May 2012: Farraday Newsome & Jeff Reich

Compatible Visions: Farraday Newsome and Jeff Reich
Exhibition dates:
May 4-26

First Friday: May 4, 6-9pm Reception with the Artists.

Second Saturday: May 12, noon-6pm, and RiNo Open Studio Tour Sunday May 13, 11am-4pm

Farraday NewsomeFarraday Newsome has worked with the vessel format for over twenty years. She explores ideas of lushness, sadness, time, and grace with surfaces that are very painterly. She is interested in the relationship between the “painterly space” and the “actual space of the three-dimensional object.” Her most recent work incorporates glazing color fields of both natural and artificial objects that have personal symbolic meaning .  Her imagery consists of y familiar objects, such as watches, fruit, dice, shells, seedpods, eyeglasses, bones and insects.

Jeff Reich

Jeff Reich’s ceramic sculptures integrate abstract expressionist influences with contemporary desert landscapes. The Sonoran desert where he lives with his wife Farraday Newsome profoundly inspires him. Angled, sectioned and recombined forms of teapots, jars, wall tiles, and sculptural vessels are influenced by the growth patterns found in desert plants, rocks and mountains. His compositions often consist of two-dimensional glaze windows or fields superimposed on the three-dimensional surface of the clay.  Windows of glaze drawings bring glimpses of repetitive plant forms.  



June & July 2012: Sandi Pierantozzi and Neil Patterson

Exhibition dates: Sandi Pierantozzi
June 1 – July 28
First Friday June 1          
Second Saturday June 9

Ceramic Workshop with Sandi Pierantozzi: June 2-3
Email gallery@plinthgallery.com to sign up!

Pierantozzi’s functional work comes from a deep appreciation of food, celebration, and setting a beautiful table. She feels that “pots help me connect with people on a very basic human level” by communicating some creative life into the daily rituals of eating and drinking Sandi believes that a hand made ceramics contains ”the soul and energy of the maker” and that with use, a real human connection is made. These connections between people are essential to keeping alive the soul in all of us.

Neil PattersonNeil Patterson ceramic constructions honor the handmade object and the simple daily rituals of use. He makes pots that are designed to be used and enjoyed. Through their carefully considered volume, weight, surface and textures he hopes to provide a slow, savory experience for the user. There is always an evidence of the soft material, clay, often bolstered by a formal or architectural structure.

Sandi Pierantozzi will teach a 2 day participatory workshop at the gallery presenting her innovative approach to form and surface at the gallery June 2-3. This weekend workshop will focus on using slabs, texturing the surface, and then by altering them through techniques such as darting, creating interesting and innovative forms. Please call the gallery for more information and to register for this highly instructive workshop. Graduate college credit is available through Adams State College.


August & September 2012: Don Davis

Exhibition dates:
August 3 – September 29  
First Friday: August 3         
Second Saturday: August 11

Ceramic Workshop: August 4-5
Email gallery@plinthgallery.com to sign up!

Don Davis’s dedication to clay work is due to an enduring love for the material and the processes of forming and firing it. Most of his work has been wheel thrown porcelain forms although he has pursued many other ceramic techniques. Davis’ early work focused on form, surface treatment and the concepts of duality, indicated by the play between interior and exterior which provided sufficient content. His latest work with terra cotta has become more sculptural and involvea content of a more specific yet complex nature. While the natural world and ancient traditions provide the greatest inspiration for him, he allows his work to take it’s own unique contemporary direction. At it’s best, that direction is a cooperative effort between the clay, the fire and my self.

Don is the author of “Wheel Thrown Ceramics” published by Lark Books.

Don Davis will conduct a 2 day participatory workshop at the Gallery August 4-5.The workshop will demonstrate both wheel thrown and hand built forming methods. Starting with bowl forms and moving on to composite pieces constructed from components formed by various methods. Discussion will focus on clay choices related to form, using wild materials, the importance of improvising, the challenge of throwing thick or thin, relating surface treatments & firing methods to our particular forms, and staying open to new possibilities while exercising personal choices toward your desired results. Ceramic history and cultural influences will be discussed as fundamental inspiration for our own contemporary philosophy and work.

Please call the gallery for more information and to register for this highly instructive workshop. Graduate college credit is available through Adams State College.


October & November 2012: International Wood Fire Exhibition

Exhibition dates:
October 5 – December 1
First Friday: October 5
Second Saturday: October 13

Click here for more information


December 2012: Marko Fields and Friends “The End Times Exhibition”

Exhibition dates:
December 7 -  January 26 2013    
First Friday: December 7        
Second Saturday: December 8

Please check back soon for more information.