Biography:

Steven Colby received his BFA from Alfred University, New York State College of Ceramics in 1999. He has been an artist in residence at Baltimore Clayworks, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and The Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO. He is currently a member of SAW, Studio for Arts + Works, in Carbondale. Steven’s exploration of earthenware and colored slips enables his interests in painting and ceramics to merge in one creative endeavor. Steven shows nationally and is a working member of Artstream Nomadic Gallery.

Artist Statement :

My studio practice is centered around observation over time. I come back to a wet pot as often as possible, looking to see each part of the pot, turning it over and round looking to bring identity to the pot by considering and addressing every possibility of form and surface.  

I work with red earthenware because of its material modesty and its peasant heritage.  Typically I will apply a white slip to a pot immediately upon completion of form with the pot still revolving on the wheel.  I think of this time as preparing a canvas as a painter would apply gesso. Occasionally I’ll stop there. More often I’ll allow a pot to sit for awhile while I begin to imagine its painting.  Using colored slips I’ll begin to work the surface while the body of the pot remains responsive.  In this way painting and form develop as one.  An aggressive brushstroke will compromise the body’s volume while a painted petal can be given breadth by a push from within.  The painting can be pulled into the form as the red clay becomes an addition to my color palette.  At my best the pots appear to be made from the painting.

Touching the work often and undaunted the pots take on a sense of being already broken in.  The imagery is purposefully familiar, worn and out of focus.  I’ll introduce layer upon layer of simple motifs to tell stories and evoke common cultural memory.  I’m working to portray shared moments that are precious, stirring and just out of reach.

This process that begins with me in studio continues thru the life of the pot as pressed into use in the home.  I try to make a pot that reveals itself over time as the holder brings the pot close to the body and into the daily intimacies of life.