Michigan

Artist's Statement

I am a storyteller. I create without words, but with images and objects. I tell stories of a white/ working class/ first generation American that can’t stop the pounding in his hands to make. I construct narratives from a life rich with visual memories.

There is a longing in my imagery for the past that includes angst, guilt, temptation, and happiness. There is confusion and contradiction in my work, a play between intuition and chance, a stuggle between reality and fantasy.

I choose clay to tell these stories. I carve it, mold it, find it, decorate it, and fire it to maturity. The clay achieves a lasting presence that will far outlast my own. This clay, turned to stone, takes on the shapes of tombstones and camels, plants and branches, angels and birds. These images and objects have becomes the pages of my story. The story I need to share as much as I need to make.

Biography

Paul McMullan received his M.F.A in Ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY. His B.F.A was obtained from James Madison University in Harrisonberg, VA. He has participated in numerous solo, group and juried exhibitions, including "Breaking the Plane" at Northern Clay Studio, Minneapolis, MN; "Emerging Artists" at John Elder Gallery, New York, NY; "Garden Show" at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit, MI; and "Contemporary Material Strategies at Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, TX. He has held lectures and workshops all over the country and is currently the Assistant Professor of Ceramic Art at Siena Heights University, Adrian, Michigan.