American Masters, a landmark invitational exhibition highlighting sixteen of the country's most established and talented studio potters is showing at MudFire Gallery May 10, 2008 through June 21, 2008.
American Masters features fine craft by American potters whose work has shaped the landscape of contemporary ceramics.
May 10-June 21
Reception Saturday, May 10, from 5-9 pm.
Michael has been a studio potter since 1993. He studied pottery, painting, and printmaking at the University of Tennessee from 1983-1986 and holds a BFA. He also studied under Michael Simon at the Penland School of Crafts in 1989. After teaching pottery at the Westside YMCA in New York City from 1986-1989 he joined Mark Shapiro in Worthington, MA and built a studio and kiln at Stonepool Pottery. In 1993 Michael began his Okra Pottery Studio. He designed and created wood fired-salt glazed tableware with a botanical theme in Massachusetts until 1998 when he was awarded a Resident Artist position at the Penland School of Crafts.
At Penland Michael developed a body of work in translucent porcelain. In addition to the porcelain work Michael developed a body of larger scale stoneware pottery inspired by the traditional stoneware of the Catawba Valley and Seagrove areas of North Carolina. At the end of his tenure as Resident Artist Michael designed a kiln to fire his new body of stoneware. The new kiln is designed to fire exclusively with edgings and remainder wood from local sawmills. The kiln also is large enough to fire his large-scale pottery as well his tableware. The kiln is fired six times a year. The new stoneware features Michael's botanical themes as well as traditional glass "runs".
Michael lives in Bakersville, North Carolina with his wife/goldsmith Stacey Lane. They have a daughter named Evelyn and a beagle named Ruby.
"Despite the many tangents that lead me this way and that in the course of making pottery, the ideas, desires and excitement of clay remain very close to those at the very beginning of my career. To be sure, the outcome of experience and effort, trial and error has evolved through the years. But the process still begins with the simple, ecstatic response to a ball of soft clay. The successful pot elicits a similar response in the context of the home.
The mountains of North Carolina provide plenty of inspiration with their wildly exuberant flora, geological variety and the pottery history that sprang from these geological circumstances. Strong pottery form and patterns that evoke the complexity of this natural environment continue to guide my interests in this current body of work. By some combination of optimism and risk, my collaboration with the natural properties of clay and wood fire continues to lead me through this potter's life, at times exasperating and at others, exhilarating."
Education
1989 Penland School. Scholarship to attend Michael Simon workshop.
1986 University of Tennessee Knoxville. BFA in Ceramics with prior studies
in Civil Engineering
Selected recent exhibitions
2007
"Locally Thrown" Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA
"Consider The Cup" Artisan Gallery, Northampton, MA
"Botanical" Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
"Featured Artist" AKAR Design Gallery, Iowa City, IA
"A Cup Of Tea" Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
"Ferrin Gallery/S.O.F.A at NCECA" represented by Ferrin Gallery, Louisville,
KY
"Plates & Platters" , The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
"Michael Kline", The Focus Gallery, Southern Highland Crafts Guild, Asheville,
NC
"Woodfire Invitational-2007",The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
Yunomi" AKAR Design Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2006
"30 x 5" AKAR Design Gallery, Iowa City, IA
"Solo Show", Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA
"Atlanta Fine Crafts", American Crafts Council, Atlanta, Ga
"Style and Function:National Ceramics Invitational" Blue Spiral 1, Asheville,
NC
2005
"Tableware Show", American Folk, Asheville, NC
National Teapot Show VI", Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC
"New Pottery", AKAR Design Gallery, Iowa City, IA
"Botanical Wonders", Penland Gallery, Penland, NC
"Spring Home & Garden Invitational", Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, MI
"Solo Show", The Seen Gallery, Decateur, GA
"Platitudes", Worcester Center For Crafts, Worcester, MA
2004 "A Natural Response" (solo) Ferrin Gallery, Lenox,
"2004 Artist Invitational", Waterworks Visual Arts Center, Salisbury, NC
"Penland Residents1963-2004" Folk Arts Center, Asheville, NC
2003
S.O.F.A., Chicago IL, represented by Ferrin Gallery
"Origins and Influences" with Mark Shapiro, Michael Simon, and Sam Taylor,
Earth and Fire Gallery,Vienna, VA
"For Your Service", Kreeger Pottery, Cape Cod, MA
"Southeastern Potters", Bascomb Louise Gallery, Highlands, NC
"Sensuous", Red Star Studio and Gallery, Kansas City, MO
"Studio Potter Invitational", Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA
"New Move, New Kiln, New Work: Michael Kline" Akar Gallery, Iowa City, IA
"New York Ceramics Fair" New York, NY , represented by Ferrin Gallery
2002
"Studio Pottery Invitational, Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, MA
"Alabama Clay Conference17 Invitational Exhibition" Jacksonville
State College, Jacksonville, AL
"NCECA Invitational" Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City,
MO
"National Teapot Show V" Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC
2001
"Southeastern Clay" Bascom Louise Gallery, Highlands,
NC
"New Artists" Spratt Burrough Gallery, York, SC
"Sum & Substance" Penland Clay Residents, 1963 - Present, Penland
Gallery, Penland, NC
"Penland Community Clay" Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
"Recent Work: Michael Kline" Pinch Pottery, Ferrin Gallery, Northampton,
MA
2000
"Clay, Wood, Fire, Salt" Folk Arts Center, Asheville,
NC and Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
"Cups & Cupboards" Signature Gallery, Atlanta, GA
"Architectural Clay" LaCoste Gallery, Concord, MA
"Our Cup Runneth Over" Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA
"One Hundred Pitchers" North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove,
NC
Home
| Open Studio | Gallery
| Workshops | Membership
| Store
Links | Maps | Classes
| Parties | Calendar
| Paint | FAQs
About | Contact
| Site Map
info@mudfire.com
Copyright
© 2002-2010 MudFire, Inc.
All Rights Reserved. Use of this website confirms acceptance of the Privacy
Policy and Terms and Conditions. All trademarks and registered trademarks
are the property of their respective owners. Make pots not war, and have a
stellar day!
