Artist: Paul Eshelman
Paul Eshelman, ILLINOIS
View Artist's Products
The principal design criteria for Paul Eshelman’s 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. Paul Eshelman’s 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
Everyday Ordinary, Art of the People, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2019
Clay & Cuisine: Techniques for the Studio, Recipes for the Kitchen, Edited by Holly Goring, American Ceramic Society, 2017
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
LECTURES/TEACHING/CONSULTING
Lecture & Workshop, Waubonsee Community College, 2015, Sugar Grove, IL
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, 2010-2014, 2017, 2018, Excellence in Clay Award, 2010, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Saint Louis Art Fair, 1995-2004, 2006-08, 2010, 2012-2018, 2019, Second Place Award 2016, 2015, 2007, First Place Award 1995, Clayton, Missouri
Smithsonian Craft Show, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013-2018, 2020, Excellence in Ceramics 2016, Washington, D.C.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021 Breakfast, The International Museum of Dinnerware Design, Ann Arbor, Michigan
2020 7th Central Time Ceramics, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois
Twin Cups National Ceramics Exhibition 2020, MWSU, St. Joseph, Missouri, First Place Award
2019 Domestic Dining, Freehand Gallery, Los Angeles, California
Raise a Toast: An Exhibition of Ceramic Cups, Edwardsville Art Center, Edwardsville, Illinois
20 Dirty Hands, Contemporary Art Center, Peoria, Illinois
The Cup Show, Hudgins’ Kistner Atrium Gallery, Duluth, Georgia
Everyday Ordinary: Art of the People, The Clay Studio, NCECA, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2019 Butter, The International Museum of Dinnerware Design, Ann Arbor, Michigan
2019 Yunomi Invitational, CLAYAKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
2018 Handmade, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, Iowa
6th Biennial Central Time Ceramics International, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois
40th Rock Island Art Guild Fine Arts Exhibition, Figge Art Museum, Davenport, Iowa, Honorable Mention Award
On the Rocks: Vessels for and Related to Drinking, Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan
2017 Timeless Dinnerware Design, the International Museum of Dinnerware Design, SOFA Chicago, Illinois
2017 Yunomi Invitational, AKAR, Iowa City, Iowa
Kittredge Hall’s 75th Anniversary Alumni Exhibition, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
a la carte: from the studio to the table, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan
2016 Americano Invitational, ClayAkar, Iowa City, Iowa
The Clay Studio: 100 Artists 1000 Cups, NCECA, Kansas City, Missouri
2016 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, MichiganUtilitarian Ceramic National, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana, Juror’s Award