Collection: Samuel Thompson - Featured Artist

Samuel Thompson is a potter working in Appleton, Wisconsin. He attended Maine College of Art and graduated in 2013 with a Bachelors of Fine Art in ceramics. After graduation Sam was hired by Maine College of Art to work as their ceramics department technician, studio manager, and teaching assistant for three years. In 2016 Sam moved to Asheville, North Carolina and worked for Michael Hunt and Naomi Dalglish at Bandana Pottery. While in NC he also made work at the Clay Space ceramic studio and gallery in Asheville’s River Arts District. Sam has participated in gallery shows around the country, including the Companion Gallery in Humboldt TN , Clay AKAR gallery in Iowa City, IA, The Charlie Cummings gallery in Gainesville, FL, Worcester Center for Craft in Worcester, MA, and the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, WI. He has also received a residency at Penland School of Arts and Crafts as well as a recipient of the Belvedere Artist Grant through Maine College of Art.

Artist Statement:

My work is thrown on a potter’s wheel as well as constructed using hand building techniques. I deliberately leave evidence of my hand in each piece by creating intuitive marks into the clay.

My surface patterns are inspired by textile designs and Modernist paintings; while my forms are influenced by early traditional Korean and Japanese functional pottery. I build visually intriguing layers on each pot's surface through textures, layering of slips, and painterly brush strokes. My surfaces consist of a thin white slip poured or dipped over red or brown clay. I then fire to cone 1 with the addition of pops of colorful underglaze and a final coating of clear glaze.

Find Sam's Artaxis page: https://artaxis.org/artist/samuel-thompson/

Find Sam on Instagram: @samuel_l_thompson

** Samuel Thompson's Artaxis Shop has ended. You can find more work available for sale by visiting the other Featured Artist collections HERE