DICK LEHMAN I INDIANA
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I was, perhaps, a 'late-bloomer' with respect to my interest in clay: my first whiff of "passion" for this media did not reach my senses until midway through my sophomore year at Goshen College. But what started as a single "elective" in my academic schedule, grew into a "mild interest" as I orchestrated three more clay classes into my already-full academic schedule, over the course of my final two years of college study.

After college, I began a "regular job" (in administration), but maintained a haunting attraction to clay—pursuing it only as a hobby in a 10' x 16' chicken house that I had remodeled into a tiny ceramic studio. My kiln was a wood-fired cross-draft kiln—not because I had any real comprehension of a wood-fired aesthetic, but because I had a free source of wood fuel, and was too poor to afford even the down-payment on a propane tank.

Five years of this hobbiest approach to clay continued as I pursued my career in administration, and spent three years in graduate school (in a field quite apart from clay pursuits).

To Pursue my Passion
In 1981, it finally became clear to me that what I most needed to do with my life, was to pursue this passion with clay which had first infected my life back in 1974. My full-time work in clay, since 1981, has always included a comprehensive retail studio that has been open to the public six days each week. I have loved the idea of making pots of utility and function that grace and bless the lives of users, making common moments special and memorable. I continue to make works of utility: the functional production items in my catalog number nearly 100. And the studio now employs at least three other potters who assist in the production of these studio 'repeat-ware' items, while at the same time providing an opportunity for them to mature in their own careers and professionalism.

But during all these years, I have always made time for the pursuit of works that explore new ways of working with clay—always working and discovering within the context of my peculiar set of limitations. I have consistently structured-in time for experimentation, sabbatical refreshment, and education. The outcome of these years of exploration and development has resulted in the saggar-fired, side-fired and wood-fired approaches that constitute the exhibition works that I produce. Not having abandoned my commitments to utility, these exhibition works explore ways of working which are more risky, less predictable, and perhaps more inventive than my regular production works. These works, too, are sold primarily through my retail studio.

To share my knowledge
During the last twenty years my life has been graced by the support, nurture, and mentoring of many potters. Over the last ten years I have had the opportunity to travel internationally, to offer more than 25 workshops, to work as visiting artist in academic settings, and to author more than 20 articles for international ceramics publications. And as always, these remain my best hopes: that as I continue to nurture my own development, and attempt to be generative with my sharing, that others will find some merit and some benefit in these offerings.

RECENT EXHIBITIONS

2003 21st CENTURY CERAMICS, Canzani Center Gallery, Columbus College of Art and Design, International Invitational, Bill Hunt, Guest Curator, Columbus, OH
2003 WOODFIRED WORKS FROM THE NOTRE DAME ANAGAMA, national invitational exhibition, Curated by Prof. Bill Kremer, Snite Museum of Art, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, IN
2003 LITTLE MASTERPIECES, 6” X 8” X 6”, Jordan River Arts Council, Curated by Jane Diller, East Jordan, MI
2003 CUP: THE INTIMATE OBJECT II, international juried exhibition (Julia Galloway, Juror; Dick invited to participate as past juror), Charlie Cummings Clay Studio, Fort Wayne, IN
2003 CERAMIC LEGACY EXHIBITION, Hershberger Gallery, Goshen College, featuring the work of retired professor, Marvin Bartel and 20 of his students.
2003 CONTEMPORARY CERAMIC INVITATIONAL, Bradley University, Peoria, IL
2003 GLASS, CLAY, WOOD, METALS AND FIBER: THE ART OF CONTEMPORARY CRAFTS, national invitational, University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, IN
2003 25 POTTERS x 5 POTS, national invitational, Akar Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2003 JUST BOWLS – a View of Various Ceramic Vessels by Contemporary Ceramic Artists, Artworks Gallery, Bozeman, MT
2003 ALL NATURAL-ASH GLAZED – Japanese Evening Celebration, invitational, solo exhibition, Hubbard Gallery, sponsored by The Friends Of The Library, Frankfort Public Library, Frankfort, IN
2002 FLAME PATHS, international invitational, (Senior Tutor, David Scott, curator), Loughborough University of Art and Design, Loughborough, England; keynote lecture and workshop
2002 CRAFT BIENNIAL EXHIBITION, juried regional, (Graeme Reid, juror), South Bend, IN, purhase award winner
2002 STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL, juried national, (Juror, Jack Troy), Lancaster, PA
2002 TREADING UPON THE EDGE, one-person solo show at Charlie Cummings Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN
2002 TEAPOTS, a national invitational, (Curator, Peter Olsen), Seward Park Art Studio, Seattle, WA
2002 INDIANA WOOD-FIRED REGIONAL, regional invitational, (Curator, Eric Strader), Washington Street Gallery, Goshen, IN
2002 “DESSERTWORKS”, national invitational, (Curator, John Guenther), Ronald L. Barr Gallery, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN
2001 “TWENTY-TWO WAYS OF CLAY: A NATIONAL CERAMICS INVITATIONAL”, (Curated by Gary Hatcher), The Meadows Gallery, The University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX
2001 “REGIONAL CERAMICS EXHIBIT”, (Curator, Abe Cohn), Peninsula Art School’s Guenzel Gallery, Fish Creek, WI
2001 “Masters In Clay”, National Invitational, (Curator: Jane Diller), Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, Michigan, (workshop and keynote lecture at gallery opening)
2001 “AMERICAN SHINO”, National Juried Invitational, (Curator and Jury: Les Richter, and Babcock Galleries), Babcock Galleries, New York, NY (the show also travels to the Fitchburg Art Museum in Fitchburg, MA)
2001 “American Shino Conference”, two-day conference sponsored and hosted by New York University: Lecture

2001 CLAY/WOOD/FIRE/SALT, National Invitational, (Curator, Gwen Heffner), Gallery of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Ashville, NC, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH (Keynote Lecture Feb. 11, 2001)
2001 “Indiana Wood-firers”, Regional Invitational, (curated by Greg Schatz), Defiance College, Defiance, OH
2000 “14 American Potters Exhibition”, National Invitational, (Curator, Gregory Miller), Moegi Gallery, Mashiko, JAPAN
2000 “KISS OF FIRE: A CELEBRATION”, National Invitational Woodfire exhibition, (Curator Stehen Mickey), Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, OR
1999 “SERVING SOUP: THE SOUP TUREEN 2000”, A Midwest Invitational, (Curated by Professor John Guenther) Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, IN
1999 “LIGHTNING STRIKES”, solo show of 65 works from 14-day woodfiring, Andrews University Gallery, Berrien Springs, MI
1999 “National Woodfire”, Studiolo Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
1999 “DIFFERENT STOKES”, International Juried Woodfire Exhibition, (Jurors: Janet Mansfield, Torbjorn Kvasbo, Jun Kaneko), Studiolo Gallery, Iowa City, IA
1999 “FUNCTIONAL FIRE -- WOODFIRED CUP SHOW”, National Juried Exhibition, (Jurors: Michael Smith, Simon Levin), Iowa Artisans Gallery, Iowa City, IA
1999 “STUDIO DAYS ‘99 -- HABIT TO RITUAL: POTS FOR LIVING”, National Juried Exhibition, (Juror: Josh DeWeese), Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, PA
1999 “CLAY CUP VII”, National Juried Exhibition, (Juror: Sandy Simon), University Museum, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
1999 “PACIFIC TIDES: The Influence of the Pacific Rim on Contemporary American Ceramics”, (Curator: Caroline Henderson), Lancaster Summer Arts Festival, Lancaster, PA
1999 “SIDNEY MYER FUND INTERNATIONAL CERAMICS AWARD “, International Juried Competition, (Juror: Takeshi Yasuda) Victoria, Australia
1999 Two exhibitions with Mr Karl Beamer in Tamba, and in Shigaraki, Japan, curated by Mr. Shiho Kanzaki
1999 “LIGHTEN UP”, National Invitational (curators: Betty Talbott, Phyllis Blair Clark), The Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
1999 “DINNERWORKS 1999”, National Invitational (curator, John Guenther), Louisville Visual Art Association, Louisville, KY
1998 “RECENT WORK” one person exhibition at Marilott Gallery, Huntington College, Huntington, IN
1998 “TEABOWL: IMPERFECT HARMONY”, National Juried Exhibition, Greater Lafayette Museum of Art, Lafayette, IN (International traveling show with these additional venues: Nora Eccles Narrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, Utah; Tomo Gakusyu Bunka Center Gallery, Ota City, Japan; Japan House, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL)
1998 SIXTH ANNUAL STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL NATIONAL EXHIBIT (juror, Cynthia Bringle), Market House Craft Center, Ephrata, PA
1998 “CERAMICS USA 1998” National Juried Exhibition (juror, David Shaner),University of North Texas, Denton, TX
1998 “COLLABORATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS” solo exhibition, Cedar Valley College, Lancaster, TX
1997 “CLAYFEST 10” Regional Juried Show, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN
1997 “SHADES OF SHINO”, National Invitational (curator, Malcolm Davis), Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
1997 “19TH ANNUAL VAHKI EXHIBITION”, National Juried Exhibition, Galeria Mesa, Mesa, AZ
1997 “FIRST ANNUAL INVITATIONAL OF CURRENT CERAMICS”, National Invitational (curator, Steven Hansen), Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
1997 “WALL TO WALL CERAMICS”, National Invitational: Krannert Gallery, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN
1996 “FEATS OF CLAY”, National Juried Exhibition (juried by Ruth Rippon), Lincoln Arts, Lincoln, CA
1996 CRAFTS NATIONAL 30, National Juried Exhibition (juried by Michael W. Monroe), Zoller Gallery, Penn State University, University Park, PA
1996 1996 INTERNATIONAL ORTON CONE BOX SHOW, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS
1996 PLATES AND PLATTERS, National Invitational Exhibition, (curated by John R. Guenther), Ronald L Barr Gallery, Indiana University Southeast.
1996 ELEVENTH ANNUAL SAN ANGELO NATIONAL CERAMICS COMPETITION (juror Michael W. Monroe), San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
1996 FLETCHER CHALLENGE CERAMICS AWARD, International Juried Exhibition (John Chalke, juror) Auckland, New Zealand
1996 FOURTH ANNUAL STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL (curator, Phyllis Blair Clark), Market House Craft Center, Ephrata,PA
1996 “CLAY/WOOD/FIRE/SALT”, National Invitational (Gwen Heffner, curator),
Contemporary Artifacts Gallery, Berea, KY
1996 3rd OREGON CLAY INVITATIONAL, International Invitational (Nils Lou, curator), Renshaw Gallery, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR
1996 55th ANNUAL “OPEN” ART EXHIBITION, “New Ideas Using Traditional Mediums”, Juried National, Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, Southern Utah University, Cedar City , Utah
1996 PLATES AND PLATTERS, sponsored by the Studio potters Network in conjunction with the 30th NCECA conference in Rochester, NY
1995 FLETCHER CHALLENGE CERAMICS AWARD, International Juried Exhibition (Takeshi Yasuda, England, Juror), AUCKLAND, New Zealand
1995 10th ANNUAL SAN ANGELO NATIONAL CERAMICS EXHIBITION, Juried National, San Angelo, TX
1995 VIRTUAL CERAMICS EXHIBITION, International Juried Show (juried by Janet Mansfield and Bill Hunt): INTERNET
1995 THE CEREMONY OF TEA, National Invitational (Ginny Marsh, juror), Images Friedman Gallery, Louisville, KY
1995 STUDIO DAYS ‘95, National Invitational (Jack Troy, juror), Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, PA
1995 One-person show, Goshen College, Goshen, IN
1995 MAGNETIC NORTH -- THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION, NCECA 1995
1995 SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN COLLEGE BIENNIAL CERAMICS NATIONAL INVITATIONAL, Dowagiac, MI
1995 17th ANNUAL VAHKI EXHIBITION, Juried National, Mesa, AZ
1994 UBIQUITOUS BOWL II, Juried National all-media show, Burlington, VT
1994 INSPIRATIONS FROM THE GARDEN, Juried National, Berea, KY
1994 CLAY NATIONAL, Juried National, Zoller Gallery, Penn State, University
1993 7th ANNUAL GREAT LAKES NATIONAL COMPETITION, Chicago, IL
1993 2 x 2 x 2, Juried National, Rockford, IL
1993 STRICTLY FUNCTIONAL POTTERY NATIONAL, Lancaster, PA
1993 FUNCTIONAL CERAMICS 1993, Juried National Invitational (Phyllis Blair Clark, juror), Wooster, OH
1993 NEW TRADITIONS IN FUNCTION, National Invitational, (Gerry Williams, curator), Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD
1993 NCECA 1993 INTERNATIONAL INVITATIONAL TRAVELING ASHTRAY EXHIBITION
1992 THE CLAY CUP IV, Juried National, traveling show, Carbondale, IL
1992 CRAFTS NATIONAL, Juried National, Penn State University
1991 WORKS IN CLAY VII, Juried National, Wichita Falls, TX
1991 WOOD SPIRITS, Juried National Woodfired exhibit, Mesa AZ
1990 THE HALLOWED VESSEL, National Invitational, Lill Street, Chicago, IL
1989 THE EVOCATIVE PLACE SETTING, National Dinnerware Competition (Juror, Bill Hunt), Martha Schneider Gallery, Chicago, IL

PUBLICATIONS
1985-present: 24 articles published in the following publications: CERAMICS MONTHLY (including a cover story in the April, 1996, and summer 1997 issue), POTTERY MAKING ILLUSTRATED, CERAMIC REVIEW, POTTERY IN AUSTRALIA, STUDIO POTTER, STUDIO POTTER NEWSLETTER, REVISTA INTERNACIONAL CERAMICA, CERAMICS: ART AND PERCEPTION, FESTIVAL QUARTERLY, KAIROS.
Citations, photos and mentions in the following periodicals: CERAMICS: ART AND PERCEPTION, AMERICAN CRAFT MAGAZINE, CERAMIC ART MONTHLY; in the following texts: WOODFIRED STONEWARE AND PORCELAIN by Jack Troy; ELECTRIC KILN CERAMICS by Richard Zakin; RAKU: A PRACTICAL APPROACH, by Steve Branfman; WHEEL THROWN CERAMICS by Don Davis; THE CERAMIC DESIGN BOOK: a gallery of contemporary work, by Lark Books, with in introduction by Val Cushing; and THE POTTERS PROFESSIONAL HANDBOOK by Steve Branfman; THE BEST OF POTTERY 2 by Rockport Books, with selections by Angela Fina and Christopher Gustin, with an introduction by Chris Staley; Robin Hopper’s 2000 reissue of FUNCTIONAL POTTERY; Robin Hopper’s revision and expansion of Daniel Rhodes’ 3rd Edition of CLAY AND GLAZE FOR THE POTTER, page 147; Cover photo and feature article in CREATIVE IDEAS FOR CLAY ARTISTS, a collection of Articles from Ceramics Monthly magazine, edited by Anderson Turner; Cover photo and featured exhibitor (page 78-79) in AMERICAN SHINO – The Glaze of a Thousand Faces, by Lester Richter and Babcock Galleries; Forward (with photos) written for, and two articles included in WOOD FIRING: JOURNEYS AND TECHNIQUES, a Ceramics Monthly handbook; Photo feature (page 20) in THE ART OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POTTERY, by Kevin Hluch, Krause Publications; Cover photo and feature in CERAMICS AND PRINT, second edition, by Paul Scott, A&C Black (UK), University of Pennsylvania Press (USA) and Haupt Verlag (German translation, Switzerland); Segment feature in Phil Rogers’ second edition of ASH GLAZES, due out in summer 2002.
Awards: Golden Web Award (web-site achievement) 2001-2002

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
VISITING ARTIST at Juniata College, 1994; VISITING 15 potters working primarily in the wood-fire tradition during a one-month trip in JAPAN, 1993; PRESIDENT of Potters Guild of Indiana, 1990-1992; VISITING ARTIST/ADJUNCT PROFESSOR at Arizona State University, 1988; 1988 to present: 35+ WORKSHOPS for colleges, universities, and professional ceramics organizations; four presentations at Wooster Functional Ceramics Workshop over the last ten years.

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