BIOGRAPHY

Nancy received her MFA from the University of Florida, in Gainesville Fl. She earned her BA at Humboldt State University, in Arcata Ca. She Coordinated the Ceramics programs at the Mendocino Art Center, and Colorado Mountain College, in Aspen Co. She lived in Northern China for three years where she taught art classes at the International School of Tianjin, studied Chinese painting, and enjoyed a ceramic residency at The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen. She has been an artist in residence at The Mendocino Art Center, and the Carbondale Clay Center. Nancy is a member of the San Diego Potters Guild and creates her work at their studio in Spanish Village, in Balboa Park. She is excited to be living in the city where she grew up.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Working with porcelain, I create my wares on the potter’s wheel. A softly thrown form can be altered by touch to become a little less machine made. This personalizes the work, and can reinforce images drawn on the surface to create a setting for a viewer to enjoy. A squared,
covered jar can allude to home. Porches, patios, and verandas can be depicted to create a sense of cultivated shelter. 

Growing plants, rugs with flip flops, and curtains or window shades for privacy can create a setting that welcomes and calms. A distant view of horizon and sea beckons a viewer to sit and watch. Grasses blowing in the breezes, fuchsia flowers hanging on a covered porch, these create an intimate space from which one can view a distant landscape of immense space. A constant sense of motion can be described by vines that travel across surfaces, a temple bell blowing in the wind, or the unfurling of a young fern reaching fearlessly into space.

From a place of shelter we rejuvenate ourselves. A viewer can feel invited to step into a setting and become involved with a piece through its continued use.

@nancyinclay

Q&A WITH THE ARTIST

Carbondale Clay Center (CCC): What’s your favorite beverage recipe?

Nancy Barbour (NB): Porch Punch-Myers dark rum, cranberry juice, splash of pineapple, twist of lime.  Heated or chilled.  Sit and enjoy the view while visiting and sipping!

CCC: Where does your creative process begin (i.e. sketchbook, specific routine, image reference, etc.)? What considerations do you think about when creating drinking vessels?

NB: My creative process begins with a desire to express my surroundings, coupled with a certain beverage and how to create a vessel the size, shape and style to best enjoy it with. Sketchbook, walks in nature, my pond setting, my porch.

CCC: Do you have a certain type of vessel that you prefer to drink from? Does it vary based on the beverage?

NB: Definitely varies with the drink. I am very specific.

CCC: When creating a mug, I often hear about the detail and time taken for the handle. Do you have a handle size and type that you prefer to use? Why? Does that directly inform your creative process?

NB: I enjoy a handle that feels so comfortable that I find myself walking around with my cup.

CCC: What makes handmade pottery unique to you? Why use a handmade object to sip your coffee, tea, water, etc.?

NB: We share ourselves and our unique personalities through the choices we make while creating. Holding a cup in the hand, and enjoying a beverage is like seeing an old friend.

CCC: What influences your pots? What are you looking at or thinking about when making specific beverageware?

NB: I like to create vessels that reference a setting where I find a quiet type of peace, amongst a dazzling background growth. Enjoying a moment of repose on a porch, while looking out at a vast and distant view of ocean and sky.

CCC: Is there a certain type of drinking vessel that you prefer making? Or one that seems to always be sought after by customers?

NB: I tend to make similar forms again and again, chasing perfection. Especially in coffee cups.

CCC: How do you define art within your functional pottery? Do you consider pottery to be a form of art?

NB: The art of a pot to me, is a connection to ancient historical roots of humanity, and the desire to express ones life while celebrating the bounty of food and beverages enjoyed on planet Earth for eons. I enjoy the refinement of creating beautiful pots that serve a purpose by connecting people through community and display and convey the beverages we require to survive. Elevating the enjoyment of eating and drinking to a ritual.

CCC: When creating pottery, do you work in a series or body of work? At what point do you transition from one series to another?

NB: I make series based on what I am currently interested in expressing. My bodies of work are always ongoing from one firing to the next. Seasons influence my work to a degree, they guide my direction.

CCC: What keeps you inspired in the studio?

NB: Daily making. A studio life within a beautiful city park with museums and gardens inspires me. The natural abundance of plants in San Diego. A desire to express myself and be involved in process, and to see stuff made and finished is important. A wonderment the process, turning clay into a three dimensional object that holds stuff still thrills me!

CCC: How do color, surface, and form influence your work? Does each of those design elements play equal roles in your making process? Is one emphasized over others?

NB: They are all tied together to create the final piece. The intimate form, held in the hand that depicts a view of the vast, open, ocean environment is intended to feel like the viewer is sitting on the sand enjoying the view while sipping.