Artist Statement:
My work is intended to be useful; this is art that is meant to be touched. In the past everything we used in the home was made by hand. Today our homes are filled with stuff stamped out by machines. When we seek out hand made art we make our surroundings a little more human.
 
My most recent work is mainly influenced by textiles. The attention to detail in batik and quilted fabrics has always amazed me. I have tried to incorporate those qualities into my work. I throw fairly simple forms on the potter's wheel, then attache "patch work" slabs of clay. I also create slab-build containers impressed with soft low relief designs that have a "quilted" feel to me. I use carved linoleum blocks to impress my clay slabs to create my "quilted" textures.
www.tashamckelvey.com

Education & Experience
I began my Ceramics career as a potter's assistant at The Poddery in Mathews County, Virginia, when I was sixteen. I later studied art at Longwood College and Mary Washington College. I graduated with a B.A. in Studio Art from Mary Washington College in 2000. I am still working out of the Poddery. I also attended a wood-fired pottery workshop at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina in 2003, which has had a big impact on my current work.