Jean Griffith Fellowship

We established the Jean Griffith Fellowship to honor Jean's many years of service to Pottery Northwest and to the Seattle arts community. At the same time it is a way in which we can continue to enrich the arts community by hosting a nationally recognized artist here at Pottery Northwest. We want them to make Pottery Northwest their home studio for the time it takes to create a body of work. We will make opportunities for you to interact with that artist, hear them speak, see the work develop, perhaps even sponsor a collaboration.

We are pleased and excited to announce that our board of directors has begun a campaign to permanently endow the Jean Griffith Fellowship. You can help us make this fellowship program and tribute to Jean Griffith an enduring reality. Send a contribution to Pottery Northwest and designate it "Fellowship" or use PayPal to make a secure donation to Pottery Northwest now.

JEAN GRIFFITH was a founding member of Pottery Northwest and served as its director for more than 30 years. She is nationally known as a ceramic artist with work exhibited from the very beginning of her career (Syracuse 21st Ceramic National, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY 1960) to these more recent exhibits: Raku: Transforming the Tradition, NCECA Traveling Exhibition, Kansas City Contemporary Art Center, Kansas City KS 1989. Exhibition of Raku, Northwest Crafts Center, Seattle, WA 1991. Her work is also included in a number of publication on Northwest art and artists.
 
Her tireless support of the arts and art education has seen her as a frequent speaker and panel member regionally and with NCECA and has earned her such awards as: Service Award, Seattle Center Foundation, Seattle, WA 1992. American Crafts Council Award - Honorary Fellow 1996. Community Arts Achievement Award, Washington State Arts Alliance, 1999.
 
Born in Nebraska, Jean received her BA from the University of Nebraska and MFA from the University of Washington.

Beth Cavener Stichter

Beth Cavener Stichter is the first Jean Griffith Fellowship recipient. She has also received an Emerging Artist Grant from the American Craft Council, and the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award for sculpture. Beth is one of the brightest stars in American ceramics today.

Beth made Pottery Northwest her studio during September and October of 2006. After being one of the presenting artists with the Gang of Eight for the 40th celebration, Beth quickly settled into the studio at PNW. A formidable talent with an equally engaging personality, her presence in the studio was all one could hope for.

With the decision to pursue another major work for her one-person show at Garth Clark Gallery, New York, Beth's stay became one of increasing intensity. It was enriching, demanding, honest. She gave a slide talk for the University of Washington's Ceramics Department, made every effort to interact with anyone who was interested, and far from being something that was observed, Beth's residency was something in which many people were participants.

Beth’s most recent show was “On Tender Hooks” at the Claire Oliver Gallery, New York. Beth is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Pottery Northwest.

Josh DeWeese

Josh DeWeese is a ceramic artist and educator. He currently teaches ceramics at Montana State University in Bozeman, where he and his wife Rosalie Wynkoop have recently built a home and studio. DeWeese served as Resident Director of the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana from 1992-2006.

During a month of rainy days in January of 2008, Josh filled two kilns with his luscious soda fired pots. Pitchers, his signature “Bubba’ jars and baroque handled baskets all graced the studio.

“I am interested in how pots can be used every day to bring art into our lives, enhancing our experience with food, adorning our homes, and providing a necessary ritual to nourish our soul and mind as well as our bodies. I try to make pottery which is successful in several ways; comfortable to use, enjoyable to look at, and interesting to think about. For me utilitarian pottery is an arena for playing with the plasticity of clay and its potential in the fire, and a response to the rich history of ceramic arts throughout the world.”

Richard Notkin

A studio artist who lives in Helena, Montana, Richard Notkin's teapots and ceramic sculptures have been exhibited internationally and are in numerous public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan.

Richard worked in our studio through the month of January, 2009. In addition to leading a workshop held during his residency, Richard worked tirelessly on one of his signature teapots, and pressed of number of his exquisitely carved tiles. Richard was also quite generous with the time he devoted to meeting and talking with our artists-in-residence. While he was here Richard also participated in the symposium The Yixing Effect with Marvin Sweet and Geo Lastomirsky, presented by Pottery Northwest. After the symposium the three scholar/artists served anyone who wished tea into the late hours.

Among Richard’s awards are three artist fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. Notkin has recently been elected as a Fellow of the American Craft Council. Just before his residency at Pottery Northwest, Richard learned that he was the recipient of a US Artist award.

Tip Toland

Tip Toland is a studio artists living in Vaughn, Washington. Tip is also an alum of the Pottery Northwest studio where she worked and taught for a number years (1988-93).

Tip spent the month of October, 2009 in the studio working on a nearly life-size hermaphroditic figure for The Hermaphrodites: Living in Two Worlds, Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, associated with NCECA, 2010. We were also fortunate to have Tip teach a figure class at the studio over the course of her fellowship residency.

Tip received the Virginia A. Groot Foundation Grant for excellence in sculpture in 2004, and an Artist Trust, Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award in 2007. Her show at the Bellevue Art Museum in 2008 was a spectacular achievement. In October of 2009, Tip participated along with Beth Cavener Stichter and Patti Warashina in the symposium “A Woman’s Figure(s)” moderated by Namita Wiggers and produced by Pottery Northwest.

Andy Nasisse

Andy Nasisse has had a long and illustrious career in ceramics, including teaching at the University of Georgia, Athens, and is a very active studio artist. A Professor Emeritus of the University of Georgia, Athens, Andy has received numerous awards including a Ford Foundation Research Grant, National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowship, Albert Christ-Janer Award for a Lifetime of Creative Research, and a University of Georgia Research Grant for Study of Prinzhorn Collection and Musée Del Art Brut. He has written many reviews and articles and has lectured frequently on visionary and folk art in America.

Layered slips and glazes and multiple firings, as well as a method of handling the clay to reveal it's geological origin, are all hallmarks of his work. That does not, of course, adequately describe the beautiful and intriguing surfaces, or the beguiling subject matter of his work. When people see Andy's work, they are not quite sure how it is made. That sense of mystery pervades his work, as well as a wondrous sense of play and willingness to explore the medium to its fullest.

"For quite some time now I have been using the figure, the vessel, and the landscape as a primary image (or mythic image) through which I could express some thoughts about the human condition. I have tried to present a unified theme that ties together work that ranges from small scale utilitarian pots to large scale vessels and figures. I work improvisationally, finding figures in the material, and developing them into an image, or a narrative that seems to have life. I like to think of these figures as part of a family of images that find their way through my hands into the outer world. At their best they present an enigmatic expression, somewhere on the edge between whimsy and fear." -Andy Nasisse

While Andy will devote most of his time at Pottery Northwest completing a body of work, he will also give a slide talk. Yes, with real slides too!! Andy will be joining us in the studio starting June 15, 2011 and will be here for a solid month as part of our studio community. Stay alert for events that will share the positive energy the Jean Griffith Fellowship brings to Seattle, we'll keep you posted.

Andy will be joined by Lauren Gallaspy as a guest in the studio. Lauren's work spans a huge range of sculptural and functional pieces marked by a fascinating, intricate graphical treatment. Wow! We look forward to a month of creative energy, professional exchange of ideas, and a lot of fun. Thank you to all the wonderful friends who make the Jean Griffith Fellowship possible.