Bianco Floral
Steve Earp
Earthenware
Art Dimensions: 15" dia
Exhibition - Iowa Clay Conference | River 2 River
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Artist Statement
Working over the years with pottery communities around the world has led me to appreciate on a very personal level how deeply these potters reflect in their work the historical roots of where they live. I want to express in my own work a similar sensibility towards the pottery history of where I live, and of my family’s connection to that history. I am directly related to 17th century Dutch potters. As such, this approach goes beyond being simply “inspired by history.” It requires intimate sensitivity to, and nuanced appreciation of, the complex interplay between resilience and adaptation that defines all traditional ceramic art. I see the pots I make as being my contribution to a larger conversation in clay that spans centuries.
Artist Biography
Stephen Earp earned a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Iowa in 1986, followed by an apprenticeship at St. John’s Pottery in Collegeville, MN. He has worked on archeological digs in the Ivory Coast, as ceramic field technician in Nicaragua, and as Master Potter at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA. He established Stephen Earp Redware in Shelburne Falls, MA in 2004. Earp has been listed in the National Directory of Traditional American Crafts since 2007. He was included in the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Keepers of Tradition archive in 2010. He was recognized by the MCC’s Traditional Arts Fellowship program in 2008, 2016 and 2021. Earp’s writings on ceramics include the series “This Day in Pottery History,” syndicated for the on-line magazine “This Is Diversity” from 2008 to 2012 and ongoing in blog format, contributions to “Ceramics in America,” an annual compilation of research and commentary on historical ceramic topics, and in Studio Potter Magazine. In 2021, Earp guest curated “American Clay: Modern Potters, Traditional Pots” at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA. His work can be found at museums, historical sites, and galleries across the country.
