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I work exclusively in
porcelain. My goal is to make fresh, spirited, graceful pots for
daily use, searching for fluidity and clarity of form within the
context of function and striving for elegance rather than drama.
My desire is to bring to life pots that are friendly and intimate,
growing ever more personal with daily use.
The style of my work and the nature of the forms are simple and
fluid. In my search for glazes that would not compete with the form,
but allow the pot to assert its own life and liveliness, I began
to experiment with Shino glazes and developed a red Shino that provided
a lively surface for my work and did not distract from the subtleties
of the forms.
The appearance of Shino ceramics in the late 16th Century is one
of the most significant events in the history of Japanese pottery.
Shino Ware was first made during this period at the Mino kilns near
Seto and began the trend away from imported and imitated Chinese
and Korean wares toward the creation of wares distinctly Japanese
in shape, glaze and decoration.
The primary characteristic of Shino is its color, introducing a
depth and softness not found previously in either domestic or imported
wares. Its warm surface, subtly varied in thickness, inspired a
new sense of form in direct contrast to the refined, symmetrical
perfection of Chinese wares. Where uneven in application, the citron-skin
surface ranges from thick, milky white to orange or rust, and sometimes
offers a rare red "fire color", highly valued by tea masters.
The characteristic shapes of Shino ware, simple and rough, warped
and distorted, make them expressions of delightful spontaneity and
lively individuality.
My work is inspired by such folk traditions. Whether the early pots
of the first century in Korea or the dung-fired pots of the original
inhabitants of the Americas, pots were made to be used. These pots
were often primitive and fragile, but always embodied a feeling
of warmth and friendliness from their pure functional intent and
the simple processes of their making. Through these ancient pots,
the hands of their makers have reached down through centuries to
communicate their spirit and their energy, their history and their
hopes, a living inspiration to all those who see, touch and use
them.
These are the kinds of pots for which I strive. I seek not to imitate
the forms nor the processes of their making, but to emulate the
vigor and spontaneity in the making of lively utilitarian wares.
Hopefully, my pots move out of a ceramic folk tradition to express
my own individual nature and spirit, having energy and a life that
passes from my hands to that of the user.
EDUCATION
1974 First Ceramics Class, DC Department of Recreation
1977-79 The George Washington University, Washington, DC
1974-76 The Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC
1959-64 Union Theological Seminary, New York City, New
York: Master of Divinity
1962-63 University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;
Certificate in Theological Studies; Rotary
International Fellow
1955-59 The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg,
Virginia; B.S. in Mathematics; Phi Beta Kappa
EMPLOYMENT
1981-2005 Full-time Studio Potter working in functional,
wheel -thrown porcelain
1967-84 Ecumenical Protestant Chaplain, The George
Washington University, Washington, DC
1964-67 Minister in Higher Education, Vermont Conference
of the United Church of Christ, Burlington, VT
EXPERIENCE
In the Fall of 1982 I resigned my position as Ecumenical Chaplain
at the George Washington University to become a full-time studio
potter. I rented a studio in Penland, NC for three years and in
1985 I established my own mountaintop studio in North Central West
Virginia (Upshur County).
Biographical Information
"I first touched clay at age 40 and knew immediately that I
had been a potter all along. I love to make pots! For me, the joy
and the challenge comes from making things that will become an intimate
part of the daily lives of others - pots that will be held, eaten
from, poured from, sipped from and perhaps even licked from. For
me the making of pots is a way to celebrate the mundane rituals
of daily life and to make them holy."
Malcolm Davis has been a full-time studio potter since 1984 when
he left his previous life as campus minister. He took his first
ceramics class in 1974 and since 1985 has maintained his mountaintop
studio in Upshur County, WV. He is internationally recognized for
his work with shino-type glazes, specifically for the creation of
a unique shino-type formula with a high concentration of soluble
soda ash, which encourages the trapping of carbon in the early stages
of the firing.
He is the recipient of numerous awards, including four grants from
the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities,
and was a finalist in the 1995 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation/NEA
Visual Artists Fellowships. Other awards include the Purchase Award
at the Ceramics Monthly International Competition (1999), First
Place in the 1996 Strictly Functional Pottery Show, Feats of Clay
XIII and XIV Merit Awards, Orton Purchase Awards in 1994 and 1996,
Crosscurrents All Media Award at the Stifel Fine Arts in Wheeling
(1990. 1996), WV Juried Exhibition Merit Award in 1996, and Awards
for Clay Cup VII and Clay Cup IV.
He has exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, the
Smithsonian Craft Show and the American Craft Council Craft Shows.
He has been an artist-in-residence at Artpark in Lewiston, NY; Baltimore
Clayworks; Greenwich House Pottery (NYC); The Clay Studio in Philadelphia;
Red Star Studios in Kansas City; Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis;
Waubonsee Community College in Illinois and the Lee Arts Center
in Virginia.
Malcolm’s work is included in collections at the American
Crafts Museum; The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic
Art, Alfred, NY; the Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY; Mobach Collection,
Utrecht, Holland; Orton Permanent Collection; Arthur and Lillian
Weiss Collection; Bailey Ceramics Collection; Old Church Cultural
Center in Demarest, NJ; Highwater Clay Permanent Collection, Asheville,
NH; American Art Clay Collection, Indianapolis, IN and the Twentieth
Century Collection, Sarah Lawrence College in NY.
He has been featured in over 15 books and publications, he has published
articles in American Shino by Lester Richter and Stayin’ Alive
by Robin Hopper; and curated an issue of The Studio Potter Magazine
on carbon trapping. The December, 2003 issue of The Studio Potter
Magazine featured an extensive interview: “Malcolm Davis,
Shino Warrior.”
Malcolm has taught and lectured widely throughout the United States
and Canada, and has conducted Masters’ classes at Penland
School of Crafts, Peters Valley Craft Center, Touchstone Center
for Crafts, and others. Recent exhibitions include AKAR, Iowa City,
Iowa; Blue Heron Gallery, Deer Isle, Maine; Blue Spiral 1, Asheville,
NC; Santa Fe Clay and “Our Cups Runneth Over” at the
Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston.
Malcolm recently curated a national exhibition of work with shino-type
glazes, “Endless Variations: Shino Review 2005,” featured
at the 2005 NCECA Conference in Baltimore
GRANTS, PRIZES, AWARDS
PURCHASE AWARD, Ceramics Monthly International Competition, Columbus,
OH (1999)
ART AWARD, Studio Days, Chester Springs Studio, PA (2000)
MERIT AWARD & PURCHASE AWARD, Feats of Clay XIII, Lincoln Arts,
CA
PURCHASE AWARD, Feats of Clay XIV
ORTON AWARD: Strictly Functional Pottery National (2000)
AWARD: American Art Clay Co, CLAY CUP VII (1999) and CLAY CUP IV
(1994) national competition and exhibition, SIU Carbondale, IL
MERIT AWARD, Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts National Ceramic
Competition, Ruth Butler, Juror (February, 1999)
FIRST PLACE, Fourth Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National,
Phyllis Blair Clark, Juror, (1998)
DALE & DIANE SNYDER AWARD, Chester Springs Studio Days (1998)
AWARD, Crosscurrents, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Oglebay Institute,
Wheeling (1996)
ORTON PURCHASE AWARD, International Cone Box Show & Traveling
Exhibition, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS (1994, 1996, 1998)
INDIVIDUAL ARTIST GRANT, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities
(1996 1993, 1991, 1990)
MERIT AWARD, WV JURIED EXHIBITION, West Virginia Division of Culture
and History, The Cultural Center, Charleston, WV
FINALIST, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation/NEA Regional Visual Arts
Fellowship Awards (1995)
ALL MEDIA AWARD, Crosscurrents, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Oglebay
Institute, Wheeling, WV, Helen Drutt English, Juror (1990)
VISITING ARTIST, Red Star Studios, Kansas City, MO, 2000
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, Lee Arts Center, Arlington, VA; 1995-2002
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, Greenwich House Pottery, New York City; 1994
VISITING ARTIST, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA; 1993
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE, Art Park, Lewiston, NY; 1988
ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE GRANT, Baltimore Clayworks, Mid Atlantic Arts
Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts; 1988
COLLECTIONS
American Crafts Museum, New York City, NY
The Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, New York
State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Bailey Collection, Bailey Pottery Equipment Corp, Kingston, NY
Old Church Gallery, Old Church Cultural Center, Demarest, NY
Permanent Ceramics Collection, Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY
Permanent Collection, Highwater Clay, Asheville, NC
Permanent Collection, American Art Clay Co, Indianapolis, IN
Twentieth Century Collection, Sarah Lawrence College
Mobach Collection, Utrecht, Holland
Orton Permanent Collection
PUBLICATIONS
AMERICAN SHINO, by Lester Richter
THE ART OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POTTERY, by Kevin A. Hluch
THE BEST OF POTTERY, Rockport Publishers
CLAY AND GLAZES, by Daniel Rhodes
CERAMICS - MASTERING THE CRAFT, 2ND Edition, by Richard Zakin
THE CERAMIC GLAZE HANDBOOK, by Mark Burleson
CREATIVE POTTERY, by Michelle Coates, Rockport Publishers
CURATOR, THE STUDIO POTTER, Carbon-trap Issue
500 TEAPOTS, Lark Books
500 CUPS, Lark Books
FUNCTIONAL CERAMICS, by Robin Hopper
HIGH-FIRE Glazes, by John Britt
MAKING MARKS: Discovering the Ceramic Surface, by Robin Hopper
MASTERING THE CRAFT, Richard Zakin
STAYIN' ALIVE, Robin Hopper
THE TEAPOT BOOK, by Steve Woodhead
WHEEL-THROWN CERAMICS, by Don Davis, Lark Books
5X7: Seven Ceramic Artists Acknowledge Five Sources of Inspiration,
by New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
“Carbon-trapping Along the Old Shino Trail,” curated
by Malcolm Davis; The Studio Potter, Volume 30. Number 2, June 2002
“Malcolm Davis: Shino Warrior,” an Interview by Gerry
Williams; The Studio Potter, Volume 32, Number 1, December 2003
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