Ron Philbeck Shelby, North Carolina
BIOGRAPHY I started making pots in 1992 after returning home from college. I had studied mathematics but my heart had always been in the arts. I had done some painting and was very interested in sculpture but could never quite find my subject matter. A friend talked me into taking some clay classes at the local community college, and before long I was hooked. It was about a year later when I read an article by Minnesota potter Warren MacKenzie and fell in love with the idea of producing functional pottery for everyday use. Finally, I had found a medium where I could express my creativity and at the same time serve a purpose, that of preparing and serving food. Over the subsequent years I sought out potters whose work I liked and who came from a functional background. Through workshops and classes, and much time spent at the wheel, I began my training as a potter. In 1996 I set up my kiln and workshop and established myself in Cleveland County. When I stop to think about it, it’s pretty amazing that I am doing what I love to do. I never thought I would have a “job” that is so satisfying. Being a functional potter is challenging, I have to work within certain limitations. After all, the pots must work well and stand up to everyday use. Also, I’d like them to be pleasing visually and invite the
user to hold and touch them. I feel the pottery is a communication between the potter and the person using the pot. The ideas are never ending; all I have to do is be open when I sit down to kick my wheel and the clay will teach me. My desire is to make pots that have character and integrity; that are as delightful to use as they are for me to make.
STATEMENT I make pots for daily use as well as pots that may serve a more decorative or ritualistic role in the home. I throw soft clay on a treadle wheel while trying to impart some nice energy into the work. I have many influences but most are from the Leach/ Hamada lineage of potters. After almost 20 years of making pots I never tire of sitting down to kick the wheel and move the clay. It takes persistence, love, and hard work to make good pots. But at the same time a really wonderful pot can emerge from the wheel when my mind wonders and I am gazing out the studio window. I’m happy to do this work and to share it with others.
ON CUPS Presently I have two cups that I use almost every day. The first is a mug by Danish potter Anne Mette Hjortshøj. This is a smallish mug that holds about 8 ounces.
It was fired in Anne Mette’s wood kiln and salt glazed. It has a blue/black slip that is heavily salted and glossy on one side and more matte and dark on the other side. I love the shape and size of this cup. It has a small handle, smaller than the ones I make, that fits one or two of my fingers perfectly. I have my coffee out of this mug as I sit in the mornings and write in my journal. I’ve never met Anne Mette, but I have seen some videos of her online as well as her work. I really love her approach as well as the pots she makes. I wrote to her a couple years ago and we did a trade. I was so excited to send her a mug of mine and to receive one of hers. The other mug is made by Bob Briscoe of Harris, Minnesota. This mug is a larger than the previous mug and it’s less precious to me. I bought this mug from Bob when I was up for the Minnesota Pottery Tour one year. It has a masculine feel to it. I take it out to the studio with me when I’m working and I’ll take it along in the truck as well. I have no problem putting it down in the floor when I’m finished with it. At some point the rim has gotten a chip but it’s a sturdy pot and I know it will be with me for times to come. If something happens to it I can pretty easily get another mug from Bob. .
146