The Forum: "The Functional Aesthetic": Ron Myers and Michael Simon

This is a representation of the two-person exhibition featuring works by Ron Myers and Michael Simon which were on display in the Harrison Gallery of The Clay Studio. As the invited artists for the annual Clay Studio Forum, they headed a shared lecture evening on March 10th at the Moore College of Art and Design where the philosophy of two of the country's foremost functional potters could be highlighted.

Ron Meyers makes no apologies for his utilitarian philosophy. Instead of finding the making of useful pieces confining or restrictive, he creates an imaginative range of functional shapes upon which he carves out his own vision of the world. His expressive sgraffito drawings in slips and underglazes depict sometimes whimsical, often disturbing images of animals and people as they wrap around and embrace soft, slightly funky forms. He spontaneously integrates form, surface and the object's use; one might say his pots have "soul." Ron Meyers is a retired Emeritus Professor at the University of Georgia. He continues to offer workshops and exhibit his work throughout the country.

To Michael Simon, the possibilities of pottery seem limitless. He manipulates thrown pots into squared off shapes, expressing an architectural quality through emphasis on structure and proportion. Yet he believes that "the appreciation of a pot demands not so much a thoughtful analysis, but a kind of everyday, sensual response." Therefore all of his pots are functional, allowing the user to get to know them intimately through their idiosyncrasies and subtle nuances. Michael Simon's work is widely exhibited throughout the country. He received an NEA Craft Fellowship in 1990.

In this year, The Clay Studio celebrated its twentieth year of local and national service as a non-profit educational arts organization dedicated to promoting the ceramic arts and work of new clay artists through its gallery, school, studio space, and lecture series.