David Gugerty   

Artist Statement
I enjoy working in clay, where I use my hands for art making.  Interaction with material connects to my creativity.  By altering the Earth’s elements, I am making an object that becomes a reflection of myself.  I am attracted to the usefulness vessels because function serves a point to engage viewers.  Ceramic objects are special to me because of their durability and versatile nature.
Recently I’ve begun making surface drawings on my forms.  Through the combination of portraiture and pottery I express some of the things I have felt while living as an artist.  Imagery in my drawings is a reflection of ideas about making art.  Currently my work is focused on this combination, volume of each form makes it a container, while the outside surface is canvas for drawing, carving and painting simultaneously.  Inlaid lines of slip and glaze are a part of my palette, various clay bodies and firing atmospheres add layers of depth to the images.  Expressions of narrative in historical works have influenced my choice to decorate vessels this way.  I am compelled by the styles of ceramic drawing on Greek red and black ware as well as eastern calligraphy.  Other historical vessels with figurative decoration, especially early stoneware made in the United States, inspire my forms and love of wood firings.

Biography
David Gugerty was born in Peoria, Illinois, his travels in life have taken him to every corner of the US.  Living in Missouri, Michigan, Kentucky, and many parts of Illinois David has been studying pottery all along the way.  In 2007 he received a BFA in ceramics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.