Stephen Earp the Potter

What’s going on here?

Years ago, my curiosity about the wide world of ceramics led me to a West African pottery excavation, a traditional Japanese-style apprenticeship, and a few years working and living among rural Central American potters.

But I knew nothing about the story of pottery in my own back yard – nor its connection to my own family tree!  This realization led me to redware as a ‘return home,’ to make pottery from the roots of my own background. I now find myself on a life-long path of learning and exploration.

I love this branch of traditional ceramics. I love not just the forms but also the stories, the quirky sense of humor, the enigmatic imagery, the elegance. The more I study ceramic history, the more I love it. I love the places it has taken me, the people it has introduced me to along the way, and how all that has helped my work to grow.

I do not make ‘reproductions.’  My work ranges from items that have long been part of the stylistic repertoire of redware and delftware, to shapes, styles, and imagery that reflect my own journey within these ever evolving art forms.

 

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