Curatorial Statement
Gallery Reception: Friday, November 30, 2018 from 5-9 pm MT in conjunction with the Red Lodge Holiday Stroll
Exhibition Posted Online: Monday, November 5th, 2018 by 10 am MT
My ceramic dishes are minimal objects; they are understated and are, at times, even overlooked. Invest a little time with them and you will discover subtle elements that form the dialect by which I translate what I observe around me. My intent is to address the significance of domestic experiences through the honesty of simply composed forms and thoughtfully developed glazes. There are no unnecessary details; every element is carefully considered. An individual, family, or community may be rendered through soft, volumetric forms and tinted transparent glaze applied over an opaque slip discloses the dark clay beneath; these collaborate to create a complex visual depth replete with connotations. This sense-full ideology requires only that the user be open to its possibilities. Thus, my pots are not only useful objects, they are also subjects that have the ability to affect their users’ sensibilities and to act upon the domestic spaces they occupy.
-Birdie Boone
Birdie Boone is a maker of pots and researcher of the domestic realm, especially of social tendencies and their effects on personal identity with regard to food and modern lifestyle. She currently lives and maintains a full time studio practice in southwestern Virginia. Birdie holds a BA in Studio Fine Arts from The College of William and Mary in Virginia (1994) and an MFA in Artisanry/Ceramics from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth (2005) and was notably a long-term artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation from 2007 to 2009.
Teaching: Adjunct Instructor, Emory & Henry College, VA (1998-2002/2010-2011); TA (Instructor of Record), UMassDartmouth, MA (2003); Instructor, Worcester Center for Crafts, MA (2005-2007), Instructor, Archie Bray Foundation, MT (2008-2009); Adjunct Instructor, Carroll College MT (2008); Instructor, Santa Fe Clay, NM (2010). Workshops: Anderson Ranch (2014); Haystack Mtn. School of Crafts (2015); Idyllwild Arts (2016); Penland School (2016); Arrowmont School (2016); Pocosin Arts (2017).