek Pottery. Mars Hill University, Mars Hill, NC
CRAFTED 2017. Contemporary Craft Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Current Effects. Asheville Area Arts Council, Asheville, NC
Confluence: a Woodfire Invitational. STARworks Ceramics, Star, NC
FIVE. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
2016 Craft + Design Show. Richmond, VA
“Americano Invitational”. AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Small Group Show. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
All Fired Up! Pottery from the H&A Hayes Collection. Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, Buckhead, GA
Thrown Together Potters. Invited Artist, Charlotte, NC
Hands of North Carolina. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
Penland Clay: Shaping NC Ceramics. NC Pottery Center, Seagrove, NC
2015 Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
Little Treasures. Schaller Gallery, St Joseph, MI
2014 Echoes of Egypt. Andrew Charles Gallery, Asheville, NC
2013 La Mostra. University of Georgia, Palazzo Vagnotti, Cortona, Italy
2012 La Mostra. University of Georgia, Palazzo Vagnotti, Cortona, Italy
2011 Philadelphia Museum Craft Show. Philadelphia, PA
Early Career American Woodfirers. Woodfire Tasmania! Deloraine, Tasmania
2010 Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
Art School at Old Church Invitational. Demarest, NJ
30x5 Show. AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2009 Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
Art School at Old Church Invitational. Demarest, NJ
16 Hands Studio Tour Invitational. Floyd, VA
2008 Esposizione di Arte Visiva. Fortezza Medicea, Cortona, Italy
Utilitarian Clay IV. Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg,TN
2007 Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
WOOD FIRED- Curated by Ron Meyers. Signature Shop, Atlanta, GA
2006 Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
Off the Wall. Harrison Street Gallery, Frenchtown, NJ
2005 Mint Museum Potters Invitational. Charlotte, NC
9th Annual Alumni Show. Kutztown, PA
2004 Continuity-Tradition-Relationship. Earth & Fire Gallery, Vienna, VA
The Fire Within. Seton Gallery, University of New Haven, CT
2003 Folk Pottery of North Carolina. Craft Alliance, St Louis, MO
American Craft Council Retail Show. Charlotte, NC
2002 American Craft Council Retail Show. Charlotte, NC
2001 Potters of GA & NC. Bascomb-Louise Gallery, Highlands, NC
1999 American Craft Exposition. Evanston, IL
Beyond the Northwest. KOBO Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998 Smithsonian Craft Show. Washington, DC
Vessels That Pour. Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, IL
American Craft Council Retail Show. Atlanta, GA
1997 American Craft Council Retail Show. Columbus, OH
American Craft Council Retail Show. Charlotte, NC
ARTIST RESIDENCY POSITIONS
Italy 2015 Resident Artist & Program Coordinator, Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice
2006-2008 Visiting Artist Intern, University of Georgia Studies Abroad
Program, Cortona
USA 1996-1999 Resident Artist, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
1993-1995 CORE Student Fellowship, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
PROFESSIONAL and TEACHING
2012-2013 Studio Coordinator, University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program,
Cortona, Italy
2003 Wood Kiln Building Workshop (with Lisa Stinson) Canton Clay Works,
Canton, CT
2003 Making & Firing Workshop, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN
2002 Visiting Artist, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC
1997 Wood Firing Workshop, University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
1997 Established Shawn Ireland Pottery
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Public Asheville Art Museum, NC 2008
City of Rocky Mount Art Center, NC 2002
Private Mr. and Mrs. John Lowry. Rocky Mount, NC
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Hayes. Wilmington, NC
Libba Evans. Winston-Salem, NC
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
The Handbuilt Potter. Melissa Weiss, 2019
The Laurel of Asheville. October 2018
Asheville MADE. December 2018
North Carolina Potteries Through Time. Stephen Compton, 2017
The Laurel of Asheville. December 2016
The Log Book. “Creative Conviction”. Issue 65, 2016
500 Pitchers- Contemporary Expressions of a Classic Form. 2006. Lark Books
Ceramics Monthly. January & April 2004
500 Bowls. 2003. Lark Books
500 Tea Pots - Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design. 2002. Lark Books
MEMBERSHIPS
2009 – Present Penland Potters www.penlandpottery.com
2007 -- Present Spruce Pine Potters Market www.sprucepinepottersmarket.com
2005 – Present Toe River Arts Council www.toeriverarts.org
2002 – Present Southern Highland Craft Guild www.southernhighlandguild.org