Shadow May
2010 Spotlight Series

MudFire Gallery welcomes Shadow May of Chattanooga, TN, for the first installment in our 2010 Spotlight Series. The event will take place Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm.

Shadow is a studio potter with fifteen years experience. His work feels organic and gestural, showing clearly the touch of the potters hands and hints of process. The bold substantiality of his forms is balanced by a subdued and subtle glaze palette. Like the artist, the work is strong, earthy, and captivating.

MudFire's Spotlight Series brings local potters into focus for Saturday afternoon, one-day-only exhibits/sales. These events offer the opportunity to meet the potter, enjoy some refreshments, and take a deep look at a larger body of work than is typically available at the gallery.

About Shadow May

My name is Shadow May. I'm a born and raised Alaskan, and have been a potter for about fifteen years now. I've worked across the USA …from Alaska to Tennessee, North Carolina to Hawaii… gathering knowledge and refining my skills. I received my training through many different avenues. I spent a short time in college, and attended workshops as well as numerous intense apprenticeships, while also throwing production (piece work) for companies.

Everything up 'til now has influenced my growth, my views and my life as a potter. I've just let my pots evolve with myself. The interactions, conversations, confrontations--whatever it is--come out in my pots. Learning to listen and reflect has shaped the pots I make today. I am always evolving. Whether I throw ten pots in a day or a hundred, the silent lessons I learn from the clay are always there.

I work with a cone six-to-ten porcelain, mostly because it is very responsive to my touch and the marks I leave behind. Glazing on porcelain also brings rich texture and color. I wedge all my clay and mix my glazes from scratch. I throw on an old Randall kick-wheel which I worked on during my first apprenticeship in Tennessee. There are four to five glazes that I work with and interchange with new ones as I test them. Right now I fire a twenty-one cubic foot oval electric kiln eight to nine times every other month. My true passion, however, is wood-firing pots and drinking good beer.

I try to work as hard as I can and then work harder. I believe that I only have one chance at this--at everything. I give it my all, never holding back. I welcome mistakes and struggles-it brings triumph and character. Working as a potter, above anything I have done in my life so far, has given me more love for the daily living in my life and the quiet yet profound importance of love and friendship (how to lean when you need to and being the one who is leaned upon). I hope my pots bring good conversation and wholesome living to your life.

Shadow May Resume

Education

2008, Spring Board(8wk course), Business Planning Workshop, Chattanooga, TN

2001-2002, Haywood Community College, Ceramics Major, North Carolina

2000, Penland School of Crafts, Ceramics Work Study (Don Reitz/ Soda-Firing), Penland, NC

1998, University of Alaska, English & Art History Major, Anchorage, Alaska

1990-1994, Homer High School, 4 year ceramics elective, Homer, Alaska

Professional Experience

2000-Present, Shadow May Pottery, Sole Proprietor, Chattanooga, Tennessee

2008, Fine Living Program: "A Splash of Style", Television Spotlight on making the Vessel Sink, Fine Living Television Network (River Media)

2000, Two Rivers Studio, Studio Assistant, Dillsboro, North Carolina

1999-2000, Tropical Clay, Production Potter, Honolulu, Hawaii

1999-2000, Paradise Pottery, Production Potter/ Studio Assistant, Haleiwa, Hawaii

1999-2000, Fyrewerks Pottery, Production Potter/ Studio Assistant, Haleiwa, Hawaii

1999-2000, Hula Lamps Hawaii, Production Assistant, Haleiwa, Hawaii,

1999-2000, Homer High School Ceramics Department, Studio Assistant , Homer, Alaska,

1999-2000, Paul Dungan Pottery, Apprentice/ Studio Assistant, Homer, Alaska

1995-1996, Monsarratt Pottery, Apprentice/ Studio Assistant, Friendsville, TN

1994, The Pottery School, Assistant, Knoxville, TN

Kiln Working Experience

2004-2008, Extensive electric Cone 6 Firing, 24 cu.ft. Commercial Electric Kiln, Chattanooga, TN

2004-2008, Collin College Kiln Building Workshop Instructor, 24 cu.ft. Soda Cross-Draft Gas Kiln, Plano, TX

2004-2009, Extensive electric Cone 6 Firing, Olympic 20 cu.ft. Electric Oval Kiln, Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN

2005-2006, University of Tennessee Wood Kiln, Fired Cantenary Arch (40 cu.ft. Wood/Salt Kiln), Knoxville, TN

2001-2003, Built Fast-Fire Cantenary Arch Wood Kiln, 45 cu.ft., Canton, NC

2001-2003, Haywood Community College, Intensive Study Single-Firing Cone 10 Gas Car Kiln, Contributed to building the Phoenix Wood-Fired Kiln, North Carolina

1999-2000, Homer High School, Maintained, Reconstructed, and Fired Lou Olsen 60 cu.ft. Fast-Fire Wood Kiln, Homer, AK

Teaching Experience

2010 Workshop Instructor, "Creating Soft Pots", Adult Workshop, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

2008, Workshop Instructor, "Combining Wheel-Thrown Forms with Slabs", Adult Workshop, Appalachian Arts Craft Center, Norris, TN

2008, Workshop Instructor, "Creating a Body of Work", Ceramics Majors Workshop, Collin College, Allen, TX

2008, Workshop Instructor, "Exploring the Bowl", Adult Workshop, Appalachian Arts Craft Center, Norris, TN

2008, Workshop Instructor, "Throwing Loose Pots", Adult Workshop, Mighty Mud Studios, Knoxville, TN

2007, Workshop Instructor, "Mastering the Mug", Adult Workshop, Appalachian Arts Craft Center, Norris, TN

2007, Instructor, "Throwing and Hand-building", Adult Workshop, Campbell's Ceramics Supply, Knoxville, TN

2005-2006, Instructor, "Throwing and Hand-building", Adult Workshop, Campbell's Ceramics Supply, Knoxville, TN

Exhibitions

2009 "Strictly Functional Pottery National", Participant, Lancaster,PA

2008, "Performances in Clay III", The Gallery, Red Bank, TN

2008, "2008 Gallery Hop", Loose Cannon Arts and Events, Chattanooga, TN

2008, Trunk Show for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN

2008, "Palate 2 Palette", Loose Cannon Arts and Events, Chattanooga, TN

2007, "Performances in Clay II", The Gallery, Red Bank, TN

2006, Solo Show, Hanson Gallery, Knoxville, TN

2004, Two Man Show, Bogartz Restaurant, Knoxville, TN

Awards

2009, Creative Clay Award, TACA, Nashville,TN

2009, Best Presentation, Columbus Arts Show, Columbus,OH

2009, Best In Clay, Atlanta Arts Fest, Atlanta, GA

2008, CERF (Craft Emergency Relief Fund) Grant Recipient, National

2008, Merit Award, Pink Palace Fine Arts and Crafts Show, Memphis, TN

2008, Purchase Awards (3), Artisphere, Greenville, SC

2008, Honorable Mention, Dogwood Arts Festival, Knoxville, TN

2007, Merit Award, Pink Palace Fine Arts and Crafts Show, Memphis, TN

2007, First Place Overall, Dogwood Festival of Arts, Knoxville, TN

2007, Empty Bowls Award, TACA Spring Show, Nashville, TN

2007, Honorable Mention, St. Stephen's Art and Craft Show, Coconut Grove, FL

2006, Second Place Overall Fine Arts, National Shrimp Festival Gulf Shores, AL

2006, Artist Patron Award, National Shrimp Festival, Gulf Shores, AL

2005, Merit Award, AthFest Arts and Music Festival, Athens, GA

2005, Best of Show, Rugby Festival of British and Appalachian Culture, Rugby, TN

Recent Juried Arts Events

Columbus Arts show, Columbus, OH

Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta Art Festival, Atlanta, GA

WNC Pottery Festival, Dillsboro,NC

Gasparilla Festival of Fine Arts, Tampa, FL

Visual Arts Center of Richmond Craft + Design Show, Richmond, VA

Pink Palace Crafts Fair, Memphis, TN

TACA Spring and Fall Shows, Nashville and Chattanooga, TN

St. Stephens Art and Craft Show, Miami, FL

ONB Magic City Arts Connection, Birmingham, AL

Moss Rock Festival, Birmingham, AL

Artisphere, Greenville, SC

Foothills Craft Guild Fall Show, Knoxville, TN,

Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival, Fairhope, AL

Dogwood Festival of Arts, Knoxville, TN

Rugby Festival of Appalachian Culture, Rugby, TN

National Shrimp Festival Fine Arts Show, Gulf Shores, AL

Oxford Double Decker Festival, Oxford, MS

Hiawassee Festival of Arts, Hiawassee, GA

Western North Carolina Pottery Festival, Dillsboro, NC

Bele Chere, Asheville, NC

Gilmore Shows, Myrtle Beach, NC and Greensboro, NC

LEAF Festival, Black Mountain, NC

Dillsboro Arts and Music Festival, Dillsboro, NC

Black Mountain Arts Festival, Black Mountain, NC

Floyd Fest, Floyd, VA

AthFest, Athens, GA

Church Street Arts and Crafts Show, Waynesville, NC

Organizations

Association for Visual Artists

Foothills Craft Guild

TACA

Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance

Publications

The Mountain Mirror, Chattanooga, TN , Pgs.B6

Clay Times , Volume 15,issue 83, Sept/Oct 2009, pg.14

Ceramics Monthly, Dec 2009 issue