Artist: Luba Sharapan
Luba Sharapan, TENNESSEE
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The things I love are showing signs of age. A frayed edge here, a grey hair there. My favorite pair of woolen socks needs darning... again. My best jeans have two, no make it three, patches. The best books are dog-eared. And my 25 year-old-pair of Docs… well, you'll have to pry them off my cold dead feet. These are objects made well, obtained with a certain amount of deliberation and cost, and despite their age, will be around much longer than the ill-considered plastic junk collecting dust in closets and cabinets.
In a world of cheap, disposable everything, we have the very real potential of drowning in uniformly extruded, humorless, and lifeless goods. But a shiny veneer is just no substitute for substance. The things I love will be around long enough to become nostalgic.
The things I make are intended to be loved by someone else – in much the same way. Made deliberately, slowly, and with some strongly preconceived notions of what I'd want to own, Darn Pottery is simple, useful and made to look a bit pre-aged – reminiscent of something made a while back. Individually handbuilt or thrown on the wheel, handpainted with colored slips and food-safe glazes, and decorated with original drawings, every piece of Darn Pottery is different. It takes much longer that way, but…
Each piece is a glimpse of a story in progress. Like opening a familiar fairy tale at a random page, you can pretty much guess at what’s about to happen. Magical, animated, and a little bit nostalgic, I hope my pottery brings warmth and goofy childhood memories to the table.
EDUCATION & RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE
1988-1992
BA International Marketing and Management, Georgetown University
1990-1992
London School of Economics, Department of Industrial Relations
2002-2013
Co-Founded and operated MudFire Clayworks and Gallery
2012-Present
Owner and Studio Potter at Darn Potter, Greeneville, TN
CERAMICS WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
2002-Present
Nancy Selvin, Gillian Parke, Adrian Arleo, Arthur Gonzalez, Janis Mars Wunderlich, Wally Asselberghs, Rick Berman, Steven Branfman, John Britt, Joy Brown, Lisa Clague, Tony Clennell, Cynthia Consentino, Tom Coleman, Cristina Cordova, Judith Duff, Debra Fritts, Annette Gates, Silvie Granatelli, Niel Hora, Mel Jacobson, Tom Kerrigan, Kristen Kieffer, Kathy King, Yosuke Koizume, Leah Leitson, Paul Lewing, Po-Wen Liu, Ron Meyers, Andy Nasisse, Richard Notkin, Jeff Oestreich, Lisa Orr, Mark Peters, Liz Quackenbush, Kari Radasch, Louise Radochonski, Ron Roy, Michael Schmidt, Mark Shapiro, Paul Soldner, Gay Smith, Stacey Stanhope, Liz Zlot Summerfield, Kathy Triplett, Paul Andrew Wandless
SELECT EXHIBITS
2013
Featured Artist, Asheville Ceramics Gallery, Asheville, NC
Fired Works, Macon, GA
2012
Dogwood Festival, Atlanta, GA
2011
Georgia Potters, group show, Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA
Dogwood Festival, Atlanta, GA
Partners in Crime, two-person show, MudFire Gallery
2010
Georgia Clay, Gallery Walk at Terminus, Atlanta, GA
Spotlight Exhibit, MudFire Gallery
Georgia Pottery Sale, invitational group show, Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA
Dogwood Festival, Atlanta, GA, April
The Cup, invitational group show, Maralyn Wilson Gallery, Birmingham, AL
2009
Georgia Pottery Sale, invitational group show, Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA
Fired Clay, Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur, Decatur GA
2007
Earth, invitational group show, Globe Gallery, Clayton, GA
Georgia Pottery Sale, invitational group show, Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA
PUBLICATIONS
2013
“500 Images on Clay”, photo in Lark Book Publication
2011
“All Aboard”, studio and artist profile, In Decatur Magazine, Winter 2011
2008
"Firing Mid-Range Reduction at MudFire Clayworks", by John Britt, review of studio glaze research and operations, Ceramics Monthly, October 2008
"Fired Up Over Pottery", studio and artist profile, The Champion Newspaper, September 2008
2007
"Get Mud Fired Up", studio profile, Sunday Paper newspaper, March 25, 2007
2005
"MudFire Studio Offers New Concept For Those Who Like To Play With Clay", cover story - artist and studio profile, The Story - Central DeKalb news paper, September 15, 2005.
"Potters Keep an Eye on History", artist and studio profile, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 31, 2005
2004
"Clay Creations", photo in arts calendar, Season magazine, Spring 2004
"Clear as Mud", artist and studio profile, Atlanta Buckhead newspaper, February 2004
2003
"Around Town", vase photo in arts calendar, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine, December 2003
"Starting Over", studio profile, People magazine, February 3, 2003
2002
"MudFire", studio profile, Piedmont Review newspaper, November 2002
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Art Takes Over, Greenville, SC
Asheville Ceramics Gallery, Asheville, NC
Asheville Art Museum Gift Shop, Asheville, NC
Brumfield’s Gallery, Boise, ID
Columbus Museum Gift Shop, Columbus, GA
Crimson Laurel Gallery, Bakersville, NC
MudFire Gallery, Decatur, GA
Sis & Moon, Alpharetta, GA