American Museum of Ceramic Art / AMOCA

Here’s a look into 2019 for this week’s #throwbackthursday with artist Juan Quezada for the exhibition titled The Legend of Mata Ortiz! #Repost @amocamuseum with @make_repost Quezada's technical mastery extends to the use of different clay bodies, seen in this piece to great effect. These clay bodies, like all those used in Quezada's works, are sourced from the land surrounding his hometown of Mata Ortiz, Mexico. See it this Saturday! Free and open to the public 6-9pm.

This week’s #collectionteamtakeover is focused on the amazing work of Juan Quezada. Quezada’s work is inspired by the shards of Paquimé (or Casas Grandes) pottery that he found in the hills near his rural home. Remarkably, this inspiration led him to spend fifteen years empirically rediscovering and reinventing the entire ceramic production process based on his analyses of these shards. Mata Ortiz pottery, named for the town in Northern Mexico where this work is made, was alm...ost single-handedly revived by Juan Quezada. The discovery of ancient clay pot remnants inspired a decade long quest to replicate the original process. In 1976, an American anthropologist, Spencer MacCallum, discovered Quezada and began promoting his pots. Quezada shared his good fortune by teaching family members and friends to make pottery to sell. The new potters taught others, and they in turn taught still more people, bringing about a nearly miraculous metamorphosis of an entire neighborhood. Today, pottery making is the main occupation of Mata Ortiz. It is practiced by over 400 community members and has become highly collectable throughout the world. In 1999, Mexico awarded Juan Quezada its highest honor for a living artist the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes a capstone accomplishment for the self-taught artist. AMOCA featured the works of Quezada, including this large olla, in a one-man exhibition in 2019. Juan Quezada Celaya (b. 1940) Olla, 1989 Hand painted earthenware Gift of Walter and Betty Parks

Congratulations to the 2021-2022 AMOCA Artists in Residence: Natalia Arbelaez, from the Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY; Kirstin Willders, from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in Houston, TX; and Colby Charpentier, from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Southern California awaits your arrival! To learn more, visit https://www.amoca.org/press/artists-in-residence-2021/ Pictured:... (1) From left to right: Arbelaez, Willders, Charpentier. (2) Natalia Arbelaez, "Sana Musasama," 2020. 16 x 9 x 9 inches. Terracotta with Majolica. (3) Kristin Willders, "Time Piece: In Phase," 2020. 20 x 14 x 16 inches. Wheel-thrown ceramic, gold leaf, clock, battery, ponytail. (4) Colby Charpentier, "Hand-Printed Basket." 11 x 11 x 7 inches. Hand-dripped beads of soft paste porcelain. See more

This week's #collectionsteamtakeover is focusing on collection artist, Ben Roti. This work was displayed as part of the AMOCA exhibition Don Reitz & Ben Roti: Transitions in 2017. Roti is a ceramic artist originally from Spirit Lake, IA. He attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA, from 2006 to 2010 and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics. After finishing his BFA, Ben worked as the studio assistant to ceramic artist, Don Reitz in Clarkdale, Arizo...na from 2010-2014. Since leaving the Reitz Ranch, Ben has returned to creating functional works using low-fire earthenware clay and has begun to develop a new body of work. Using reductive techniques, through sandblasting, Ben is able to build variations and create layers, which are inspired by the results that are commonly seen in atmospheric firing. Ben currently lives and works in Camp Verde, Arizona. Ben Roti Bulbous Jar, 2016 Sand-blasted surface, low fire glazed earthenware Gift of the artist

Join as a member today (or give the gift of membership!) to receive some awesome, membership perks such as a year subscription to Ornament magazine! View unique art and craft adornment from all over the world when subscribing to Ornament magazine as an AMOCA member! Join as a member and view other perks by checking out https://www.amoca.org/membership/

Recording now available! Enjoy over an hour of compelling conversation with these remarkable artists. Visit https://www.amoca.org/events/closing-reception-mibccac/ to hear the conversation and view the digital exhibition.

Congratulations to our fellow awardees of the Craft Research Fund, including our friends at Craft Contemporary! Our sincere gratitude and thanks to the Center for Craft for a grant supporting the research for the upcoming exhibition "Breaking Ground: Women in California Clay" and accompanying catalog, which will feature essays and original research by Jo Lauria and Edith Garcia. Arriving Fall of 2022! The Center for Craft annually grants $135,000 to academic researchers, scholars, and curators writing, revising, and reclaiming the history of craft through the Craft Research Fund Grants. Read more at https://www.centerforcraft.org//center-for-craft-awards-13

Since 2014, AMOCA has hosted an annual juried exhibition showcasing the remarkable talents of high school students studying the ceramic arts. This year more than ever, we believe students deserve to be honored for making work, and teachers deserve to be honored for educating those students despite the difficult circumstances of distance learning. That is why, for the first time, we will be expanding the annual High School Ceramics Exhibition to include teachers and students f...rom anywhere in the country (the miracles of technology!). In the past, to allow for more equal access, we have allowed submissions of work using air dry clay. For this year only, submissions of work using oven bake/polymer clay will also be accepted. For this year’s digital exhibition, only images of the accepted works will be accepted (no need to physically ship the work here). If your students are unfamiliar with photographing their work, we’ve produced a short tutorial video with helpful photography tips and tricks. Link Below: www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-9gAGDTDAI Application Opens: March 1, 2021, 12:00 AM Application Closes: March 21, 2021 11:59 PM Accepted Artwork Notification: April 2, 2021 To apply Visit: www.amoca.org/events/highschool2021-call-for-entry/ Submission Requirements: Medium: Work submitted for consideration must be at least 60% ceramic. Works may be made using air dry clay or oven-baked clay. Claymation videos (.avi, .mov, .mp4, .mpg) up to 4 GBs in size will also be considered. Eligibility: Entrants must be enrolled in a public or private high school or comparable home school program. Exhibition Dates: May 1May 31, 2021 Opening Reception and Award Presentation: Saturday, May 1, 12 PM

This week's #CollectionsTeamTakeover is sending happy birthday wishes to AMOCA collection artist, Elaine Katzer, who was born on February 17, 1933 in Los Angeles, CA. AMOCA is proud to hold a number of Katzer's works in the permanent collection including this beautiful sculptural work from 1969. AMOCA's 2014 exhibition Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California 1945-1975 featured this work in the exhibition and Katzer's iconic photograph on the cover. Her work was also f...eatured in the 2014 exhibition Large as Life paired with the work of artists Betty Davenport Ford and Lisa Reinertson. Elaine Katzer received her BA and MA from California State University, Long Beach and also studied for four years at the Chouinard Art Institute, which later became the California Institute of the Arts. She is a professional ceramic sculptor who uses a hand-built pinch method to construct murals, water walls, fountains, and sculptures. She has taught ceramics at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills and was an artist in residence at Monash University in Australia. She maintained a studio in San Pedro, California for over 50 years. Join us in wishing a very happy birthday to Elaine! Elaine Katzer Tribesman #1, 1969 Hollow-built stoneware Gift of the artist #weareamoca #ceramics #elainekatzer #museumfromhome #museumcollection

This Thursday at 4 PM, join a national group of artists: Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Sin-ying Ho, Beth Lo, Cathy Lu, Stephanie H. Shih, and Wanxin Zhang for a live virtual gallery walk and reception. Closing Reception - Making in Between: Contemporary Chinese American Ceramics. Free and open to the general public. RSVP in the Facebook event, or directly at https://www.amoca.org/events/closing-reception-mibccac/

All good things must come to an end! To celebrate the closing of "Making In Between: Contemporary Chinese American Ceramics," AMOCA's Executive Director Beth Ann Gerstein will host the artists for a closing Zoom reception on February 18 at 4PM PST. Enjoy a live gallery walk and a virtual meet and greet with Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Sin-ying Ho, Beth Lo, Cathy Lu, Stephanie H. Shih, and Wanxin Zhang. RSVP link in bio! Or head directly to: https://www.amoca.org/events/closing-reception-mibccac/ #weareamoca #makinginbetween #art #ceramics #contemporaryceramics #clay #pottery #art #ceramic #keramik #sculpture #museumathome #museumfromhome

In the not-so-distant past we were thrilled to exhibit work by the wonderful artist Julie Green. Join us for #ThrowbackThursday while we take a look back at our 2019 exhibition Julie Green: Flown Blue. Bringing together over 800 plates, platters, and dishware, the exhibition explores the artist’s longstanding engagement with secondhand porcelain and stoneware dishes, drawing from both the large-scale political works for which Green is acclaimed, and m...ore recent works interrogating societal gender biases and personal histories. Green’s mastery of art as social documentary affords a dramatic range of expression for an artist with a piercing cultural commentary. The artist’s provocative and pioneering works do not rest on well-deserved laurels but instead continue to push the bounds of the art world, said Beth Ann Gerstein, Executive Director of the Museum. This important exhibition invites viewers to marvel at the revealed scale of Green’s artistic ambition, and to formulate important questions about the foundations of our society. Highlights of the exhibition will include a large-scale installation of The Last Supper in its entirety (over 800 plates). In this acclaimed body of ongoing work, Green documents the last meal requests of death row inmates in cobalt blue on white, ceramic kiln-fired plates. Julie Green: Flown Blue will present this work in conversation with six works from Green’s most recent body of work, First Meal, which documents the first meals eaten by exonerated prisoners. Naively, I thought ‘First Meal’ would be more uplifting to paint that ‘The Last Supper,’ Green tells NPR. Of course the meal is celebratory, but it is nothing compared to all those lost years. And how do you depict absence, not having an orange for seven years? How do you illustrate holding an orange for 40 minutes before savoring every bite? #museumfromhome #weareamoca #clay #ceramics #JulieGreen #FlownBlue #contemporaryclay

A look into our newest Artist in Residence Grayson Fair and his elegant sculptural work! #Repost @studioamoca with @make_repost Today is Giving Tuesday! We are excited to have our next Visiting Artist, Grayson Fair, create in our studio. Our VA program gifts Grayson an apartment and studio for the year. Clay materials and firing fees can get expensive so if you would like to support Grayson’s journey at our studio please visit www.amoca.org/studio-3/give/

Here’s a look into our current exhibition ‘Making In Between: Contemporary Chinese American Ceramics’ with a work by artist Beth Lo. The entirety of this exhibition is available as a virtual exhibition by visiting the link in bio or clicking here: amoca.org/curren/mib-contemporary-chinese-american-ceramics Beth Lo was born in 1949 in Lafayette, Indiana shortly after her parents emigrated from China. She received a BA from the University of Michigan... and a MFA from the University of Montana in the 1970’s where she studied with renowned ceramist Rudy Autio. When Autio retired in 1985, Lo succeeded him as professor of Ceramics, a position she holds to this day. Lo’s mother, Kiahsuang Shen Lo, a Chinese brush painter, was a long-time influence and occasional collaborator. Through her use of calligraphy and traditional Chinese forms and iconography, Lo examines the intersection of heritage, identity, motherhood, and language. Through her works, she attempts to reconcile the culture she was born into with her cultural heritage. In addition to Lo’s studio practice, she illustrates children’s books and plays the bass and sings in multiple music ensembles. Beth Lo Flood, 2010 Porcelain #museumfromhome #weareamoca #bethlo #makinginbetween #ceramics #museumexhibitions

What do clay, video games, sculpting, and Girls Who Code have in common? This year's Teen Council! Congratulations to the 2020-2021 cohort.

For this week’s #ThrowbackThursday we’re taking a look back at our exhibition Fahrenheit from 2018, juried by Patti Warashina. Enjoy! In the summer of 2017, a call for artists welcomed those working with ceramics to submit work for consideration. With no theme to given for the exhibition, artists were free to submit pieces, regardless of their construction methods or subject matter. The results were an astonishing variety of sculptural, functional, figurativ...e, abstract and imaginative ceramic artworks. Approximately 80 pieces were selected by juror, Patti Warshina, a renowned, ceramic artist longtime member of the AMOCA family. #WeAreAMOCA #MuseumFromHome #Ceramics #ThrowbackThursday #MuseumExhibition #ContemporaryCeramics #PattiWarashina #JuriedExhibition

This week's #CollectionTeamTakeover is looking at the work of Marian Moule. Last week we focused on a donation from Moule's collection and got a request for a closer look at her work. We have several works by Moule at AMOCA but this beautiful vase is a personal favorite. Moule was the student of three seminal ceramics artists of the day. She studied ceramic art under Richard Petterson at Scripps College, Marguerite Wildnenhain at Pond Farm, and Peter Voulkos at the Los Angel...es Art Institute. In Voulkos's class at the Los Angeles County Art Institute, she was the lone female student (and the oldest) among the "boys," who included Ken Price, Billy Al Bengston, and Paul Soldner. She was an active member of the ceramics initiative in Southern California in the period between 1950 and 1970. Her work was featured in the California Design Show and is held in a number of museums. Her work was featured prominently in AMOCA's 2012 exhibition "Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California." [catalog available at AMOCA's online gift shop] Moule was born in Indiana in 1911. She graduated from Ward Belmont, a ladies college in Nashville, and married shortly thereafter. In 1944, she, with her family, relocated to So. California where she began her studies in ceramic art. She exhibited actively until the 1970s. Marian Moule (American, 1911-2011) Vessel, 1959-60 Glazed ceramic Gift of the Marian Crawford Moule Trust, 2012 #marianmoule #amoca #weareamoca #museumfromhome #museumcollections #amocacollects #collectionteamtakeover #ceramics #pottery

Here’s a look into our current exhibition ‘New Acquisitions from Julianne and David Armstrong’ by artist Jim Leedy. The entirety of this exhibition is available as a virtual exhibition through the link in bio or by visiting amoca.org/current-exhibits/newacquistionsarmstrong20 Jim Leedy (b. 1930) is a pioneer of postwar American art. Leedy’s work constantly crosses the boundaries of materials, genres and subject matter. He began working with abstract... expressionist artists on the East Coast and then later with contemporary ceramic artists in the West, including Peter Voulkos and Rudy Autio. When my mother was pregnant with me, she suffered from anemia and she craved clay in her diet. She would sneak into her secret hiding place and eat clay, so I was literally fed mud as a baby. Like a moth that is drawn to light (and like most children), I was drawn to every mud hole in my youth. The difference was, I ate mud. I came into this world eating clay and no doubt will leave the same way. - Leedy Leedy is a gifted teacher who served on the faculty of the Kansas City Art Institute (MO) for over 40 years until his retirement in 2008. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Craft and Design (NY), Everson Museum, (NY), John Michael Kohler Art Center (WI), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (CA), and the Mint Museum (NC). Untitled #15, 1998 Salt-fired stoneware and resin glaze #museumfromhome #weareamoca #jimleedy #newacquisitions #museumexhibitions #voulkos

Pictured: White Vase, Eri Sugimoto. Sugimoto's work is functional pottery which is mainly thrown on a wheel. She creates the pattern on each piece by hand-cutting paper, and then lays it out using the body of the piece as a canvas. Using the organic curve of the vessel, the placement of the pattern gives two-dimensional patterns a three-dimensional effect. Last week to purchase from the Museum Store for for delivery by December 23 - use code HOLIDAY for 20% off any purchase! Visit https://amoca.shoplightspeed.com/ Can't be combined with other discounts, and memberships excluded.

We are so excited for this week’s #Take5! This week we are talking with artist Beth Lo. Lo is one of the featured artists in our current exhibition Making In Between available as a digital exhibition by visiting https://www.amoca.org/curr/makinginbetween-chineseamerican/. Enjoy! AMOCA: How have the events of this year impacted your work? Has quarantine sprouted any new interests?...Continue reading

To everyone who messaged us last night about extending the deadline for the National Clay Virtual Open Studio & Sale, applications will now be accepted until November 5th. Go to http://www.amoca.org/events/nos/ and click on the "For Artists" tab to apply. * No application fee. * Participation fee is $150 * AMOCA does not take a commission on sales.... * All artists will be provided with digital marketing tools to promote their participation in the event. Pictured: Lee Middleman Ceramic Art Jane B Grimm Blue Pen Ceramics #nationalclay #WeAreAMOCA #MuseumFromHome #Ceramics #ContemporaryCeramics #Sculpture

For this week’s timely #ThrowbackThursday we’re remembering our exhibition from 2017 ’We the People: Serving Notice.’ Remember to #Vote! Throughout history, artists have reflected and documented what is happening in their communities and in society. Similarly, museums have been charged with communicating and preserving cultural values through exhibitions and collections. Together we can encourage contemplation, conversation, and action... on some of the most important issues of our lifetime. Our current political and social climate is arguably one of the most divisive in the past 50 years, making now an opportune time to stand up, speak out, and serve notice. AMOCA has invited artists from across the country to serve their notice on a current issue or topic of their choosing. Though many overlap and intersect, each artist’s response is distinctly personal and represents their unique perspective. Works are grouped thematically, and artists’ statements are exhibited alongside their work to provide further insight. Groupings include: Political Divide; Immigration; Equality: Gender & Sexuality; Racial (In)Justice; Money & Power; Forty-Five; Environment; and War. We hope the works and statements of We the People will inspire you to reflect on your own history, feelings, and experiences, and that you will participate in serving notice. - 2017 Exhibition Statement #WeAreAMOCA #MuseumFromHome #Ceramics #ThrowbackThursday #MuseumExhibition #ContemporaryCeramics #WeThePeople #Sculpture #Vote

This Wednesday's Collections Team Takeover is looking at this beautiful ceramic relief platter by Villeroy & Boch. In 1836, a pottery founded by François Boch and located in Mettlach, Germany, merged with another founded by Nicolas Villeroy to form the famous ceramic company called Villeroy & Boch (V&B). By the late 19th century V&B had seven factories, but the one at Mettlach, most famous and celebrated for its production of Chromolith (etched, incised) wares and became kno...wn by the name of the village. Mettlach wares were exported to the U.S. by the late 19th century, including items made specifically for the American market. Displayed at the World Fair exhibitions in Philadelphia (1876) and Chicago (1893), Mettlach ware became even more widely known. Many steins, including those made by Mettlach, found their way to the U.S. with soldiers returning from WWI and WWII. As a result of these circumstances, a significant portion of the existing Mettlach pieces are located and collected in the US today. AMOCA's Mettlach collection and exhibitions are made possible by Robert D. and Colette D. Wilson, who accumulated a huge number of Mettlach pieces over a 30-year period. AMOCA now houses their entire 3,000+ piece Mettlach Collection, the largest and most comprehensive collection of Mettlach wares (dating from c.1840-1915) in the world. Villeroy & Boch Guardian Angel (1696), 1892 glazed ceramic Gift of Bob & Colette Wilson #villeroy&boch #amoca #weareamoca #museumfromhome #museumcollections #amocacollects #collectionteamtakeover #mettlach #villeroyandbach #ceramics #pottery

This week on social media #AtAMOCA! Pictured (left to right, top to bottom): 1. Book Sale! 2. Internship Tuesdays: Intern Wrap-up... 3. Collection Wednesdays: Villeroy & Boch, Guardian Angel (1696), 1892. Glazed ceramic. Gift of Bob & Colette Wilson 4. Throwback Thursdays: We The People 5. Take 5: Beth Lo 6. Exhibition Saturdays: Jim Leedy, Untitled #15, 1998. Salt-fired stoneware and resin glaze. Gift of Julianne and David Armstrong Inspired by our friends at the @eversonmuseum.

It's membership Monday! This week, take 20% off on a selection of books and catalogs, including the ones pictured here, from our online store with code SHOP! And for our members who get that extra 10% in store, 30% off with code MEMBER30! Sale ends November 1st, don't miss out!

Welcome back to Education Friday’s! Are you in high school? Are you interested in the arts? Come join us behind the scenes to learn more about the museum, ceramic art, meet artists and learn more about other creative careers! Applications are now open! Apply now at www.amoca.org/education/teen-council/ #amocateencouncil #teenartistsunite @amocateencouncil

It’s time for another #ThrowbackThursday! This time we're looking back into 2016 with an exhibition in our vault space by artist Joan Takayama-Ogawa titled ‘Joan Takayama-Ogawa: Climate Change.’ Warmer ocean temperatures prompted bleaching events of the world’s coral reef communities, turning healthy colorful coral into weakened ghostly white coral, which is susceptible to disease and death. These coral bleaching events are visual war...nings of thermal stress caused by global climate change and are referred to as the canary in the coal mine. Climate change is a global ecosystem catastrophe and not a political issue. This exhibition is comprised with several sculptures and lighting fixtures so that we, as viewers, can see the damage we’ve caused, and look towards a solution. Joan’s abstract, figurative white coral reef sculpture and white lighting installations are powered with outdoor energy efficient LED lights. She merges clay with digital technologies that call for the reversal of global warming. Imagery of these objects in a domestic, outdoor setting are also exhibited. They allow us to see them as a part of nature while serving a purpose. Joan Takayama-Ogawa is a sixth generation potter and ceramic artist. She pays tribute to her Japanese heritage by utilizing their ancient ceramic forms as a guide. She contemporizes them by applying imagery from her American life. Joan studied ceramics under Ralph Bacerra at the Otis Art Institute, now name Otis College of Art and Design, where she currently teaches. She holds a Bachelors of Arts from UCLA in Geography and East Asian Studies and a Masters of Arts from Stanford Graduate School of Education. - AMOCA press release 2016 #WeAreAMOCA #MuseumFromHome #Ceramics #ThrowbackThursday #MuseumExhibition #ContemporaryCeramics #joantakayamaogawa #Sculpture #climatechange #ceramics

Our #CollectionsTeamTakover for this Wednesday is taking a look at this tea cup with exquisitely beautiful yellow hare’s fur glaze by Minnesotan potter Mel Jacobson. Hare’s fur glaze is an ancient Chinese glaze that resembles the soft fur of a rabbit. Jacobson worked for months with fellow artist Joe Koons to replicate the classic old glaze recipe with this distinctive patterning. We are in love with the results. Jacobson is known for his functional wheel-thrown stoneware, in...fluenced by the Japanese aesthetic. His interest in ceramics began when he saw renowned potter Warren MacKenzie give a demonstration at the Minnesota State Fair when Jacobson was a senior in high school. Jacobson has exhibited nationally and internationally and has taught workshops across the United States. He established Hay Creek Studio Camp for professional artists and teachers to gather in Wisconsin. Started in 1996 by Joe Molinaro and Richard Burkett, Jacobson took over as moderator of CLAYART, an email forum for discussion of issues relating to ceramics. CLAYART now exists in archive on the website Potters.Org, run by the American Ceramics Society. He’s also published two books. Pottery: A Life, a Lifetime is a reflection on his stay in Japan. 21st-Century Kilns is a how-to guide for building kilns from scratch. Mel Jacobson Tea cup, n.d. Ceramic with yellow hare’s fur glaze Gift of the artist #meljacobson #amoca #weareamoca #museumfromhome #museumcollections #amocacollects #collectionteamtakeover #stoneware #haresfurglaze #ceramics #pottery

Alyson Brandes is back with another blog! This week she explores the life and works of iconic Los Angeles-based mid-century artist, veteran, and designer to the stars, Sascha Brastoff. Read it at: http://bit.ly/AMOCA-blog-brastoff Alyson Brandes is part of the AMOCA team for Summer 2020 (and now the fall!) through support from the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internships program. Brandes writes periodically for AMOCA.org, and posts on Instagram and Facebook on Tuesdays. Picture...d: Sascha Brastoff with ceramics, 1947. Courtesy of Steve Conti. #WeAreAMOCA #MuseumFromHome #InternTuesday #SaschaBrastoff #ceramics

This week on social media #AtAMOCA! Pictured (left to right, top to bottom): 1. Membership Mondays 2. Internship Tuesdays: Sascha Brastoff... 3. Collection Wednesdays: Mel Jacobson, Tea cup, n.d. Ceramic with yellow hare’s fur glaze. Gift of the artist 4. Throwback Thursdays: Joan Takayama-Ogawa: Climate Change 5. Education Fridays 6. Exhibition Saturdays: Toshiko Takaezu, Moonpot, c.1980. Glazed porcelain. Gift of Julianne and David Armstrong Inspired by our friends at the Everson Museum of Art