Spotlight: Nick Joerling shifts gears Techno File - Ceramic Arts Daily

54 march 2011 www.ceramicsmonthly.org
Right: Aurora, 6 ft. (1.8 m) in height,
stoneware with slips, wood fired, 2009.
Photo: Larry Ferguson, at Anderson
O’Brien Fine Art.
Below: Two vessels, to 22 in. (56 cm) in
height, native stoneware with slips, wood
fired, 2009. Photo: Tim Barnwell
not how to technically construct something artistic.
He came away from both experiences with role
models for life. “I was really taken by how involved
[Shapiro’s] whole family was. His wife, for example,
doesn’t really make pots, but is a master at firing the
wood kiln and an expert chef. I learned a lot from
her too.” Likewise, in Japan, Knoche was interested
in Isezaki’s process before the actual making.
Knoche’s vessels and platters serve as the first
point of connection in his creative process. “I
use them to explore special relationships between
curves, planes, and angles. They are very grounding
for me,” he said. Although made singularly, he
almost always displays the pieces in concert with
one another, waiting until after a firing to see which
forms sit well together depending on surface design
and shape. Most vessels stand between 8 and 16
inches high and 4 to 10 inches across, with platters
ranging between 20 to 30 inches across. When
venturing toward a new form entirely, Knoche likes
“starting from the place of certainty” that this work
affords because of its functionality—the vessels
stand upright with an opening to suggest a vase or
container and the platters meet the basic criteria.
Viewers, likewise, can find an immediate point of
connection through this functionality even though