Illinois

Artist Statement

Nature, the ultimate architect, has perfected strategies for building stronger, lighter structures, securing survival in an ecology that is simultaneously cut throat and delicate. Simple robust and resilient curves, comprise a flower's form, lending durability to what is otherwise the frailest of stock. Layers upon layers of pulp, a composite of cellulose fibers, wrap concentrically along the length of trees providing flexibility rivaling the most fervent of gusts. There is safety in numbers, as every blade of grass on an open plane contributes to the survival of its neighbor and of the whole. Nature's architecture, the consummate marriage of physics and aesthetics, provides the basis for the structure and energy of my ceramic vessels and sculptures.

As in nature each new piece is a mutation, an amendment to the idea. Such mutations can cross mediums and return with new information. Mistakes are invited for they most often mark the fork from where I leave one course and embark on another. At times a form is sliced and pushed to the point of its destruction and I am forced to step back. Mass and weight are held at bay by prevailing cracks and fissures. Patterns attract the eye and provide contrast to the monochrome simplicity of the surface inviting the viewer to stay and explore. I attempt not to imitate nature but to draw from its ingenuity and creativity.

Education
 
2000 M.F.A.--Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University,  Alfred, NY.
1998 B.F.A. Ceramic Art, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
           
Exhibitions
2005
-Contemporary Ceramics, Grand Opening Exhibition, Harvey/Meadows Gallery, Aspen Highlands Village, Aspen, CO
-Installation: Potted and Stock, Lill Street Art Center, Chicago, Illinois
-Reverberant, Tyler Lotz and Erin Furimsky, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN
-Tendrils and Shoots, Dubhe Carreño Gallery, Chicago Illinois
-Ceramic Invitational, Tyler Lotz, Carole Ross, John Pagliaro, Cervini Haas
Gallery/Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, Arizona
-NCECA 2005 Clay National Exhibition, The Center for Art and Visual Culture
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland
-Organic Connections, Tyler Lotz and Painter Sandra Perlow, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, Illinois

2004
-Two person Show with Erin Furimsky, North Central College, Naperville, Illinois
-Five Fresh Voices, New Directions in Ceramic Art, The Franklin Parrasch
Gallery, NY
-The First Annual Carbondale Clay National, Carbondale Clay Center,
Carbondale, CO
-Service: An Unconventional Approach, Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, PA
-Archie Bray Foundation Resident Exhibition, NCECA, Mavris Cultural Center, Indianapolis, IN

2003
-Illinois State University Faculty Biennial, University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois
-The Me In Team, Heuser Art Center Gallery, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois
-Archie Bray Foundation, 2003 Summer Resident Artists, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
-Archie Bray Residents, Adams Street Lofts-Kolva Sullivan Gallery, Spokane, WA
- Resident Artist Summer Exhibition, The Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT