About the Artist

-Artist's Statement

I am interested more in artistic exploration than expression; my work is primarily motivated by curiosity about the nature of clay and fire. My passion for ceramics is influenced by a background in mathematics, chemistry, and astronomy. While using computer software to design efficient gas kilns and formulate glazes stimulates my interest in technology, digging native clays and firing traditional wood kilns provides me with an artistic balance that lies somewhere between alchemy and science. Ultimately, I aspire to make pottery that reflects the meditative nature of working in clay.


My recent work explores how form can affect surface. When firing in wood and vapor kilns, subtle changes in the shape of a piece can influence how flames move over the clay and, consequently, how it is colored and textured. I am excited by the possibilities of combining intentional marks with the serendipitous glaze effects from the fire. In anticipation of the complex layers of natural ash and sodium vapor, I use wax brushwork and kiln wadding to create resists on my pieces. The matte, flashed clay in these protected areas provides dramatic contrast with the glossy surfaces that surround the mark. I will often exaggerate these glaze effects by firing pieces on their sides, upside down, or on ceramic stilts that support the pots at unusual angles. While I embrace the technical experimentation necessary to produce the results I am after, it is this aesthetic of contrast and asymmetry that drives my work.

 

-Scholastic Education

1999-2002 - Master of Fine Arts - studied with Kirk Mangus and Eva Kwong, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

1993-1997 - Bachelor of Arts, major in Studio Arts, minor in French Studies - Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota

 

-Publications

2008 - "One Foot in the Past, One in the Future", essay in exhibition catalog for "Painting With Fire" exhibition, Lake Oswego Arts Center publication

2006 - “Up In Smoke: Challenges to Wood Firing in Today’s World”, 2006 NCECA Journal, review of conference panel discussion

2006 - “Raw Materials - Minerals - Clays”, 2006 NCECA Journal, review of conference panel discussion

2005 - “Clays, Slips, and Glazes for Wood Firing”, Ceramics Monthly June/July/August issue

2005 - “M.C. Richards: The Fire Within”, 2005 NCECA Journal, review of conference panel discussion

2003 - “Creating Large Plates and Platters”, Pottery Making Illustrated, Part 1 March/April issue; Part 2 May/June issue

 

-Professional Experience

2005-Present - Teaching position at Linn Benton Community College, ("Experimental Salt Firing" class), Corvallis, OR

2008 - Co-curator of wood firing festival "Painting With Fire", Arts Center of Lake Oswego, OR

2006 - Led kiln building workshop at Northwestern Missouri State College, construct and fire a large scale train kiln

2006 - Co -taught (with Hiroshi Ogawa & Nick Geankopolos) wood firing workshop at City of Boulder Pottery Lab, Boulder, CO

2005 - Kiln building workshop at Northwestern Missouri State College, design, build, and fire four different styles of wood kilns

2004 - Resident Artist (one month) at the Goshogowara International Woodfiring Residency, Kanayama studio, Japan

2004 - Teaching position at Linn Benton Community College, (parent-child "Partners In Clay" class), Corvallis, OR

2003 - Guest lecturer at Youngstown State University, OH, "Woodfiring in Education: the Kent State Anagama"

2002 - Visiting Artist at the Aomori International Woodfiring Festival, Japan (seven pieces donated to Aomori city museum)

2002 - Teaching position at Massilon Museum (beginner/intermediate handbuilding and throwing), Massilon, OH

2002 - Visiting Artist at Amherst Elementary school (5 week mask making workshop, grades 1-4), Massilon, OH

1999 - Visiting Artist at The Kinkaid School, (7 day wheel-throwing workshop & exhibition) Houston, TX

1997-1999 - Apprenticeship at Hively Pottery (assist Doug Hively with high fired porcelain production), Monmouth, OR

 

-Exhibitions

2010 - "Shino REDUX", invitational exhibition curated by Malcolm Davis, Clay Art Center gallery, Port Chester, NY

2010 - "FILL-adelphia", Potter's Council juried exhibition, part of NCECA conference, Show of Hands gallery, Philidelphia, PA

2009 - "Muddy's Woodfire Classic", group exhibition of wood fired ceramics, the Myers Gallery, Santa Ana, CA

2009 - “A Path of Flame 2009”, group exhibition of wood fired ceramics, Madera Gallery, Tacoma, WA

2009 - “National Cup Show Invitational”, invitational group exhibition of ceramic cups, Kent State University art gallery, Kent, OH

2009 - “Spoon it, Fork it, Cut it Up!”, group exhibition of ceramic utensils, curated by Gail Brown, Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD

2008 - “Clouds Above, Mountains Below”, solo exhibition of wood fired ceramics, lecture and exhibition at Umqua Community College, Roseberg, OR

2008 - “A Path of Flame 2008”, group exhibition of wood fired ceramics, curated by Andy Lewis-Lechner, Madera Gallery, Tacoma, WA

2007 - “Wood-Fired Connections”, group exhibition of wood fired ceramics, curated by Ken Matsusawa, Art Object Gallery, San Jose, CA

2007 - "Contained", group exhibition curated by Scott Lykens, University of Arkansas, Monticello, AR

2006 - "Invited Woodfire Artists" International Woodfire Conference, group exhibition at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ

2006 - "Extravagence of Salt and Pepper", group exhibition curated by Gail Brown, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD

2006 - "Decade: Ten Years of Hikarigama," group exhibition, part of the 2006 NCECA conference, Hillsboro Art Center, Hillsboro, OR

2005 - "School's Out!" group exhibition curated by Gail Brown as part of 2005 NCECA conference, Baltimore, MD

2004 - "Out of the Fire", national juried show at Blue Trout Gallery, Newberg, OR

2003 - "Clearly Black and White", group exhibitionat Tierra Solida Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA

2003 - Solo Exhibition at Chagrin Falls Library, part of the Local Art Series, Chagrin Falls, OH

2002 - Vase selected for the Pewabic Pottery exhibition of Recent Graduate Students, Detroit, MI

2002 - "10th Annual Strictly Functional National" group exhibition, juried by Jack Troy, Lancaster, PA

2001 - "Kent State National Cup Show", juried by Kirk Mangus, Kent, OH

1999 - Solo Exhibition of wood fired, crystalline glazed, & raku fired ceramics, the Kinkaid School, Houston, TX

 

©2010 Sam Hoffman Pottery