Boneyard Stories

For decades, Arrowmont’s kilns have acted as a stable catalyst for creative exchange, expression, and experimentation on campus. For decades, ceramicists have come to Arrowmont to teach, to learn, and to make. They have continuously used clay to tell personal stories, converse with the makers and potters who came before, and inspire their colleagues to push their practice in new and exciting directions. Through Arrowmont’s “Boneyard,” a collection of pots, vessels, and sculptures left by instructors and students across generations, we can see the creative history of the makers that have come to Arrowmont to share their knowledge, stories, and ideas year after year, decade a after decade. By leaving their unfinished demo pieces in the boneyard as bisque ware, in a transition between “making” and “finished,” the diverse artists in Arrowmont’s community have continued a dialogue across time. The selection of artists in Boneyard Stories exemplify this shared conversation, proving that there is no set, finite answer to creative expression through clay. Instead, the knowledge and techniques are collaborative and always in conversation with other makers. Boneyard Stories allows Arrowmont to share its creative legacy with Cincinnati’s creatives and those attending the NCECA conference, further expanding the dialogue shared between artists, makers, and those who enjoy the endless possibilities of clay.

Selected samples from the collection include bisque ware by: Jen Allen, Sandra Blain, Margaret Bohls, Pattie Chalmers, Linda Christianson, Sam Chumley, Sam Chung, Sunshine Cobb, Bruce Cochran, Bernadette Curran, Isreal Davis, Chandra DeBuse, Thaddeus Erdahl, Mark Errol, Susan Filley, Salvador Jimenez Flores, Julia Galloway, Lynne Hobacia, Kristin Kieffer, Hesoo Lee, Simon Levin, Suze Lindsey, Dan Murphy, Ron Myers, Kari Radasch, Jeremy Randall, Michael Simon, Malcolm Mobutu-Smith, Kevin Snipes, Shawn Spangler, Liz Zlot Summerfield, Sue Tirrel, Kensuke Yamada.