Artist: Paul Eshelman
Paul Eshelman, ILLINOIS
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Culture has been defined as what we make of the world. My pots enter an age noted for frenzied activity and visual distraction. This world fragments our lives in profound ways. Functional pottery is my cultural attempt, through the material of clay, to bring order and human dignity to the merely physical act of consuming food and drink. As my pots are used daily, my hope is that they carry measures of quiet and nourishment for body and spirit. I imagine people at a dinner table, work space, or office cubicle where food and drink are served and humanized by a hospitable, well-ordered pot.
The pieces are made using a casting process in molds I design and make. The clay body is a red stoneware; the glazes are all lead free. Clarity is given to my simple forms by contrasting glazed and unglazed surfaces. Pure clean glazes render elegant presentation of food and drink.
The principal design criteria for my work are functional needs. The needed volume of a cup or bowl, the profile of a rim, or the size and shape of a handle are primarily determined by use and user. As in the creation of all things, the processes used largely determine the sense and aesthetics of the final object. My pieces are designed using the visual language of symmetry and asymmetry, form and transitions between forms, and proportion.
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Ceramics, 1981, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island
B.A. Art, 1979, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
COLLECTIONS/PUBLICATIONS
The Bailey Collection of Contemporary Ceramics, Bailey Pottery Equipment, Kingston, New York, 2016
100 Artists 1000 Cups, The Clay Studio, 2016
“Paul Eshelman’s Handled Soup Bowl,” Pottery Making Illustrated, March/April 2016
The Dinnerware Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, Roger D. Corsaw Collection, Alfred, New York
Ceramics Monthly Collection, Columbus, Ohio
The Goldstein Museum of Design, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Permanent Collection, San Angelo, Texas
American Museum of Ceramic Art Permanent Collection, Pomona, California
Glaze: The Ultimate Collection of Ceramic Glazes and How They Were Made, Brian Taylor & Kate Doody, Barron’s, 2014
“Ready to Serve,” American Craft, February/March 2014
500 Teapots, Volume 2, Jim Lawton, Lark Crafts, 2013
TableSpace, Linda Sikora and Albion Stafford, NYSCC at Alfred University, 2012
“Work and Play: The Potter's Life”, Ceramics Monthly, June/July/August 2009
These Hands Tell A Story: 25 Years of Handcrafted Art, American Craft Exposition, 2009
Mold Making & Slip Casting, Andrew Martin, Lark Books, 2007
Twenty-First Century Ceramics in the United States & Canada, Bill Hunt, American Ceramic Society, 2003
“In the Land of Lincoln: 20 Illinois Potters,” The Studio Potter, June 2003
Object Lessons, Toni Sikes, GUILD Publishing, 2001
The Art of Contemporary American Pottery, Kevin Hluch, Krause Publications, 2001
Made In Illinois, State of Illinois, 2001
Contemporary Ceramics, Susan Peterson, Watson Guptill, 2000
“A Cast of Pots”, Ceramics Monthly, October, 1992
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Visiting Artist, Alfred University, 2012, Alfred, New York
Lecture & Workshop, Western Michigan Potters Guild, 2008, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Amcor PET, Design Consultant, 2006, Manchester, Michigan
Lecture & Workshop, Northern Illinois University, 2006, DeKalb, Illinois
Living with American Craft, Craft in Action, Interactive Demonstration, American Craft Exposition, 2005, Evanston,Illinois
Jars of Clay, Community School of the Arts Seminar, Wheaton College, 2002, Wheaton, Illinois
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Visiting Artist, Ceramic Seminar, 1998, Chicago, Illinois
Quad City Arts’ Visiting Visual Artist Residency, 1995, Rock Island, Illinois
Instructor of Ceramics, North Central College, 1982-1987, Naperville, Illinois
SELECTED JURIED ART SHOWS
American Craft Exposition, 1989-1994, 1997-1999, 2005-2012, Best of Ceramics Award, 1993, 1997, 1998, Evanston,
Illinois
Cherry Creek Arts Festival, 2001-2008, 2012, 2014, Denver, Colorado
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2005, Excellence in Clay Award, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Saint Louis Art Fair, 1995-2004, 2006-08, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, Second Place Award 2016, 2015, 2007, First Place
Award 1995, Clayton, Missouri
Smithsonian Craft Show, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, Excellence in Ceramics 2016,
Washington, D.C.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2016 The Clay Studio: 100 Artists 1000 Cups, NCECA, Kansas City, Missouri
2016 Yunomi Invitational, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Cake, The Dinnerware Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
2015 2015 Biennial, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa
A Place at the Table, The Dinnerware Museum, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Pottery Then and Now, Galena, IL
2014 Get Set, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Craft Forms 2014, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics, from the ground up, ZOCA, Zanesville, Ohio
Art We Use, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, Ohio, Honorable Mention Award
Mud: Handmade in the Midwest, Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI
2014 Yunomi Invitational, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Material Attraction: Diverse Reactions, Jacoby Arts Center, Alton, Illinois
2013 Craft Forms 2013, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, Pennsylvania
20 Dirty Hands Group Exhibition 2013, Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa
River 2 River, The Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Honorable Mention Award
Earth Moves: Shirts in Ceramic Art and Design, NCECA and Arvada Center for the Arts, Arvada, Colorado
Lillstreet Featured Artist, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, Illinois
American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2012 Cast Pots: Clean & Simple, Lux Center for the Arts, Lincoln Nebraska
Made By Hands, McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
The Theatre of Repetition: Slip Cast Ceramics, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts
2011 Tea, McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington, Illinois
TableSpace, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, New York
Cups and Coffee, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Yunomi Invitational 2011, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
2010 American Pottery Festival/20th Anniversary Edition, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Illinois Clay 2010: No 'S' in Illinois, Lillstreet Gallery, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, Illinois
Eighteenth San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas
Paul Eshelman & Gena Ollendieck, Outside the Lines Art Gallery, Dubuque, Iowa
Convergence: Pottery from Studio and Factory, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2009 The Art of Tea, VisArts, Rockville, Maryland
American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Figure & Function, Kate Eshelman & Paul Eshelman, Sinsinawa Mound Gallery, Sinsinawa, Wisconsin
2008 Our Cups Runneth Over, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts
Craft Forms 2008, The Wayne Art Center, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Cast Tableware, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Yunomi Invitational, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Potters from the Galena Area, Quincy Art Center, Quincy, Illinois
2007 Biennial Juried Invitational, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa, Third Place Award
Dinnerworks 2007, Louisville Visual Art Association, Louisville, Kentucky
Le Carnaval!, Outside the Lines Art Gallery, Dubuque, Iowa
Big Muddy, Quigley Gallery, Clark College, Dubuque, Iowa, Honorable Mention Award
2006 Twenty Dirty Hands, Altgeld Gallery, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
Forms and Shapes: The Useful Teapot, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
20 Dirty Hands, The Merwin Gallery, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois
Tea: Engaging the Senses, White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon
For the Love of Flowers, Kentucky Museum of Art & Design, Louisville, Kentucky
2005 for the House & Garden, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
2004 informing function: Paul Eshelman & Delores Fortuna, Terra Incognito, Oak Park, Illinois
Fifteenth San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas
Art at the Airport, Quad City International Airport, Moline, Illinois
2003 Twenty-First Century Ceramics in the US and Canada, Columbus College of Art & Design, Columbus, Ohio
Forms and Shapes - Cups, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
for Two/Tea for Tea, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2002 Treasures, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Less is More: Ceramics with a Minimal Aesthetic, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
VASE, Peck Gallery, Providence, Rhode Island
Creations in Clay: Contemporary Ceramics, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, Illinois
The Vase, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
Utilitarian Ceramic National, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, Juror’s Award
2001 Craft Forms 2001, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, Pennsylvania
Handles & Spouts, Headley-Whitney Museum, Lexington, Kentucky, Jurors’ Mention Award
Teapots, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, Maryland
2000 For the House & Garden, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
The 13th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas
1999 Let it Pour, Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
National Crafts 1999, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
10th Anniversary Teapot Show, A. Houberbocken, Inc., Cudahy, Wisconsin
Earthy Treasures, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
Fifty-Fifth Juried Exhibition, Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa
1998 1998 International Orton Cone Box Show, Baldwin City, Kansas, traveling exhibition
Tabletop, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1997 Form and Function, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan
Objects of Desire, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
1996 Tabletop, The Works Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Functional Ceramics 1996, Wayne Center for the Arts, Wooster, Ohio
The Artful Cup, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
Teapots and Tabletop, The Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, Ohio
1995 The Tenth Annual San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas,
Merit Award
The Third Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Honorable Mention Award
1994 Tabletop Concepts “94, University of Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana
Three Elegant Craftsmen, The Pottery, Galena, Illinois
Gifts for the Table, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, Illinois
1993 Pets: Artists and an American Obsession, Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, Wisconsin
The Eighth Annual Monarch Tile National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo,
Texas
1992 The Seventh Annual Monarch Tile National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts,
San Angelo, Texas
The Clay Cup IV, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
1991 The Sixth Annual Monarch Tile National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo,
Texas, Merit Award
The Dining Experience: A Craft Expression, Luckenbach Mill Gallery, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
New Visions - Forms with Function, Northfield Pottery Works, Northfield, Illinois
1990 The Ceramic Vessel: Traditional Notions - Recent Directions, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Illinois
The Clay Cup III, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois
The Ceremony of Drinking, Lill Street Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Tempests and Teapots, A. Houberbocken, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin