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I have been making pots consistently now for about 13 years. Bowls,
containers of various shapes and sizes, cups, vases, and a number
of different pouring pots comprise the majority of my output. Most
often I am attracted to the subtle or understated qualities of a
form or surface, whether it is a building or a seed pod, and this
in turn influences my own work. I try for a basic simplicity in
form and add complexity through surface and detail, choosing surfaces
that don’t reflect a lot of light or those that are translucent.
The
activities of making and using pots both soothe and excite me. I
am encouraged when others experience value added to their lives
by living with pots. Offering aesthetic, useful objects is a rewarding
way of attempting to contribute something of honest intent to the
world. I believe in the primary importance of form, followed closely
by a descriptive, supporting surface. The pieces I am happiest with
reflect my affinity for both the primitive and the refined, and
often suggest an aspect of quiet grace.
My
pots are primarily thrown on the potters wheel from porcelain or
white stoneware clay. Many are then worked further by altering the
original round form and adding thrown or hand built parts. I work
in a small series and approach each piece individually, hoping to
recognize its expressive potential at the same time that I consider
the intended function. My wood-burning kiln requires an average
of 17 hours of rhythmic stoking to reach temperatures exceeding
2350 degrees Fahrenheit. This method of firing creates atmospheres
in the kiln that can contribute to a uniquely warm, complex surface
on the pot. The heat and resultant ash-bearing flame created in
the firebox are pulled through the kiln by the draft of the chimney,
leaving a record of this flow in the ash that is deposited on the
pots in the ware chamber. The minerals in the ash affect the glazed
surface of the pot, and on areas I have left unglazed the melted
ash becomes a glaze of its own. This marriage between the surface
details imposed by my hand and the variations added by the firing
process allows me to indulge both my attention to detail and my
desire to invite an element of chance to the final outcome. It requires
me to heed both intuition and reason, and in turn offers a world
of wonder and surprise. Often I inject a sodium solution into the
kiln towards the end of the firing, which helps to smooth out the
surface of the pots as well as add brightness and complexity to
the glazes.
EDUCATION
1997 Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Master of Fine
Arts, Ceramics
1979-1980 Indiana University, Bloomington. Master of Library Science
1978 Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Bachelor
of Arts
RELATED
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
1999- Studio artist, Edwardsville, Illinois
Workshop Instructor: Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg,
Tennessee (2003); Touchstone Center for Crafts, Farmington, Pennsylvania
(2002); Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, Colorado (1998)
Visiting Artist and Lecturer: Waubonsee Community College, Sugar
Grove, Illinois (October 2003); Craft Alliance Center for the Visual
Arts, St. Louis, Missouri (2003); Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
(2002); Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri (2001); Forest Park
Community College, St. Louis Missouri (2001); University of Missouri,
Columbia, Missouri (2000); Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, Colorado
(2000); John Burroughs School, St. Louis, Missouri (1999)
Ceramics Instructor: Edwardsville Arts Center (2003); Forest Park
Community College, St. Louis, Missouri (2001, 1998); Craft Alliance,
St. Louis, Missouri (1997-98); Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
(1997)
SELECTED
EXHIBITIONS
2003 Sixth Annual Invitational, Fifth Element Gallery, Portland,
Oregon
30 x 5 Invitational, AKAR Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
Holiday Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCECA Clay National, David Zapf Gallery, San Diego, California (Juror’s
Purchase Award)
Clayfest 2003, Cristel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery, Indianapolis,
Indiana (Second Place Award)
Charity Davis-Woodard: Recent Work, The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana
Snowbirds, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Forms and Shapes: CUP, Akar Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa
At Your Service 2003, Kreeger Gallery, Harwichport, Massachusetts
2002 Charity Davis-Woodard, solo exhibition, Xen Gallery, St. Louis,
Missouri
For the Table, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
National Teapot Show Five, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmoor, North
Carolina
Biennial Ceramics Invitational, Parkland Art Gallery, Parkland College,
Champaign, Illinois
2001 Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum
of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Charity Davis-Woodard and Heather Galloway-Vickers, The Gallery,
Bloomington, Indiana
Southern Illinois Open Competition, Mitchell Museum at Cedarhurst,
Mt. Vernon, Illinois (Best of Clay Award)
Regional Ceramics Invitational, Guenzel Gallery, Peninsula Art School,
Fish Creek, Wisconsin
2000 Natural Materials, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant,
Michigan
Focus On Function, Katherine E. Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis
Wood Fired 2000, Gallery 1021: Lill Street, Chicago, Illinois
Utilitarian Ceramics National, Nichols State University, Thibodaux,
Louisiana (Purchase Award)
The 2000 International Orton Cone Box Show, Baker University, Baldwin
City, Kansas (Juror’s Choice Award)
1999 Charity Davis-Woodard: Woodfired Pottery, solo exhibition,
John Burroughs School, St. Louis, Missouri
National Teapot Show IV, Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmoor, North Carolina
Below 2000, Portland Center for Contemporary Craft, Portland, Oregon
Seventh Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Market House
Craft Center, E. Petersburg, Pennsylvania
Clayfest XI, Christel De Haan Fine Arts Center, University of Indianapolis,
Indianapolis, Indiana (Purchase Award)
Charity Davis-Woodard/Jane Everhart, The Gallery, Bloomington, Indiana
Clay Cup VII, University Museum, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale,
Illinois (Purchase Award)
1998 Tea or Poetry: Artists and the Teapot, Iowa Artisans Gallery,
Iowa City, Iowa
6th Annual Teapot Exhibition, Craft Alliance Gallery, St. Louis,
Missouri
Women Who Fire with Wood, Andrews University Art Center Gallery,
Berrien Springs, Michigan
28th Annual Ceramics Invitational Exhibition, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS
2003 The Studio Potter, vol. 31 no. 2, Goffstown, New Hampshire,
p. 67.
2001 Hluch, K. The Art of Contemporary American Pottery, Krauss
Publications, Iola, Wisconsin. Pp. 44, 53, 141, 147.
“Charity Davis-Woodard,” Ceramics Monthly, vol. 49,
no.9, November, p. 14.
1998 “Put a Lid on It”, Ceramics Monthly, vol. 46, no.
9, November, p. 44.
“Women Who Fire with Wood,” Ceramics Monthly, vol. 46,
no. 8, October, p. 49.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
Nichols State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana
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