Artist’s Statement:
This show, Wine Country, represents an
entire body of work that was made by three
artists, together and separately, just for
this event. Inspired by a mutual love of
earth, wine and art, this show represents
all three ideals.
This year we (a group of Tennessee friends)
have started 30 gallons of grape wine, 10
gallons of elderberry wine, 5 gallons of
blueberry wine, and 25 gallons of pear wine.
Growing, harvesting, preparing the fruit
and racking and bottling the wine, like making
pottery, is labor of love. The product represents
dedication and hours of inspired labor. It
is not just a hobby, but a lifestyle. By
this comparison, pottery is instant gratification.
The process of making, trimming and carving,
drying and bisque firing, glazing and final
firing, cooling, packing and transporting
is a moment in time when one considers that
the elderberry wine won’t be ready
for five years.
Amy Schwartz Potter
· | · | ·
Amy Schwartz Potter, artist
and philosopher, makes architectural ceramics
in Liberty, Tennessee. Originally from Oakland, California, Amy Schwartz (aka Potter) grew
up in Williamsburg, Virginia. Empirically
trained, she has worked with other middle Tennessee
artists: Susan DeMay, Marilee Hall and Robert
Harvey.
Art tiles, wheel thrown sinks, custom tableware
and ceremonial vessels are colorfully rendered
to inspire form and function in living and
working spaces.
Work is stoneware, mostly cone 6 oxidation,
electric fired. This affords a very vitreous
surface and allows much use of color. Cone
11 wood-fire is primarily used for old style
kraut crocks, producing melty ash glazes rich
in texture and natural variation of earthy
color.
Professional associations include Highland
Rim TACA, Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour and
The Watertown Artist Guild in Tennessee, and
This Century Gallery in Williamsburg.
Amy's work can be purchased in Nashville
at the Frist Center for Visual Arts and Gaylord’s
Opry Originals, both downtown. Work can be
viewed and custom ordered through her website, www.amypotter.com and
at her Liberty studio.
Contact Amy at greenpasturesceramics@gmail.com.
