Six Ceramic Artists
August 7 – September 7, 2024
Reception Friday, Aug. 9 @ 4-6PM
The New York Mills Regional Cultural Center is pleased to announce its new gallery exhibit ”Clay Bodies” in the gallery from August 7 through September 7, 2024.
This show features the art of six spectacular ceramic artists whose materials and styles range from sculptural to practical.
A reception will be held on Friday, August 9, 2024, from 4-6 p.m. Many of the artists will be on hand to talk about their work. An artist’s talk will begin at 5:00. The reception is free to attend and open to all. Refreshments will be available.
The six talented artists in this show are Sandra Shaughnessy, Blayze Buseth, Terry Shaw, John Shaw, Sean Scott, and Kate Scherfenberg. Each of these artists brings to the gallery their own style and interpretation of the art of clay.
Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy Artist Statement
I describe my clay work as “ceremoniously functional,” meaning there is an element of ritual involved while using my handmade pottery. Many of my pieces have an altered quality that expresses the softness of the clay and the atmospheric soda firing process.
The imagery I use combined with tape or glaze & wax resist techniques derive from the rural landscape of northern Minnesota and the cityscapes of Minneapolis, both locations where I live and work with clay!
I studied ceramics, at the University of Northern Iowa, the University of New Mexico, and Eastern Michigan University achieving an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in ceramics in 1985. Currently, I am a potter at Clayhouse Pottery in Ottertail, Minnesota, firing high-temperature stoneware, gas/soda, and electric kiln processes.
My studio practice is an integral part of my life generating rhythm, expression, mindfulness, and a never-ending desire to create!
Learn more at: SandraShaughnessy.com
Blayze Buseth Artist Statement
Blayze Buseth is a self-taught artist and founder of Creation Shop, a pottery and sculpture workshop started in downtown Fergus Falls in 2021.
Creation Shop allows Buseth a public setting to create, teach, and share creative experiences. Projects fulfilled at Creation Shop include public and private commissions such as fine jewelry cameos, dinner sets, custom tiles, urn memorials, clay sculptures, and concrete monuments.
Creation Shop is also grounds for public and private art workshops. These include introductory pottery courses, private art lessons, small group activities, team-building events, and more!
Through the combination of art mediums and skill sets practiced at Creation Shop, Buseth works to build a creative community focused on 3D art. This cooperative environment aims to increase the skill levels of participants, bring greater awareness to art, and a place for the community to discover how art interacts with life.
Learn more at: creationshopmn.com
Terry Shaw Artist Statement
Terry Shaw attended the University of Iowa on an academic scholarship after graduation from Newton HS in Newton, IA. She majored in Zoology for 2 years, then decided to major in Art after taking a metalsmithing class. She received her BA in Studio Art in 1972, majoring in metalsmithing with minors in art history and drawing. Terry returned to the University of Iowa for graduate school the following year. She received a Master’s Degree in Jewelry Design/Metalsmithing in 1976.
Terry moved to Minneapolis in 1978 to work as a jewelry designer/custom goldsmith for several large retail jewelry firms, including JB Hudson Jewelers. 
During this time she was also the lead singer in 3 different bands.
In 1987, Terry began a successful custom jewelry/design business from her home in Edina, MN. After teaching jewelry workshops, Terry discovered how much she enjoyed teaching. She took classes at the University of MN, Augsburg, and Hamline University to earn her Minnesota teaching licensure.
In 1991, she was hired as an art teacher in the Hopkins School District, a suburb of Minneapolis, where she primarily taught jewelry and ceramics. A number of Terry’s high school students won state and national art awards. She retired in 2015 after a total of 25 years of teaching.
Shortly after retirement she moved to Battle Lake with her husband John, an architect and ceramic artist. They live on Round Lake near Otter Tail Lake. Terry is currently creating works in ceramics and jewelry.
Contact: roundlakestudio70@gmail.com
Artist John Shaw
John creates unique ceramic sculptural pieces that combine beautifully thrown shapes with free-form clay that are intriguing and captivating.
John lives on Round Lake near Otter Tail Lake with his wife Terry, a metalsmith, jewelry designer, and ceramic artist.
Contact: roundlakestudio70@gmail.com
Sean Scott and Kate Scherfenberg
Owners, Pomme de Terre Pottery
Sean Scott and Kate Scherfenberg are the owners of Pomme de Terre Pottery near Battle Lake. They describe their work as “Considerately crafted fine art pottery, beautiful and useful, reflecting the hand and the land.” Their beautiful and sometimes whimsical ceramic pieces will add beauty to your table and your home.
Pomme de Terre Pottery is beautiful and a pleasure to use, it livens up a meal, the table and the home. It makes ordinary life richer and special occasions grand. Sean and Kate launched Pomme de Terre in 2005 and are committed to making well-designed and highly crafted ceramic artwork that can be used and enjoyed in a variety of settings. Each piece is one of a kind and made by hand.
Kate Scherfenberg Artist Statement
Kate Scherfenberg lives in rural Otter Tail County with her family. She and her husband, Sean, have two sons, two dogs, and two rabbits. Kate has a BA degree from St. Olaf College in Asian Studies with Chinese Language, a BFA from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, and her teaching credentials through Bemidji State University.
During the school year, she is a K-12 World Language Teacher in Battle Lake. In the summer, she gets to spend much-appreciated time in the studio making her pottery. If not in the studio she might be enjoying the lake, spending time with family, gardening, cooking, or maybe doing yoga.
Kate’s pottery is wheel-thrown and hand-built using a dark, mid-range stoneware with slip brush work and sgraffito. She likes this clay body because it is durable but aesthetically feels like terracotta earthenware. While her designs are inspired by her life and the natural environment around her home, her decorations are done in a way that focuses less on realistic interpretation and more on sentiment and playfulness. She likes to show the process and layers in her work.
She gets great joy from using handmade pottery while serving homemade food and her hope is that her pottery is enjoyable for others to live with and use.
Sean Scott Artist Statement
Sean Scott was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, he earned his B.F.A. from Ohio University and went on to receive an M.F.A. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has worked with clay continuously for over thirty years, receiving numerous accolades including an “Emerging Artist” award from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.
Since 2005 he and his wife have been operating Pomme de Terre Pottery in rural southern Otter Tail County. He shows his work nationally, teaches on occasion, and has his work in many public and private collections. When he is not in the studio Sean enjoys time outside in the garden, on the water, biking with the family dogs, or practicing yoga. He is a certified Iyengar Yoga teacher and teaches one class a week in Battle Lake.
His love for ceramic art stems, in part, from the many exploratory and transformative processes involved in working it from the plastic state through to a vitrified object. He primarily uses a vessel format and draws upon history, mythology, and metaphor, to weave together personal insight with tradition.
Sean has been using a mid-range brick clay for the last twenty years, the raw clay requires intensive processing but is capable of many different expressions depending on how it is treated. Most of the forms are hand-built either with slabs or coils, the applied slips and glazes are all personally designed. Sean says of his work, “My work is ultimately a result of a psychological and physical exploration, a place of mind, space, and body, it is a way for me to define, connect, explore, and understand my place in relation to the world around me.”
Learn more about Sean and Kate in this “Meet the Locals” feature on the Ottertail Lakes Country website: ottertaillakescountry.com/blog/meet-the-locals-sean-kate/
“Clay Bodies” is a term used by potters and in the ceramic industry. It refers to the earthenware, stoneware, or porcelain that forms the piece. The ceramic pieces you will see in this show are beautifully made using a wide variety of styles and clay bodies.
This is a great show to purchase a unique, locally-made, one-of-a-kind piece of art for your home.
A reception will be held on Friday, August 9, 2024, from 4-6 pm. Many of the artists will be on hand to talk about their work. An artists’ talk will begin at 5:00 p.m. The reception is free to attend and open to all. Refreshments will be available.
Gallery Hours:
- SUMMER Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Wednesdays 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Thursdays 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
- Fridays 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- Closed Sundays/Mondays/Tuesdays; private viewings available.
The Gallery is always free to see and open to all. Call 218-385-3339 or email cheryl@kulcher.org with any questions or to schedule a private gallery viewing.
