Wesley Harvey
BIOGRAPHY
Wesley Harvey is originally from Van Buren, Indiana, "the popcorn capital of the world." He received his BFA in Ceramics in 2002 from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and then received his MFA in Ceramics in 2007 from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Wesley has exhibited his artwork both nationally and internationally and is also a curator. His artwork can be found in various publications including Ceramics Monthly, Art in America, 500 Contemporary Ceramic Sculptures, and The Essential Guide to Mold Making & Slip Casting, and more. His artwork is included in permanent and private collections in the United States, South America, China, and Italy. In the spring of 2017, Wesley had artwork in the Whitney Biennial exhibiting as a participating member of Debtfair, an installation and project of Occupy Museums. He currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia and is a Lecturer in Ceramics and Graduate Coordinator at the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design at Georgia State University.
Q&A WITH THE ARTIST
Carbondale Clay Center (CCC): What’s your favorite beverage recipe?
Wesley Harvey (WH): Hendrick's Gin & Tonic
2 ounces of Hendrick's Gin (my absolute favorite)
1-2 ounces of Tonic Water
garnish with cucumber slice only, never a lemon or lime
Hendrick's uses cucumber and rose petal botanicals in their distillation process, which is why the fresh slice of cucumber compliments it so well.
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?
WH: Oh, the elusive handle is the white whale for the mug! I think every potter struggles to find that perfect handle to fit the mug. For me, I just now feel that I am 100% happy with the handles I am doing on my mugs. Since they are soft-slab built, I finally realized to just do a soft-slab handle. I don't know why it took me so long to figure this out! I do a simple curved handle that also lets me paint a rainbow on it, which ties into my collage work on the mug.
CCC: What influences your pots? What are you looking at or thinking about when making specific beverageware?
WH: I actually never set out to make functional work in my studio practice until I worked at the Red Lodge Clay Center as the Gallery Coordinator from 2014-16. I went there as a sculptor and being surrounded by so many great functional pots, it just came naturally to me that I should make some functional pieces. I wanted the functional work to be similar to my collage work on the larger vessels. I wanted simple designs in the form and shape so that I could use the surface to try out the collage ideas on a smaller scale before going to the larger vessels. The soft-slab plates and cups forms gave me the surface area to do the collage process, which is my favorite part. Sex influences the pots! I look at a lot of sexual imagery and want to bring in more specific instances from gay culture and Queer Theory. I mean, who doesn't like drinking from a mug with half naked men on it?