Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (AIA) 2018
Ryan Caldwell received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with emphasis in Ceramics and Sculpture from Washburn University. Ryan was awarded the Charles A. and Margaret Pollak Art Purchase Award in 2015 from Washburn University Art Department. He has exhibited locally and nationally. His work is in art collections small and large. Including The Mulvane Art Museums permeant collection. Ryan is currently a MFA Candidate at the University of Montana in Missoula.
As a craftsman with a natural intrigue in the mundane and individual daily rituals, I strive to create objects that have the ability to gain sentimental importance through the repetition of use. Through a social relationship to food and drink, pottery has the ability to support larger emotional connections to others and ourselves, while also creating small intimate moments that allow us to slow down and appreciate the things around us.
The use of texture, shape, and pattern are essential elements in my studio practice and are influenced by a long history of ceramic traditions, Bauhaus architectural design and early Minimalism sculpture theory. These rigid design elements used as overlaying structures to my work act as accents that break up form and surface. Due to this I keep my work intentionally quiet and rustic to create a sense of calm while emphasizing each pots applied function.