Vernon Smith

Vernon Smith at MudFire

Providing ongoing representation
Gallery group show CLAY-TL, August 2008
Solo show Still Life, June 2007
Gallery group show Put A Lid On It, May 2007
Gallery group show Teapots A-Go-Go, April 2006
Solo show Relationship, September 2002

About Vernon Smith

Vernon Smith received his BFA in Ceramics from University of West Georgia. He then moved to Las Vegas to work with Tom Coleman at his newly opened studio as an instructor and studio assistant. After several years, Smith returned to Atlanta where he completed a residency at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. He teaches ceramics at several local community art centers and recently built the ceramics studio at South Fulton Arts Center.

Vernon favors atmospheric firing in reduction, soda, salt and wood kilns. He works in series, allowing repetition to create an intuitive connection between potter and vessel, as the form evolves with fluidity and ease. His functional pottery displays extreme technical skill applied with quiet reflection on the subtleties of line. Surface treatments are calming enhancements that fit well with form, directing the eye and adding expression. Vernon's work mirrors many qualities of the artist - they radiate a quiet charm, express informed decisions, and make a soft first impression followed by gradual understanding and appreciation as thoughtful details emerge.

Vernon is inspired by the capacity of waves to measure and record energy in nature. His pots are often finished with soft blues and greens with water-like transparency, and decorated with the serene swells of varied waves. While these pots speak of water, he lets others speak more to the earth of which they are made and the fire which heats and vitrifies them. Earth tones of browns, oranges, tans and whites are typical of these works. Tying the portfolio together is a sense that a quiet moment of nature has been captured, leaving a still life in clay for future consideration.

Vernon Smith Artist Statement

I make everyday, utilitarian pottery forms that are meant to be pleasing, comfortable and, with time, familiar and comforting to those who use or live with them. I am interested in subtleties, both in form and function, and I believe that a piece should work well for the purpose it was designed.

In the studio, I work in series. I make six to twenty pieces at a time on the potters wheel, each having a similar form. This repetition results in an intuitive connection between potter and vessel in which fluidity and ease transcend contrived. I consider each pot individually, then make simple patterns, marks, drawings and subtle alterations to direct the eye, to enhance the form, or to gain a more specific expression.

I am fascinated by waves as they measure and record energy. The wave pattern is a recurring theme in my work, and I use glazes of soft greens and blues that are water-like and transparent on these forms. I imagine anything from a quiet, serene pool affected by a drop of water, to a storm that produces giant swells. While these pots speak of water, others speak more of earth, and of the fire that heats and vitrifies them. Earth tones of browns, oranges, tans and whites are typical on these forms.

As each body of work is fired and completed, the results of countless experiments and investigations are revealed and, in turn, pose new questions to be answered in a continuous dialog. It is my hope that the finished pots will reflect some of the pleasure and serenity I feel when making them.