Kent Mclaughlin

Tableware

Course Description
The focus of this class will be on making pots for the table. We will start this class by making deer tail brushes for use in decorating and glaze application. Participants are asked to bring several bisqued pieces for one cone 10 reduction firing, where we will concentrate on glaze application techniques. While the kiln is firing, we will then explore the endless possibilities of wheel-thrown forms used to eat, drink, and serve from. Discussions about why a pot is a “favorite” will help us focus on important aspects of making. Along the way, we will focus on the techniques involved in throwing, trimming, and finishing pieces, paying close attention to the details involved.

Artist's Biography
Kent McLaughlin is a studio potter who began his training in 1973 at Brevard Community College, the University of Central Florida, and Penland School of Crafts. He apprenticed with a production potter before opening his own studio in 1985. Kent works in porcelain and stoneware clays, making utilitarian pots. He and his wife, Suze Lindsay, own and operate Fork Mountain Pottery in Bakersville NC. In 2003, Kent began firing his cross-draft kiln using waste fry oil as an alternative fuel source. His glaze palette includes shinos, celadons, Mashiko khaki glazes, and iron reds, which reference the fertile grounds that surround his mountain studio and home.

He has taught at Anderson Ranch Art Center, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School of Crafts, and Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts, J.C. Campbell Folk School and Brevard Community College in Florida. In the Fall of 2005, Kent, along with his wife, Suze, were visiting faculty members for West Virginia University's exchange program in Jingdezen, China for 5 weeks. In January 2008, Kent and Suze were invited to teach at Curaumilla Art Center, near Santiago, Chile. He exhibits locally as well as nationally, including invitational shows at The Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, Baltimore Clayworks, Santa Fe Clay, Charleston Clayworks and Gallery 1021, Chicago. He is a member of Southern Highland Craft Guild, Toe River Arts Council and the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.

Artist's Statement
I make pots because I love the process and the limitless possibilities involved when working with clay. I am attracted to the idea that mankind made pottery before the written word. Pottery was an essential and fundamental part of early civilization. Yet today, pots fulfill a different requirement in modern life by carrying a message of life. I have made this object with my hands with the intention of you using it with your hands. Your touch embracing my touch – the direct connection between maker and user. This is an essential and fundamental consideration I enjoy when I work.