Karen McPhail

I came across Irish potter, Karen McPhail a couple days ago on Bloesem. What a sweet surprise! I love the graphic nature of the stencils and decals as well as the lovely quality of the linear decorative elements. Plus, creative handles and knobs are always a plus in my book. Also, I really appreciate, now more than ever, the simplicity of the cylinder and how wonderful it is when boldly decorated.

(images via artist's website)

Rebecca Appleby

Decalorama! I love how Rebecca Appleby is pursuing ceramics as a medium. Are these pieces vessels or paintings or sculptures? Well, they seem to be all three. I love that each of these pieces has so much to look at. I imagine finding secret little compositions all over each piece... This kind of mastery over surface reminds me of Diana Fayt and Julia Galloway, no?

(images via artist's website)

Liz Smith

Look at the layering on these surfaces. What the heck? How awesome. Decals, glazing, carving, lusters- wow. I am totally drooling right now.

By the way... Lusters aren't food safe, are they?

(images via Charlie Cummings Gallery)

Andy Brayman

Alfred Alumnus Andy Brayman is as much a conceptual artist as a ceramic artist, I believe.  You can see in his work he's exploring something beyond the shape and surface of his pots, though those qualities too are of great importance to the artist. Hm... i just love the shapes he uses and his peculiar sense of decoration.  You can read an interesting article with the man in American Craft here. For more images of Brayman's work check out this exhibition at Harvey Meadows Gallery.

(images via Santa Fe Clay and artist's website)

Michael T. Schmidt

Super-rad and super appropriate for the current state of affairs.  We just received our latest issue of National Geographic- Special Report "The Spill". Anyone read it yet? I'm going to try to this week.

(images via artist's website)

Scott Rench

Interesting work. It's like pop-surrealism on clay.

(images via Dubhe Carreño Gallery and Webesteem Art & Design Magazine)

Gillian Parke

I really like the contrasts in this work. The texture is fantastic, the luster is a sweet detail. I am especially fond of the second piece from the top. Maybe it's because it makes me think of shino.

(images via the Clay Studio and artist's website)

Julie Goyot

Cool work, huh? Goyot is a ceramist working out of Tallahassee. The corn imagery comes from her formative years in Illinois.  I love these pieces, they are so- American. Some of the work above is from a show in North Carolina. If you're in the area, go check it out. The show is up until the end of September.

(images via artist's website and Crimson Laurel Gallery)

Virginia Graham

 

I love the patchwork feel of these pieces and the fact that they still are so utterly English!

(images via artist's website)

Chris Antemann

I'm really interested in the excavation of the porcelain figurine in contemporary ceramics right now. Chris Antemann is getting a lot of attention for her work right now and I'm actually quite fond of it myself.  I enjoy the scenes she creates and think some of them are quite interesting takes on modern concepts of gender and sexuality.

(images via Ferrin Gallery)

Karin Eriksson

Another artist mad about decals. I really like Eriksson's combination of folksy shape and victorian florals. And the way she almost uses the decals as a collage on each piece is super modern.  I particularly love the shape of the mug just above though I'm curious how that handle works out... What do you guys think?

(images via artist's website)