PUTNEY — Three local ceramic artists - Rob Cartelli, Teta Hilsdon, and Todd Wahlstrom - opened their collective show on Jan. 15 in the Michael S. Currier Center at The Putney School. Their work will be on display until March 6.
Naomi Lindenfeld, the ceramics teacher at The Putney School, curates the show. Her vision led her to display the finely-crafted functional pottery on furniture rather than gallery pedestals. That way viewers can get much more of a sense of how one would live with the pots on a daily basis.
“I see functional tableware as my canvas,” says Cartelli. “I make pottery that moves from the kitchen cupboard, to the table, the sink, then back to the cupboard. Through this cycle my pottery communicates. It speaks of form, architecture, containment, service, nature, and human effort. Ultimately I intend my work to look good, feel right, work well, and bring joy to the user.”
“I work with high-fired stoneware, a gas reduction kiln, and colorful glazes in earthy tones that contrast the color of the clay,” says Hilsdon. “My favorite stage of the clay is what potters call 'leather hard,' when it is no longer slick and soft but is still malleable. It's at that point that the clay is wonderful to carve. Dragging a metal tool through the surface is somewhat like finessing a calligraphy brush.”
Wahlstrom says of his work, “My pots are conceived with utility in mind and are meant to function in the context of the home. They utilize a flexible vocabulary of form, color and pattern in combination with each other. Their subtleties of weight, balance, tactility, and service are revealed through use and over time. They feel personal when I give in to and trust my sensitivities and compulsions in the ways I touch clay, imagine form, and shape detail.”