ART

DAVIS%2C+MALCOLM

DAVIS, MALCOLM
DAVIS, MALCOLM
WEST VIRGINIA
"I first touched clay at age 40 and knew immediately that I had been a potter all along. I love to make pots! For me, the joy and the challenge comes from making things that will become an intimate part of the daily lives of others - pots that will be held, eaten from, poured from, sipped from and perhaps even licked from. For me the making of pots is a way to celebrate the mundane rituals of daily life and to make them holy."

Malcolm Davis has been a full-time studio potter since 1984 when he left his previous life as campus minister. He took his first ceramics class in 1974 and since 1985 has maintained his mountaintop studio in Upshur County, WV. He is internationally recognized for his work with shino-type glazes, specifically for the creation of a unique ultra Carbontrap shino-type formula with a high concentration of soluble soda ash, which encourages the trapping of carbon in the early stages of the firing.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including four grants from the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and was a finalist in the 1995 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation/NEA Visual Artists Fellowships. Other awards include the Purchase Award at the Ceramics Monthly International Competition (1999), First Place in the 1996 Strictly Functional Pottery Show, Feats of Clay XIII and XIV Merit Awards, Orton Purchase Awards in 1994 and 1996, Crosscurrents All Media Award at the Stifel Fine Arts in Wheeling (1990. 1996), WV Juried Exhibition Merit Award in 1996, and Awards for Clay Cup VII and Clay Cup IV.

He has exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the Smithsonian Craft Show and the American Craft Council Craft Shows. He has been an artist-in-residence at Artpark in Lewiston, NY; Baltimore Clayworks; Greenwich House Pottery (NYC); The Clay Studio in Philadelphia; Red Star Studios in Kansas City; Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis; Waubonsee Community College in Illinois and the Lee Arts Center in Virginia.

Malcolm’s work is included in collections at the American Crafts Museum; The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred, NY; the Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY; Mobach Collection, Utrecht, Holland; Orton Permanent Collection; Arthur and Lillian Weiss Collection; Bailey Ceramics Collection; Old Church Cultural Center in Demarest, NJ; Highwater Clay Permanent Collection, Asheville, NH; American Art Clay Collection, Indianapolis, IN and the Twentieth Century Collection, Sarah Lawrence College in NY.

He has been featured in over 15 books and publications, he has published articles in American Shino by Lester Richter and Stayin’ Alive by Robin Hopper; and curated an issue of The Studio Potter Magazine on carbon trapping. The December, 2003 issue of The Studio Potter Magazine featured an extensive interview: “Malcolm Davis, Shino Warrior.” His work with carbontrap shinos was recently featured in Ceramica (Spain) and Ceramic Review (England).

Malcolm has taught and lectured widely throughout the United States and Canada, and has conducted Masters’ classes at Penland School of Crafts, Peters Valley Craft Center, Touchstone Center for Crafts, and others. Recent exhibitions include AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa; Blue Heron Gallery, Deer Isle, Maine; Blue Spiral 1, Asheville, NC; Santa Fe Clay and “Our Cups Runneth Over” at the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston.

Malcolm recently curated a national exhibition of work with shino-type glazes, “Endless Variations: Shino Review 2005,” featured at the 2005 NCECA Conference in Baltimore. In 2007 he juried the 15th annual Strictly Functional Pottery National and was one of three presenters at the 20th annual NC Potters’ Conference in Seagrove. He also taught a two-week carbontrap shino workshop at La Meridiana in Tuscany in 2007 and 2008.

EDUCATION

1974 First Ceramics Class, DC Department of Recreation
1977-79
The George Washington University, Washington, DC
1974-76
The Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC
1959-64
Union Theological Seminary, New York City, New
York: Master of Divinity
1962-63
University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;
Certificate in Theological Studies; Rotary
International Fellow
1955-59
The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg,
Virginia; B.S. in Mathematics; Phi Beta Kappa

EMPLOYMENT

1981-2009
Full-time Studio Potter working in functional,
wheel -thrown porcelain
1967-84
Ecumenical Protestant Chaplain, The George
Washington University, Washington, DC
1964-67
Minister in Higher Education, Vermont Conference
of the United Church of Christ, Burlington, VT

EXPERIENCE

In the Fall of 1982 I resigned my position as Ecumenical Chaplain at the George Washington University to become a full-time studio potter. I rented a studio in Penland, NC for three years and in 1985 I established my own mountaintop studio in North Central West Virginia (Upshur County).

GRANTS, PRIZES, AWARDS

PURCHASE AWARD, Ceramics Monthly International Competi­tion, Columbus, OH

ART AWARD, Studio Days, Chester Springs Studio, PA (2000)

MERIT AWARD & PURCHASE AWARD, Feats of Clay XIII, Lincoln Arts, CA
PURCHASE AWARD, Feats of Clay XIV

ORTON AWARD: Strictly Functional Pottery National (2000)

AWARD: American Art Clay Co, CLAY CUP VII (1999) and CLAY CUP IV (1994) national competition and exhibition, SIU Carbondale, IL

MERIT AWARD, Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts National Ceramic Competition, Ruth Butler, Juror (February, 1999)

FIRST PLACE, Fourth Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Phyllis Blair Clark, Juror, (1998)

DALE & DIANE SNYDER AWARD, Chester Springs Studio Days (1998)

AWARD, Crosscurrents, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Oglebay Institute, Wheeling (1996)

ORTON PURCHASE AWARD, International Cone Box Show & Traveling Exhibition, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS (1994, 1996, 1998)

INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANT, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities (1996 1993, 1991, 1990)

MERIT AWARD, WV JURIED EXHIBITION, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, The Cultural Center, Charleston, WV

FINALIST, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation/NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship Awards (1995)

ALL MEDIA AWARD, Crosscurrents, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Oglebay Institute, Wheeling, WV, Helen Drutt English, Juror (1990)

VISITING ARTIST, Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO, 2000
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, Lee Arts Center, Arlington, VA; 1995-2002
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, Greenwich House Pottery, New York City; 1994
VISITING ARTIST, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA; 1993
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, Art Park, Lewiston, NY; 1988
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE GRANT, Baltimore Clayworks, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts; 1988

COLLECTIONS

American Crafts Museum, New York City, NY
The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Bailey Collection, Bailey Pottery Equipment Corp, Kingston, NY
Old Church Gallery, Old Church Cultural Center, Demarest, NY
Permanent Ceramics Collection, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY
Permanent Collection, Highwater Clay, Asheville, NC
Permanent Collection, American Art Clay Co, Indianapolis, IN
Permanent Collection, Yixing Ceramics Museum, Yixing, China
Twentieth Century Collection, Sarah Lawrence College
Mobach Collection, Utrecht, Holland
Orton Permanent Collection

PUBLICATIONS
AMERICAN SHINO, by Lester Richter
THE ART OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POTTERY, by Kevin A. Hluch
THE BEST OF POTTERY, Rockport Publishers
CLAY AND GLAZES, by Daniel Rhodes
CERAMICS - MASTERING THE CRAFT, 2ND Edition, by Richard Zakin
THE CERAMIC GLAZE HANDBOOK, by Mark Burleson
CREATIVE POTTERY, by Michelle Coates, Rockport Publishers
CURATOR, THE STUDIO POTTER, Carbon-trap Issue
500 TEAPOTS, Lark Books
500 CUPS, Lark Books
FUNCTIONAL CERAMICS, by Robin Hopper
HIGH-FIRE Glazes, by John Britt
MAKING MARKS: Discovering the Ceramic Surface, by Robin Hopper
MASTERING THE CRAFT, Richard Zakin
STAYIN' ALIVE, Robin Hopper
THE GLAZE BOOK, by Stephen Murfitt (Quartro)
THE TEAPOT BOOK, by Steve Woodhead
WHEEL-THROWN CERAMICS, by Don Davis, Lark Books
5X7: Seven Ceramic Artists Acknowledge Five Sources of Inspiration, by New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
“Carbon-trapping Along the Old Shino Trail,” curated by Malcolm Davis; The Studio Potter, Volume 30. Number 2, June 2002
“Malcolm Davis: Shino Warrior,” an Interview by Gerry Williams;
The Studio Potter, Volume 32, Number 1, December 2003
“Malcolm Davis,” Keramos, Ceramica Revista Internacional, No. 99
“Carbon Footprints,” by Ben Brierley, Ceramic Review Issue #220, July/August, 2006
International Ceramic Art Exhibition Catalog, Yixing, China 2005
2006 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
January
Artist in Residence, Lee Arts Center, Arlington, VA
Shino Firing Workshop, Creative Clay Studios, Alexandria, VA
March
Shino Workshop, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN
La Mesa, Santa Fe Clay Tabletop Invitational, NCECA, Portland, OR
Workshop and Solo Exhibition, Terra Incognito, Oak Park, IL
May
Tea Time: The Art of the Teapot; Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI
Inspired Utility: Exceptional Ceramic Vessels, Main Line Art Center,Haverford, PA
14th Annual St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour, Minnesota
June
Shino Firing Workshop, Clay Art Guild of the Hamptons, Water Mill, NY
The Art of Serving, Celadon Gallery, Water Mill, NY
China Response, Group Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
Annual Clay Invitational, The Washington Street Gallery, Lewisburg, WV
July
Shino Workshop, Odyssey Center for Ceramic Art, Asheville, NC
Shino Workshop, Appalachian Center for Crafts, Smithville, TN
August
Workshop, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington, PA
September
American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
Exhibition, AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Artists of Baltimore Clayworks, mtb Gallery, Surf City, NJ
December
Invitational Pottery Show, Art School at Old Church, Demarest, NJ

2007 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
January
Juror, 15th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, National competition of functional pottery presented by the Market House Craft Center, Lancaster, PA
Master Workshop, Baltimore Potters Guild, Baltimore, MD
February
Yunomi Show, AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, IA
Cups Coming Together, Clay Arts Center 50th Celebration, Port Chester, NY
Exhibition, NC Potters’ Conference, Asheboro, NC
37th Annual Ceramics Exhibition, Crossman Gallery, University of Wisconsin
Master Workshop, San Jacinto College Central, Pasadena, TX
March
Presenter, 20th Annual North Carolina Potters’ Conference, Asheboro, NC
From the Earth, Place Setting Exhibition, University of Kentucky Museum of Art, Lexington, KY
La Mesa, Table Top Exhibition presented by Santa Fe Clay at NCECA, Louisville, KY
Flower Power: Vessels of Containment, National Invitational, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
April
Slide Lecture and Workshop, Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster, PA
May
Shinos & Wines, Reds & Whites: Carbontrapping in Tuscany, Workshop, La Meridiana, Certaldo, Italy
Faculty Exhibition, Catskill Mountain Foundation Gallery, Hunter, NY
June
Table Tops, Ceramic Invitation, Long Beach Island Foundation, NJ
The Cup Show, Dowstudio, Deer Isle, ME
August
Potters’ Pots: Teabowls and Teapots. Master Workshop, Sugar Maples, Hunter, NY
Shino Glazes, Master Workshop, Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington, PA
October
50th Anniversary Exhibition, Ventura Potters Guild, Beatrice Wood Studios, Ojai, CA
90 Teapots That Pour, Invitational Teapot Exhibition, Xen Gallery, St. Louis, MO
November
300 Years of Clay, Invitational Exhibition, Charlie Cummings Clay Studio, Fort Wayne, IN (John Glick, guest curator)
December
33rd Annual Pottery Invitational, The Art School at Old Church, Demarest, NJ

2008 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
January
A Day at the Wheel with Malcolm Davis, workshop and demonstration, Civic Arts Education, Walnut Creek, CA
Slide Lecture, Ventura County Potters Guild
Workshop and Demonstration, Ventura County Potters Guild, Firehouse Pottery, Ojai, CA
February
Workshop, Cornell University Art Gallery and Ceramic Studio, Ithaca, NY
PotPOURri: Pots that Pour, National Invitational Exhibition of pouring pots, Clay Art Center; Port Chester, NY
March
Table of Elements, National Invitational NCECA Exhibition, Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild; Pittsburgh, PA
La Mesa, National Invitational NCECA Tabletop Exhibition, Santa Fe Clay
Muchachos, National Invitational NCECA Exhibition, Standard Ceramic Supply Company, Carnegie, PA
Rising Stars – 10 Years, National Invitational Exhibition, celebrating Red Star Studio’s 10 year anniversary, Kansas City, MO
May
American Masters 2008, National Invitational, Mudfire Gallery; Decatur, GA
Lee Arts Center in Wales, Llantarnam Grange Arts Center, Cwmbran, Wales and Abeyrstwyth Arts Center, Abeyrstwyth, Wales
June
Shinos in the Fire, Shino Firing Workshop, Shakerag Workshops, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, Sewanee, TN
National Teapot Show VII, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmoor, NC
July
Shino Firing Workshop, Celadon Gallery, Water Mill, NY
August
Shino Firing Workshop, Touchstone Center for Crafts, PA
September
Shino Workshop, Castle Hill, Truro Center for the Arts, Truro, MA
Under the Tuscan Soot, two-week Carbontrap firing workshop at La Meridiana, Tuscany
Home Show and Sale, 2322 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC