Oak Leaf Jar
Zach Wollert
Wood-fired iron stoneware with Levin Shino slip, 3D-printed wadding
Art Dimensions: 11" x 11" x 11"
Exhibition - Iowa Clay Conference | River 2 River
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Artist Statement
Being actively curious is how I approach the planning and making of my artistic work. Curious of materials, effects, processes, and 'what if...' moments. As curiosity has led me through traditional ceramic making methods, curiosity has brought me towards integrating digital technologies with handcrafted methodologies and I am fascinated how the processes influence one another. Hand-made properties guide the digital and the digital technology controlling the physical material. I envision these works a collaboration of physical and digital tools used to create a hand-made digitally influenced object. Admittedly, labeling an object to be 'digitally hand-made' leaves me with a good excited chuckle. After that quick laugh and enjoyment of self-satisfaction, I return to serious enough contemplation that reinforces my artistic drive.
Artist Biography
Zach Wollert (b. 1981) is currently the Assistant Director and Ceramics Chair of the Windgate Art School at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in Little Rock, Arkansas. Zach grew up in Portland, Oregon and has consistently worked in clay for 25 years. He committed to turn his obsessive interest in ceramic art into a career while working with, and learning from, professional ceramists in the coastal mountain range town of Elkton, Oregon. In 2015, he earned his Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics from Kent State University and has since participated as a resident artist in Oregon and California. Before moving to Little Rock, Zach was fortunate to live in Cedar Rapids for seven years where the local art community at the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio as well as Kirkwood Community College sharpened his professional skills.
