Clay Prints: Image, Surface and Narrative in Contemporary Ceramics

Meet Guest Curator Charlie Cummings October 17 at 6:30pm for a panel discussion with exhibiting artists Paul Andrew Wandless and Thomas Lucas. Free for FWMoA Members and Students with valid ID; $5 for non-members

Since antiquity craftspeople have used imagery on ceramic forms as decoration and to convey narratives.  For most of the 20,000 year history of ceramics, surface imagery has been created by stenciling, stamping, carving, or by painting the object with clay or glaze.  Since the 1750s printmaking technology has been used to put images on factory made ceramics using decals produced through Intaglio and lithographic processes.  Decals produced for commercial applications have long been available to ceramic artists, until recently, the use of personal imagery by way of image transfers has been rare in ceramics.  Before the widespread availability of personal computers and printers, printmaking processes and equipment were too cumbersome and expensive for most studio artists.  Enabled by the ever increasing accessibility of computers and printers, studio ceramicists have, over the past decade, integrated a wide range of printmaking processed into their studio practice.

This exhibition is a survey of the wide use of printmaking techniques for image transfer on clay in contemporary ceramics.  Artists featured in this exhibition use a wide range of printmaking techniques to utilize color, texture, graphics, photography and narrative in their ceramic vessels and sculptures.  Printmaking techniques represented include commercial decals, laser printer decals, intaglio, laser etching, monoprinting and screening alone and in combination.

Sponsored in part by the Designer/Craftsman Guild.