Ron Slagle
Ron Slagle’s inspiration comes from those items that reflect simple clean visions: a Peruvian effigy pot, unadorned water pots made with coils of clay in the sands of Africa, bizen ware made from seemingly impossible clay, yet yielding jars that are prized for centuries. Slagle’s work crosses that imagined line between art and utility much like a cup can be a drinking vessel or the reflection of the skill and thoughtfulness of its designer. He fires regular wood and anagama kilns, with salt added for glaze and flashing.
Ron Slagle at MudFire
Gallery group show Porcelain, August 2010
Ron Slagle Artist Bio
Ron, a studio arts major, in 1970 made his first clay object, and five years later established the Schoolhouse Clay Group outside Nashville, Tennessee in Mt. Juliet. In 1978, Ron left Mt. Juliet and came to his family farm in Bakersville, NC where he maintained his studio and a wholesale line of work. Ron's work involved utilitarian stoneware production using a reduction kiln till 1989, when he took a sabbatical leave to reevaluate his personal and professional life. During 1997 he reopened his studio and a gallery for his work using a wood fired kiln. He presently includes his drawings, paintings and sculptural work in the gallery.
Ron Slagle Artist Statement
My involvement with wood firings has widened my world of possibilities in imagery that I enjoyed only intermittently over the years. A labor-intensive involvement with the firings and the collective information from each firing has built a wide foundation of visual directions for me. I enjoy using functional and sculptural forms as canvas; themes include floral or figurative forms that wrap themselves on the surface.
Functional utilitarian work reflects my earlier interest in throwing on the wheel. Hand building work has provided me with a realm of work that is not possible with the wheel. I have given more time and thought to each piece, defining each area and direction. Sculptural forms have become an important avenue for image development. Themes cross borders, religion, politics, and nature. Simple gestures, that moment in time when body language reveals inner thought, something shared universally in nature and human relations.
Overall, I have tried to build a base of information within a body of work, which would allow me to change and evaluate each part of the object in a process. The effort of each skill is an accumulation of experience and knowledge of the material to achieve my goals. The simpler the form, the more value I hold for its visual qualities. Surface simplicity yields a greater relationship with the kiln firing as it bonds all the parts of the clay form, creating a pattern of unity.
"All pottery is a copy. The only question is what the copy is aiming for; what element of the original it is seeking to emulate."
Fusajiro Kitaoji (aka: Rosanjin) 1883-1959
