The Colorful Progression of Susanne Stephenson
At Susanne Stephenson’s retrospective, TRANSFIGUREMENT, a newcomer to her art might be challenged to determine the starting point — her entire body of work is that good. A closer look reveals Stephenson’s evolution from fine, somewhat delicate porcelain pieces to an ingrained earthiness in more expansive terra cotta forces of nature: A progression from subtle and functional at the start to a crescendo of explosive and sculptural, with colors deeply woven throughout her story.
Pewabic Cheers on the Detroit Tigers
Spring is in the air and the boys of summer are headed back to the “D” for the 2018 Tigers baseball season. To celebrate America’s favorite pastime and our hometown team, Pewabic releases its new Detroit Tigers “D” tile Saturday, March 24.
Main Attractions
No doubt about it: The Detroit Public Library’s Main Library on Woodward opposite the DIA is one of Detroit’s most iconic buildings. A peek inside reveals museum-level artwork, including a Pewabic installation so magical that on a recent evening tour a couple became engaged underneath the sparkle of the iridescent loggia ceiling. It’s no wonder visitor after visitor told Barbara Madgy Cohn that they wanted a book about the historic building.
Empty Bowls Helps Fill Community
No one’s crazy about the prospect of standing in line. Outside. In February. But Empty Bowls isn’t just any line. This line helps feed the community.
Saturday marks Pewabic’s 26th annual fundraiser to benefit Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan, where buying a handcrafted bowl means performing a good deed with the added bonus of top-notch soup. It’s a bowl runneth over kinda thing.
PETE PINNELL, ON THE RECORD
Pete Pinnell knows vessels.
With more than 35 years as a practicing artist and probably close to 100 columns for Clay Times Magazine, Pinnell was a natural choice to jury Pewabic’s On the Rocks: An exhibition of Vessels for & Related to Drinking.
SOLANUS CASEY COMMEMORATIVE TILE CELEBRATES BEATIFICATION
Kiln Pad Pop-Up Suits Ben Teague
With Ben Teague’s artwork, both nothing and everything is what it seems. Teague himself playfully suggests that the prefix PARA- may be the best way to describe his work.
It’s a natural fit for the Cranbrook Academy of Art alumnus who wears a multitude of hats himself: sculptor and ceramicist; University of Michigan arts lecturer; associate curator at the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art; and mandolinist and vocalist with the acoustic trio Behind the Times.
Marcia Hovland Demos at our October Second Saturday
Marcia Hovland’s artwork has a way of making people feel happy.
Exhibition Artists Find Serendipity in Soda and Wood FIrings
It takes more than the happenstance commonly attributed to serendipity to achieve the masterful glaze outcomes artists Brett Gray and Kevin Kwiatkowski display in SERENDIPITY, a Pewabic exhibition that opens with a reception 5-8 PM Thursday, Sept. 28.
Troy Bungart Brush-Making Workshop and Kiln Pad Pop-Up
Ceramicist and brush maker Troy Bungart isn’t out to compete with $5 mass-market bargain brushes.
“I am not making that brush. Those people have nailed it. There’s no reason to do that,” says Bungart, of Three Rivers, Mich. “Our tools should be beautiful. I want something that feels beautiful when I’m working, otherwise it’s weird if you think about it. Here I am trying to make something beautiful with the cheapest material.”
Celebrate Pewabic at Maker/Mentor Reception
Kaitlyn and Ryan Lawless of Detroit-based ceramics maker Corbé Company juried the exhibition, awarding best in show to Cup, 2017, porcelain by Alex Thullen.
Third Kiln Pad Pop-Up Exhibition Features Chris Mayse
Chris Mayse likes what he likes.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Mayse likes the industrious effort it takes to complete the desired finished product or that the pieces he enjoys making the most remain his favorites in the end.
“I constantly feel like I’m pulled in two different directions when it comes to the work that I like to make and the work that I like to see,” says Mayse.