SIMON LEVIN
I feel like I have so many projects in process I have decided to use the front page of this website as a blog format with regular (monthly) updates.
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I would like to announce the arrival of my new apprentice Mike Gesiakowski (pronouced Mikey-G) Mike comes from DeKalb, Ilinois where he worked with Doug Jeppesen at Waubonsee Community College. Mike has left a 10 year career as graphic layout and IT guy with a yellow pages company to pursue one as a full time potter. You can see mike's apprentice page here. And his blog here. Mike and Ryan are building a train kiln the last week of July. They will document the process on the site soon. |
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| New humor column on Michael Kline's blog Sawdust and Dirt. This one is about the rabbit conspiracy in clay. "Simon Says". Read it and let me know what you think. Basically it is public siliness. |  |
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I just received a huge compliment from Dan Anderson. I have a show opening at AKAR gallery on Friday June 25th. Dan stopped in at AKAR on his way home from Minnesota and says "I was fortunate to get a peek at your pots that were at AKAR on our way back to Illinois from the Minnesota Pottery tour/Sale. I thought they were some of the best pots I have ever seen of your work!" Big praise indeed. I asked him if I could quote him and he wrote back saying I should add " I was hoping I could purchase a couple of Simon's pots on the spot - instead of having to wait until June 25th!" The show opens at 10:00 am online at Akardesign.com on Friday June 25th. Sam Chung is the headliner, and I am the Featured Artist.
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| In the beginning of June I sent about 60 really fine work to Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana. It's nice to see all that work swelling their inventory. I was bit tentative to send them so much work, but I am pleased I did. And they got it up on line lickety-split. |  |
Call for EntriesI get to jurry a really great national show. "It's Only Clay" at Bemidji Community art center is a once a year jurried show. I am really pleased to be on the list of Jurrors, which in the past has included Jeff Oestriech, Linda Christianson, and Bob Briscoe. Download the application here. Download the prospectus here. |
2009 winner of the Harlow Purchase award |
| I just added a new video to the video page of stop motion films. It is a video of us unloading the Mill Creek Spitfire kiln. I will keep adding more videos, and yes, I do take requests. | |
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Lloyd Cledwyn and I would like to announce the creation of a new resource for ceramicists everywhere. With your help Wikiclay.com will become a fluid and vibrant source of information on artists, galleries, schools, videos, and whatever else you think may be helpful. Anyone can use it, anyone can contribute, any...one can refine articles. Please check it out. Kristen Kieffer is on board as one of the moderators. |
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I would like to introduce Ryan Stobel as the newest Mill Creek apprentice. Ryan started here in January working with me and Matt in the studio. Ryan is a displaced New Englander like myself. His background in clay is varried, having grown up working in his mom's paint your own pottery shop and most recently having been a student at Tara Wilson's Penland concentration. You can see Ryan's Page here! Ryan also just created an Etsy page to help support his time here at Mill Creek Pottery. Please take a look. |
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| In October I traveled to Tainan National University of Arts in southern Taiwan to build this kiln I designed for them. We built the kiln then I presented at an international woodfire symposium. I was deeply honored to have this opportunity to meet and work with new colleagues. You can see the kiln building process at woodfire.com/tainan |  |
| It is a huge honor to announce that the bottle on the right just won first place at Strictly Functional Pottery National show. This is the 17th annual SFPN, a show that has always been a benchmark of contemporary American ceramics. Each year a different jurror selects the work. This year's jurror was Pete Pinnell. This is my 8th time participating in the show and a pleasure to have won first prize. You can see all the fantastic work here. |  |
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| I have started a world map of wood kilns. I am asking owners of woodkilns to email me or my friend Josh Harmony information about their kilns so I can place them on the map. You can see the map here. |  |
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In March Ceramics Monthly asked me to write a 1000 word article on my life as a working potter for a continuing collection of essays on this topic. That article is now out and available. The article covers my approach to business and clay, as well as promotional efforts. You can see the article here. or my past articles here. |
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What makes a pot good? Ceramics is a form of non verbal communication. Like sculpture, functional pottery can be experienced visually. However, a pot also speaks to us through the way it feels in our hands. The synergistic experience of weight, color, texture, reveals a truth to us; that is a good pot. When you first handle a piece of pottery, you can see the maker's hands shaping the pot and the fire's touch. These sensations connect us to the journey the clay has made. So begins the relationship between the user and the ware. Pressing your lips against a favorite mug full of warm liquid is an intimate moment that serves as a daily reaffirmation of that relationship.
Wood-firing is an ancient process: a product of thousands of years of history and innovation. Firing with wood requires close connection between potter and process. Wood-firing results in a product that is as unique as it is beautiful. Each pot speaks of its form and experience. Good wood-fired work is alive with subtlety.
As you explore these pages you will find details about my philosophy and information about the wood-firing process. Each piece is an individual work of art, the best of which can be purchased at my online store.
