New Reflections: Work by Bill Lee

March 2-29, 2018
New Reflections: Work by Bill Lee
Opening reception: Friday, March 2, 5:00-9:00 PM
Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium is closed on Friday, March 30.

I am fascinated by natural design: seashells, budding forms, organic architecture. A sculptor first, I approach clay as an explorer. I chose hand building with slab construction to best express these organic forms in my pottery. This exhibition is about looking back with new perspective and re-interpretations. All of the work is durable stoneware clay, glazed with overlapping layers of studio made glazes.

Thirty years ago, I began using overlapping clay sections to build ceramic pots and sculpture. What started as student exploration while at the University of Tennessee in the mid-80s has now blossomed into more mature work. The funnel vases and feather vessels were some of the refined forms I created, an approach that leaned heavily on observation of organic systems of growth and structure such as flower buds and bird plumage. Many older works were made of raku clay. Over the years, my work developed in a more functional direction, and I created an ongoing collection that I could sell at retail art fair shows and wholesale to shops.