UGA has been a mecca for internationally renowned potters for more than 60 years

B Y - B A R R Y - A. - P A L E V I T Z

s Ron Meyers kneels atop a small stage at Atlanta's Callenwolde Fine Arts Center, a respectful, loving audience watches him knead, or wedge, a heavy lump of earthenware clay. "I make utilitarian pots," Meyers says softly. "Pots you serve in, store in, and drink out of." Meyers' easy-going personality radiates a warmth that makes onlookers feel like old friends. As he shapes the clay on a potter's wheel, Meyers tells his life story in a series of vignettes sprinkled with humor. Seemingly without effort, a teapot spout rises from the wheel like a genie from a bottle.

Meyers came to UGA in 1972, recruited by then ceramics head Earl McCutcheon. "Earl hired me to make pots," says Meyers, and that's what he's done ever since. Along the way, he also passed on his insights and expertise to students on their way up the clay ladder. Eventually, Meyers took over the ceramics department, retiring in 1993 to work full time at the wheel. He continues to teach through workshops like the one at Callenwolde.

Like all good artists, Meyers' pots have evolved over the years. "It takes an incredibly long time to find your own voice in pottery," he maintains. Internationally respected for pots decorated with painted or incised animals and nudes, Meyers' work reflects the way he teaches: his pieces seem relaxed and easy going, not rigid or formalistic. To Meyers, a tight-fitting lid may be important on other people's teapots, but not his. Looseness or fluidity of form is part of what distinguishes his work, and he passes that message on to students. "I offer people a different point of view," he says. "They don't have to have all this technical skill. They can be playful in handling clay."

Meyers is also known for the toothy, Cheshire-cat smiles on his animals, and he freely acknowledges his work's "edginess." Not everybody likes it, especially at first glance. That doesn't bother Meyers. "It's great," he says with a grin. "People should interact with the work, whether they like it or hate it." Andy Nasisse, another renowned UGA sculptor and potter whose work packs its own edge, lauds Meyers as "truly beyond a master for his ability to use the wheel expressively."

Meyers and Nasisse are part of a long line of internationally recognized UGA potters stretching back more than 60 years. They trace their artistic roots even further, to the north Georgia folk pottery tradition, to American and English giants Warren MacKenzie and Bernard Leach, and to hundreds of years of Japanese ceramics. Their work is represented in private collections, galleries, and museums all over the world, including a 2003 show at Atlanta's Museum of Contemporary Arts of Georgia. And a constant stream of students who have passed through their classrooms and studios now fuel Georgia's vibrant community of clay artists. The latest work of many of these artists (see p. 34-35) will be on display—and for sale—at a show sponsored by the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville. Titled "Perspectives: Georgia Potters And Collectors," the exhibit runs through Sept. 14 and is a major event on this year's art calendar.

Earl McCutcheon

EARL MCCUTCHEON STARTED IT ALL

Relaxing in her Athens home, Mary McCutcheon recalls her husband Earl's arrival at UGA in 1941 as the art school's first potter. "Everybody was young and had lots of fun," she reflects. "We even cooked in the kiln, mostly spaghetti and sauce"—something that wouldn't pass muster with today's environmental safety people. After a stint doing war-related ceramics research at Ohio State, Earl was asked to return to UGA in 1945 by famed art school head Lamar Dodd.

"McCutcheon was way ahead of his time," says Andy Nasisse. So much so that the Georgia Museum of Art recently hosted a retrospective of his work. Several pieces grace the McCutcheons' home, including the star of the show, an exquisite wine decanter made in 1948. Initially trained as a ceramic engineer emphasizing chemistry and math, McCutcheon was interested in the science behind the craft, and for years taught glaze formulation as well as elementary pottery. He retired in 1983 as Alumni Distinguished Professor and died just two years later. "Earl was the only person for some time," Mary recalls. "He even made much of the equipment."

McCutcheon's influence spread throughout the state, helped by his public television series, "About Ceramics," which was shown nationally. But McCutcheon's greatest impact was seeding the now vibrant pottery community in the Athens area. His hires included not only Meyers but Jerry Chappelle, who arrived on campus after receiving an MFA with famed Minnesota potter Warren MacKenzie.

Chappelle and his wife Kathy bought an old chicken farm near Watkinsville and set up a pottery shop. "Happy Valley" eventually attracted scores of artists, many of whom stayed in the area. Atlanta potter Rick Berman (MFA '73) was one of them, as was Glenn Dair (MFA '75), who now teaches at Callenwolde. Chappelle left the University after six years to work full time at Happy Valley, which has evolved into a prolific pottery operation but which still sponsors struggling artists. Most area potters are hard pressed to say what influenced the vibrant present day pottery scene around Athens most, UGA or Happy Valley. They probably acted synergistically, with both attracting talented people.

LEGACY THAT STRETCHES ROUND THE WORLD

One of the people who joined the Chappelles early on was Michael Simon (MFA '82), who met Jerry while working on his BFA in Minnesota. Simon followed Jerry to Georgia, moving into an old chicken coop at Happy Valley with his wife Sandy and eventually earning a master's with Meyers.

Meyers and Simon are a study in contrasts and similarities. Close friends, the two potters play poker together regularly. They also hosted an annual sale so successful that after 20 years it had to be scrapped because of unruly crowds. Like Simon, Meyers sees Warren MacKenzie as a role model. Their work also reflects a common Japanese influence, but while Meyers doesn't worry about exactitude, Simon's work is a study in intensity and precision. There's nothing loose about his lids. Meyers sums up the difference this way: "Michael makes forms that other people emulate. Nobody is trying to copy my work." Still, in many people's minds, the two artists' names are inseparable. Says Nasisse, "Think of the 10 best potters in the world and Ron and Michael are there. And Athens has them!"

Michael Pitts (BFA '69) and his wife Peggy (MFA '67) have been working around Athens for as long as anyone. Peggy was a UGA graduate student in ceramics when she met Michael. An undergrad at the time, Michael had pots to fire and Peggy's job as graduate assistant meant she loaded them into the kiln. In those days, it was just Earl McCutcheon and Eulala Amos teaching in the program, but Jerry Horning, another MacKenzie student, soon arrived. That was before Chappelle, Simon, and Meyers. "As far as making pots on a wheel," says Michael, "Horning was my biggest influence."

Carey MacDonald (BFA '94) is a much more recent UGA grad. With a bachelor's degree in ceramics in hand, she set up shop in rural Watkinsville. Partial to earth tones, her gas- and wood-fired bowls, mugs and teapots radiate a natural beauty and warmth. She didn't start out in pottery, though. "I was a mixed media sculptor," she says. "I thought pottery was a copout." MacDonald's conversion to clay came when she bought one of Simon's pieces." I got so much satisfaction every time I picked it up." She also liked the fact that "people in clay are more open and generous. I enjoy their company."

MacDonald's world is changing again. Off to pursue her MFA at the University of Missouri, she wants to learn new things about her craft. "I see incorporating sculptural imagery in my pots," she says, "but they'll always be functional."

Rebecca Wood's path to clay wasn't straightforward either. Owner of a busy production pottery shop in Athens, Woods (BFA '77) got a degree in painting but decided to use earthenware as her canvas. "I still think of myself as a painter," she says, "but red clay seems natural. It enhances and takes the edge off the colors." The transition to clay wasn't easy, Wood admits. She often called on neighbor Nasisse for advice. Now she has customers all over the country and even sells to Japan.

Geoff Pickett's two-chambered wood kiln in rural Farmington (see p. 2-3) sports a quote from the rock group Pink Floyd: "set controls for the heart of the sun." And for good reason. Pickett (MFA '85), along with several other potters who share the kiln, stokes the first chamber to 2200 degrees over the course of four days. Fly ash melts on the pots, forming a natural glaze. During the final day, the second chamber is fueled to 2400 degrees before inserting a load of sodium chloride. The salt instantaneously vaporizes, which allows sodium to bond with silicates on the surface of the clay, forming a glassy, orange peel glaze. The supercharged kiln is an amazing sight on a clear fall night; with blue-and-green flames shooting out of the chimney, it looks like an erupting volcano.

Together with good friend Jeff Bishoff, Pickett supervises the entire operation, from loading the kiln to unloading the finished product. He keeps meticulous records of the burn, and knows where that very special piece—or the awful one, as is sometimes the case—sat in the kiln.

Though the techniques are ancient, ash and salt glazing are undergoing a revival of sorts among potters who love the chance surface effects and colors left behind on the clay. Even better, public tastes are slowly following suit.

An Englishman from Devon, Pickett got his master's with Meyers after deciding Athens was a good place to study and work. "Ron's an inspiration," says Pickett. "He lets students work without being too cerebral. It's okay to make mistakes." Pickett also saw Georgia's natural resources as a plus, with kaolin clay only miles away and abundant pines to fire a kiln.

NURTURING ENVIRONMENT FUELS THE ART

Geoff Pickett makes no bones about the importance of Happy Valley to Georgia's thriving pottery community, but adds that "most people have been touched by the University. It's a unifying force."

Still, Georgians were making pots long before UGA started its program. "Potters have been in this area for over 100 years . . . it's in the water and air," says MacDonald, not to mention in the clay deposits. North Georgia folk potters like the Hewells, Meaders, and Michael Crocker continue the tradition, even influencing UGA artists like Nasisse.

That's one reason MacDonald insists she'll return to Athens once her studies at Missouri are done. Her friends and colleagues are a source of indispensable support. "Potters tend to settle in communities," she says. "We're social creatures."

Leslie Carney of The Signature Shop in Atlanta, which has probably done more than any other gallery to promote Georgia potters, agrees: "They're wonderful to deal with. Potters are pretty grounded folks, honest and likeable."

Current ceramics department head Ted Saupe couldn't agree more: "A big part of the reason I came here was Ron Meyers, Andy Nasisse, and others like Geoff Pickett and Michael Simon. It's the most supportive atmosphere I've ever seen." Nasisse preceded Saupe as department head and is responsible for what Saupe terms the "healthy spirit of competitiveness and professionalism among our students." Saupe is particularly proud of recent graduates Jim Grimsley (MFA '03) and Kelly King (BFA '98, MFA '03), who won awards for their exit work. "I love working here," says Saupe, "and we're adding significantly to the history of ceramics."

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