FINNERTY, KATHRYN
OREGON
OREGON
I have always been drawn to 19th century English pottery and use it as an inspiration for my work. I specifically enjoy the playful, ornamental aspects of Victorian Majolica and the decorative sprigged surfaces of salt-fired stoneware and porcelain wares. I find the classically inspired designs partnered with shapes derived from natural forms, and enriched with striking jewel toned glazes oddly charming, humorous, and unpretentious. Other important influences come from my interest in majolica tiles and ornamental architectural majolica of the 1870's. In my practice I attempt to understand and interpret these influences in an effort to create a body of work relevant in our contemporary world, while fulfilling my personal creative impulses. The work is primarily hand built with elements thrown on the potter's wheel. The surface patterns are created when I incise hand-made plaster tablets with images and designs which when transferred to the clay surface produce a raised-line relief. In addition to this integrated decorative treatment I sprig and scraffito images onto the clay surface. Vessels for flower arranging, tea sets and condiment services are a few examples of the domestic forms that I explore.
Artist's Statement
I am drawn to the historical traditions of European decorative ceramics. My work is ornately decorated with surface patterns and images integrated into the form of each piece. Earlier work focused on patterns and ornamentation that defined form with this decoration. My concentration was with a close-up, intimate, and confined sense of space much like the spaces that I physically inhabited living in a city. Moving 6 years ago from an urban center to acreage in central Oregon has expanded my perspective and presented me with the opportunity to discover a natural world outside of my previous daily experience. From my studio windows I witness a pastoral landscape particular to the Northwest, lush and green, wet and moist. There are quail living in our hedge-row, starlings nesting in the eaves of our barn, hawks that soar over our pasture and the owls that hoot from the woods at dusk. I see the coyotes cross the fields on the edge of our property hunting for vermin, hummingbirds flutter in our garden in search of nectar and a Great Heron resides in our pond in the summer months. All of this delights and nourishes me daily and I have found it impossible to resist the tug to draw on this abundance for inspiration in my creative process. This landscape has found a way to impose itself into the existing framework, drawing my attention and the viewer’s eye deeper into the pieces.
Biography
Kathryn Finnerty is a studio potter living and working in Pleasant Hill, Oregon. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada she studied Ceramics at the George Brown College of Applied Arts in Toronto from 1984 to 1986 and Sheridan College of Applied Arts in 1986/7. In the fall of 1987 Kathryn moved to Halifax to attend the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design where she earned her BFA in 1989. She later received her MFA from Louisiana State University in 1993.
From 1993 to 2000 Kathryn taught at a number of institutions, the most recent being the University of Manitoba for 3 years. In addition, she spent 2 years teaching at the Alberta College of Art and Design and in 1997/98 she was a Visiting Artist at Ohio State University, Ohio University and at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks.
In the summer of 2000 Kathryn and her husband, Tom Rohr, also a potter, moved to Oregon to build Pleasant Hill Pottery and focus on the practice of making pots.
Currently Kathryn’s work is exhibited in numerous galleries across the US and Canada and her work has also been published in a number of books and magazines
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts, Degree 1993
Studio Arts – Ceramics
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Degree 1989
Studio Arts – Ceramics
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Special Studies, 1987
Ceramics and Design
Sheridan College of Applied Arts, Ontario, Canada
Commercial Industrial Arts, Diploma 1986
Ceramics and Design
George Brown College of Applied Arts, Toronto, Canada
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2000-present Studio potter, Pleasant Hill Pottery, Pleasant Hill, Oregon
1997-2000 University of Manitoba, Associate Professor, Winnipeg, Canada
1998 Ohio University, Visiting Lecturer, Athens, Ohio
Ohio State University, Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Columbus, Ohio
1997 University of Alaska, Visiting Lecturer, Fairbanks, Alaska
96-97 Red Deer College, Ceramics Instructor, “Series Workshops”, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Calgary Board of Education, Ceramics Instructor, Calgary, Canada
95-96 Alberta College of Art and Design, Sabbatical Lecturer, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
94-95 Alberta College of Art and Design, Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1991 Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, Visiting Instructor, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 30/30 Exhibition, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
“Interface” Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition, Kimura Gallery
University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK
“Surface Tension”Exhibition, Foster Gallery, University of Wisconsin
Eau Claire, WI
“Transplants” NCECA Exhibition, University of Portland, Oregon
“Membership Has Its Benefits” NCECA Exhibition, Portland, Oregon
“La Mesa” NCECA Exhibition for Santa Fe Clay in Portland, Oregon
“Engaging the Senses” White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
“West Meets East” Exhibition, Montgomery College of Art, MD
“Tea Time: The Art of the Teapot”Exhibition, Kalamazoo Institute of
Arts, Michigan
“Earthenware”Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2005 “La Mesa” Santa Fe Clay Gallery for NCECA, Baltimore, MD
“LSU Ceramics 1970-2005, Hot Stuff/Clay Tigers, Signature Gallery of American Craft, Atlanta, Georgia
“The Poetry of Pottery: Women and Clay”, Maryland Federation of Art, City Gallery, Baltimore MD
“Fete 05 Benefit Auction”, NCECA Baltimore, MD
“Pattern & Surface”, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
2004 “Utilitarian Clay IV: Celebrate The Object Exhibition”, Arrowmont
School of the Arts, Gatlinburg, TN
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, Invitational Exhibition: “Tea”, Santa Fe, NM
The Clay Studio, “SPRING: A Group Exhibition” Philadelphia, PA
Lillstreet Art Center, Featured Artist Exhibition, Chicago, IL
Utilitarian Clay IV Conference Exhibition Invitational, Arrowmont
School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2003 Akar Gallery, “Surfaces” Invitational Show, Iowa City, Iowa
Pewabic Pottery, Invitational Group Show, Detroit, MI
Odyssey Gallery, Women In Clay: Pots for Daily Use,
Ashville, N.C.
Odyssey Gallery, Salt & Pepper, Group Show, Ashville, N.C.
2002 Lillstreet Gallery, “Elegance in Form and Function” Chicago, Ill
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, “Functional Invitational” Santa Fe, NM
Pewabic Pottery, “House & Garden Invitational”, Detroit, MI
Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Invitational Mentor Show, Portland,
OR
2001 Pewabic Pottery, “Earthly Treasures”, Invitational, Detroit, MI
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, “For The Table”, Invitational, Santa Fe,
N.M.
Fifth Element Gallery, Solo Exhibition , Portland, Oregon
Lill Street Gallery, “25 Select 25”, Invitational, Chicago, Illinois
Pewabic Pottery, “The Garden Show”, Detroit, Michigan
2000 Fifth Element Gallery, Group Show, Portland, Oregon
Pewabic Pottery, Gallery Show, Detroit, Michigan
The Croft Gallery, Two-person Show, Calgary, Alberta
1999 McDermit/Adelaide Gallery, Group Show, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Site Gallery, Group Invitational, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Gallery 111, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pewabic Pottery, Group Exhibition, Detroit, Michigan
1998 American Craft Museum, Group Invitational Show, New York, NY
Craftspace Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Hopkins Hall Gallery, Visiting Artist Solo Exhibition
1997 N.C.E.C.A., Community College of Southern Nevada, Group Exhibition, “Another Group of Seven”, Las Vegas, Nevada
Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, Alberta
1996 N.C.E.C.A., Canadian Consulate, Wymen Building, Group Exhibition, “North by Northwest: Clay in Canada”, traveling exhibition
Nickle Arts Museum, Group Exhibition, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Alberta Craft Council Gallery, Invitational Exhibition, Edmonton, Alberta
1995 Muttart Gallery, Solo Exhibition of “New Works”, Calgary, Alberta
Provenance Gallery, Featured Artist Exhibition, “New Works”, Calgary, Alberta
1994 Galerie Barbara Silverberg, Exhibition, “Five Artists from Calgary”, Montreal, Quebec
The Clay and Glass Gallery, “Containment: The Space Within”, Waterloo, Ontario
Lill Street Gallery, Exhibition “Playful Forms and Painterly Surfaces”, Chicago, Illinois
1993 McMullenGallery, Group Exhibition, “Leading By Example”, Edmonton, Alberta
Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Group Show, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta
Foster Gallery, University of Louisiana, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Baton Rouge, La.
1992 Lill Street Gallery, Exhibition, “Thrown and Altered”, Chicago, Illinois
Clay Studio Gallery, Group Exhibition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1991 Morgan West Gallery, Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana
1989 Anna Leonowens Gallery, Two-person Exhibition, Halifax, Nova Scotia
1987 Gardner Museum of Ceramics, Group Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
GALLERY AFFILIATIONS
AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Contemporary Craft Gallery, Portland, OR
Lillstreet Gallery, Chicago, IL
Pewabic Gallery, Detroit, MI
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Signature Gallery, Atlanta, GA
The Clay Studio & Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Ferrin Gallery, NY (Fall 2005)
Stewart-Kummer Gallery, Gualala, CA
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1998 Juror, Manitoba Craft Council Exhibition, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1997 Presenter/Demo, International Ceramics Symposium, Calgary, Alberta
1996/97 Co-Owner/Designer of Handmade Tiles, Tulip Tileworks, Calgary, Alberta
Western Heritage Foundation, Commemorative Commission, Hand-made carved brick wall dedicated to the supporters and sponsors of the center.
1994/95 Director, Board of Director, Alberta Potter’s Association, Calgary, Alberta
Editorial Board, CONTACT Magazine, Calgary, Alberta
Juror, ACC/APA Exhibition, “Made In Alberta”, Calgary, Alberta
1991 Juror, N.S.D.C.C., Summit Park Corporate Collection, Halifax, Nova Scotia
PUBLICATIONS
2005 Tourtillott, S.J.E 500 Pitchers, Lark Books, 2005.
2004 Hopper, Robin Making Marks, Discovering the Ceramic Surface
2004 Hall, Sherman Ceramics Monthly, “Celebrate the Object” pg 57
2002 Tourtillott, S.J.E. 500 Teapots, Lark Books, 2002
2001 Hopper, Robin. Ceramic Spectrum, Krause Publications, 2001.
2001 Hluch, Kevin. The Art of Contemporary American Pottery,
Krause Publications, 2001.
2000 Hopper, Robin. Functional Pottery, Krause Publications, 2000.
96 Fairbanks, Jonathan
97 & Angela Fina. The Best of Pottery, Rockport Publishers, Inc.
1996 Gogarty, Amy. CONTACT Magazine, “Profile: Kathryn Finnerty”,
AWARDS/GRANTS
Project Grant, Calgary Regional Arts Foundation, Group Exhibition, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, 1997.
Project Grant for Solo Exhibition, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, 1994/95.
Ontario Craft Council Scholarship Award, 1991 & 1989.
Endowment Scholarship Award, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 1989
Artist's Statement
I am drawn to the historical traditions of European decorative ceramics. My work is ornately decorated with surface patterns and images integrated into the form of each piece. Earlier work focused on patterns and ornamentation that defined form with this decoration. My concentration was with a close-up, intimate, and confined sense of space much like the spaces that I physically inhabited living in a city. Moving 6 years ago from an urban center to acreage in central Oregon has expanded my perspective and presented me with the opportunity to discover a natural world outside of my previous daily experience. From my studio windows I witness a pastoral landscape particular to the Northwest, lush and green, wet and moist. There are quail living in our hedge-row, starlings nesting in the eaves of our barn, hawks that soar over our pasture and the owls that hoot from the woods at dusk. I see the coyotes cross the fields on the edge of our property hunting for vermin, hummingbirds flutter in our garden in search of nectar and a Great Heron resides in our pond in the summer months. All of this delights and nourishes me daily and I have found it impossible to resist the tug to draw on this abundance for inspiration in my creative process. This landscape has found a way to impose itself into the existing framework, drawing my attention and the viewer’s eye deeper into the pieces.
Biography
Kathryn Finnerty is a studio potter living and working in Pleasant Hill, Oregon. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada she studied Ceramics at the George Brown College of Applied Arts in Toronto from 1984 to 1986 and Sheridan College of Applied Arts in 1986/7. In the fall of 1987 Kathryn moved to Halifax to attend the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design where she earned her BFA in 1989. She later received her MFA from Louisiana State University in 1993.
From 1993 to 2000 Kathryn taught at a number of institutions, the most recent being the University of Manitoba for 3 years. In addition, she spent 2 years teaching at the Alberta College of Art and Design and in 1997/98 she was a Visiting Artist at Ohio State University, Ohio University and at the University of Alaska – Fairbanks.
In the summer of 2000 Kathryn and her husband, Tom Rohr, also a potter, moved to Oregon to build Pleasant Hill Pottery and focus on the practice of making pots.
Currently Kathryn’s work is exhibited in numerous galleries across the US and Canada and her work has also been published in a number of books and magazines
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts, Degree 1993
Studio Arts – Ceramics
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Degree 1989
Studio Arts – Ceramics
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Special Studies, 1987
Ceramics and Design
Sheridan College of Applied Arts, Ontario, Canada
Commercial Industrial Arts, Diploma 1986
Ceramics and Design
George Brown College of Applied Arts, Toronto, Canada
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2000-present Studio potter, Pleasant Hill Pottery, Pleasant Hill, Oregon
1997-2000 University of Manitoba, Associate Professor, Winnipeg, Canada
1998 Ohio University, Visiting Lecturer, Athens, Ohio
Ohio State University, Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Columbus, Ohio
1997 University of Alaska, Visiting Lecturer, Fairbanks, Alaska
96-97 Red Deer College, Ceramics Instructor, “Series Workshops”, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Calgary Board of Education, Ceramics Instructor, Calgary, Canada
95-96 Alberta College of Art and Design, Sabbatical Lecturer, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
94-95 Alberta College of Art and Design, Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
1991 Nova Scotia College of Art & Design, Visiting Instructor, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 30/30 Exhibition, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
“Interface” Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition, Kimura Gallery
University of Alaska, Anchorage, AK
“Surface Tension”Exhibition, Foster Gallery, University of Wisconsin
Eau Claire, WI
“Transplants” NCECA Exhibition, University of Portland, Oregon
“Membership Has Its Benefits” NCECA Exhibition, Portland, Oregon
“La Mesa” NCECA Exhibition for Santa Fe Clay in Portland, Oregon
“Engaging the Senses” White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
“West Meets East” Exhibition, Montgomery College of Art, MD
“Tea Time: The Art of the Teapot”Exhibition, Kalamazoo Institute of
Arts, Michigan
“Earthenware”Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2005 “La Mesa” Santa Fe Clay Gallery for NCECA, Baltimore, MD
“LSU Ceramics 1970-2005, Hot Stuff/Clay Tigers, Signature Gallery of American Craft, Atlanta, Georgia
“The Poetry of Pottery: Women and Clay”, Maryland Federation of Art, City Gallery, Baltimore MD
“Fete 05 Benefit Auction”, NCECA Baltimore, MD
“Pattern & Surface”, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
2004 “Utilitarian Clay IV: Celebrate The Object Exhibition”, Arrowmont
School of the Arts, Gatlinburg, TN
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, Invitational Exhibition: “Tea”, Santa Fe, NM
The Clay Studio, “SPRING: A Group Exhibition” Philadelphia, PA
Lillstreet Art Center, Featured Artist Exhibition, Chicago, IL
Utilitarian Clay IV Conference Exhibition Invitational, Arrowmont
School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2003 Akar Gallery, “Surfaces” Invitational Show, Iowa City, Iowa
Pewabic Pottery, Invitational Group Show, Detroit, MI
Odyssey Gallery, Women In Clay: Pots for Daily Use,
Ashville, N.C.
Odyssey Gallery, Salt & Pepper, Group Show, Ashville, N.C.
2002 Lillstreet Gallery, “Elegance in Form and Function” Chicago, Ill
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, “Functional Invitational” Santa Fe, NM
Pewabic Pottery, “House & Garden Invitational”, Detroit, MI
Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Invitational Mentor Show, Portland,
OR
2001 Pewabic Pottery, “Earthly Treasures”, Invitational, Detroit, MI
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, “For The Table”, Invitational, Santa Fe,
N.M.
Fifth Element Gallery, Solo Exhibition , Portland, Oregon
Lill Street Gallery, “25 Select 25”, Invitational, Chicago, Illinois
Pewabic Pottery, “The Garden Show”, Detroit, Michigan
2000 Fifth Element Gallery, Group Show, Portland, Oregon
Pewabic Pottery, Gallery Show, Detroit, Michigan
The Croft Gallery, Two-person Show, Calgary, Alberta
1999 McDermit/Adelaide Gallery, Group Show, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Site Gallery, Group Invitational, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Gallery 111, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pewabic Pottery, Group Exhibition, Detroit, Michigan
1998 American Craft Museum, Group Invitational Show, New York, NY
Craftspace Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Hopkins Hall Gallery, Visiting Artist Solo Exhibition
1997 N.C.E.C.A., Community College of Southern Nevada, Group Exhibition, “Another Group of Seven”, Las Vegas, Nevada
Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, Calgary, Alberta
1996 N.C.E.C.A., Canadian Consulate, Wymen Building, Group Exhibition, “North by Northwest: Clay in Canada”, traveling exhibition
Nickle Arts Museum, Group Exhibition, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta
Alberta Craft Council Gallery, Invitational Exhibition, Edmonton, Alberta
1995 Muttart Gallery, Solo Exhibition of “New Works”, Calgary, Alberta
Provenance Gallery, Featured Artist Exhibition, “New Works”, Calgary, Alberta
1994 Galerie Barbara Silverberg, Exhibition, “Five Artists from Calgary”, Montreal, Quebec
The Clay and Glass Gallery, “Containment: The Space Within”, Waterloo, Ontario
Lill Street Gallery, Exhibition “Playful Forms and Painterly Surfaces”, Chicago, Illinois
1993 McMullenGallery, Group Exhibition, “Leading By Example”, Edmonton, Alberta
Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Group Show, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Alberta
Foster Gallery, University of Louisiana, MFA Thesis Exhibition, Baton Rouge, La.
1992 Lill Street Gallery, Exhibition, “Thrown and Altered”, Chicago, Illinois
Clay Studio Gallery, Group Exhibition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1991 Morgan West Gallery, Exhibition, New Orleans, Louisiana
1989 Anna Leonowens Gallery, Two-person Exhibition, Halifax, Nova Scotia
1987 Gardner Museum of Ceramics, Group Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
GALLERY AFFILIATIONS
AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Contemporary Craft Gallery, Portland, OR
Lillstreet Gallery, Chicago, IL
Pewabic Gallery, Detroit, MI
Santa Fe Clay Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Signature Gallery, Atlanta, GA
The Clay Studio & Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Ferrin Gallery, NY (Fall 2005)
Stewart-Kummer Gallery, Gualala, CA
RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1998 Juror, Manitoba Craft Council Exhibition, Winnipeg, Manitoba
1997 Presenter/Demo, International Ceramics Symposium, Calgary, Alberta
1996/97 Co-Owner/Designer of Handmade Tiles, Tulip Tileworks, Calgary, Alberta
Western Heritage Foundation, Commemorative Commission, Hand-made carved brick wall dedicated to the supporters and sponsors of the center.
1994/95 Director, Board of Director, Alberta Potter’s Association, Calgary, Alberta
Editorial Board, CONTACT Magazine, Calgary, Alberta
Juror, ACC/APA Exhibition, “Made In Alberta”, Calgary, Alberta
1991 Juror, N.S.D.C.C., Summit Park Corporate Collection, Halifax, Nova Scotia
PUBLICATIONS
2005 Tourtillott, S.J.E 500 Pitchers, Lark Books, 2005.
2004 Hopper, Robin Making Marks, Discovering the Ceramic Surface
2004 Hall, Sherman Ceramics Monthly, “Celebrate the Object” pg 57
2002 Tourtillott, S.J.E. 500 Teapots, Lark Books, 2002
2001 Hopper, Robin. Ceramic Spectrum, Krause Publications, 2001.
2001 Hluch, Kevin. The Art of Contemporary American Pottery,
Krause Publications, 2001.
2000 Hopper, Robin. Functional Pottery, Krause Publications, 2000.
96 Fairbanks, Jonathan
97 & Angela Fina. The Best of Pottery, Rockport Publishers, Inc.
1996 Gogarty, Amy. CONTACT Magazine, “Profile: Kathryn Finnerty”,
AWARDS/GRANTS
Project Grant, Calgary Regional Arts Foundation, Group Exhibition, Newzones Gallery of Contemporary Art, 1997.
Project Grant for Solo Exhibition, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, 1994/95.
Ontario Craft Council Scholarship Award, 1991 & 1989.
Endowment Scholarship Award, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, 1989
