John H. Stephenson

Artist’s Statement Contemporary ceramics bridges a place between painting and sculpture. It invites the painting of three-dimensional form. A range of color and texture in glazes and slips compels the artist to deal with the surface of form. As I work, my loaded brush leaves soft, thick strokes of glaze on the clay surface. Unlike the painter who paints with pigments which are true to the eye, I paint with a brush which is literally loaded with chemical reactions which develop far beyond my reach in the fury of the kiln’s atmosphere.

Clay has been a signature for man from earliest times, telling us what it was like to be alive at a particular time and in a particular place. Clay formed in the hands of today’s ceramic artists will become a reflection of our times in the future.

Contacts John Stephenson’s work may be viewed at www.stephensonceramics.com , alittlemorered.com , The Works gallery in Ann Arbor, at Pewabic Pottery in Detroit and by special appointment at the artist’s studio.