LINDA ARBUCKLE
FLORIDA

The tradition and interpretation of the functional vessel bring experiences through the functional art object into one's daily life. Line, color, gesture and the lure of materiality articulate the value of indulgence and the transience of (plant) life. The alchemy that transforms common terracotta clay into an object that speaks in a domestic setting points the way toward parallel transformations possible in the observed moments of personal life. Bio: MFA, Ceramics, Rhode Island School of Design, BFA Cleveland Institute of Art
Professor, University of Florida School of Art and Art History, Gainesville, FL.
Arbuckle Has taught workshops at many venues across the US and in several international locations. University of Florida has recognized her research with Graduate Research Professorship and Teaching Improvement Awards. Recent activities include a one-month residency in the People's Republic of China awarded by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, and a chapter-length feature in The Penland book of ceramics: Master Classes in Ceramic Techniques.

My work is concerned with the tradition and interpretation of the functional vessel as an expressive device. Located in the domestic world, individual works of functional art bring focus, and emphasize the personal experience, the richness and value of one’s private life. The transformation of common terracotta through the artist’s vision of and investment in painted surface is alchemy that implies other such personal transfigurations are possible. Color, image, and composition are used in ways that interpret the natural world (rather than re-create it), and color the emotional climate.

Technically, my work is done in oxidation-fired terra cotta, with terra sigellata on exposed clay surfaces. A thick, white majolica is usually used, and the colors painted on the surface of the raw glaze like doing a watercolor on blotter paper. This low-tech clay, widely available in nature, represents a populist material and method where the vision and skill of the artist give value to common materials.

Work in collections of:

Archie Bray Foundation Permanent Collection, Helena, MT.
Museum of Decorative Arts, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR.
Caroline and Dan Anderson, Edwardsville, IL.
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TM=N.
Racine ARt Museum, Racine, WI.
City of ORlando, Orlando, FL.
David Demming, President, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH.
Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI.
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Margaret Harlow Collection, Bemidiji University, Bemidiji, MN.
Lamar Dodd Art Center, LaGrange College, LaGrange, GA.
Sadie Barling Contemporary Crafts Collection, UF, Gainesville, FL.
Stetson University, Deland, FL.
World Ceramics Exposition Korea International Collection, Ichon, Korea.

Recent Publications

2003
The Benland Book of Ceramics: Master Classes in Ceramic Techniques, Lark Books, March 2003. Chapter on work and techniques, pp90-107.
500 Bowls, Lark Books, Asheville, NC, juror John Britt. pp. 183, 310, 409.
2002
Ceramic Surface Decoration: Contemporary Approaches and Techniques by Matthias Ostermann, A & C Black; University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 2002, p.133. Artist Statement, Process information, work pictured in color.
500 Teapots, Lark Books, Asheville, NC, juror Kathy Triplett. Works pictured pp. 23, 59, 396.
Working with Clay2nd Ed, Susan Peterson, 2002, Ptretice Hall Inc., Saddle River, NJ. Work pictured p. 90.
The Contemporary Potter, Rockport Publishers, Boucer, MA. Compilation and reprint of The Best of Pottery and The Best of Pottery 2.
Ceramics, Nelson/Burkett 6th Edition textbook, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX, 2002. Work Pitured pp. 12, 228, 257, 291. Cited pp. 257.
The Art of Contemporary American Pottery, by Hevin Hluch. Krause Publications. Authored comments and works pictured p. 15, 92, 144.
The Ceramic Glaze Handbook, by Mark Burleson, Lark Books, Asheville, NC. Works pictured pp. 76, 77, 110, glaze recipe p. 110.
Ceramics: Mastering the Craft , new edition, Richard Zakin. Work Pictured.
Handbuilt Tableware, by Kathy Triplett, Lark Books, Asheville, NC. Works Pictured p. 122, 125.