JoAnn Schnabel

Carved Tiles for the Wall

Course Description
In this workshop we will explore the many ways one can think about and make decorative ceramic tiles. We will work additively and subtractively to create unique carved tiles that are three-dimensional. Participants will explore working with a wide variety of carved textures and imagery to create their own works of art. Projects will include working on individual decorative tiles, as well as using tiles together to create a wall mural. Using red low-fire clay and terra sigilatta we will once-fire pieces made during the workshop with a slip that we will burnish to a buttery sheen.

Skill Level
Beginners to Advanced.

Artist's Biography
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, JoAnn Schnabel lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she is a Professor of Art at the University of Northern Iowa. JoAnn attended New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University (B.F.A. 1981) and Louisiana State University (M.F.A. 1986). She worked at Haystack School of Crafts in Maine as an assistant to the director from 1986-87, and she lived at the Penland School in North Carolina as an Artist in Residence from 1987-88. JoAnn has done artist residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Archie Bray Foundation, the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation, and at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, where she has served on the Board of Trustees for the past twelve years. JoAnn taught at Tulane University as a Visiting Assistant Professor (1989-90) before coming to the University of Northern Iowa in 1990. Her ceramic sculpture has been shown at museums and galleries through out the United States.

Artist's Statement
My aim is to integrate disparate elements. I combine forms that are derived from my love of geometry and abstracted from observations and interactions with nature. Balance and gravity give these pieces a tension in their arrangement and a sense of having an ‘awkward elegance’ that I strive for. I use clay in a direct and spontaneous manner. As I bend and push the clay, it responds by tearing and cracking. I leave all this evidence so the viewer may better understand the nature of the material. I employ color to accentuate these qualities in my work.