Joanne Taylor Brown
Artist statement- May 2006Throughout my life, I have found that one of the most worthy things to honor and appreciate is Nature. A great deal of my time is spent outdoors in the woods or on the beach, examining organic materials such as shells, rocks, plants and pods. I am endlessly fascinated with these forms as they metamorphose through their life cycle and how patterns result from the natural growth processes. When the moss makes a cobblestone like pattern near the path, a fern unfurls, a fallen tree has a twisted motion about it, the spaces between the lines on a pumpkin shows signs of growth and distortion, a shell on the beach shows signs of weathering I am inspired.
My pots are a visual record of these cycles of growth and decay. I do not try to recreate these images but rather use them as a starting point for my own work. I build a framework from a nature inspired, textured slab of porcelain clay. By pushing and stretching the clay I attempt to emulate how the smallest possible intervention will re-organize natural space. When the piece is dry and almost complete the most beautiful things happen when decay and weathering are simulated with my sponge to form a comfortable, functional, utilitarian object.
Since utilitarian objects also require physical participation, I find immense pleasure in using nature’s cycle of life as an inspiration for a utilitarian object. My work is constantly changing as my life does, but the one constant is my need for the physical act of manipulating clay into something attractive and functional.
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Richard Guggenheim Award- “Best in 3-D” Abington Art Center, 1994.
H. Kenneth Kochey Award- Cheltenham Center for the Arts, 2000.
Award of Merrit- Long Beach Island Foundation, 1999.
Del Val Pottery Award- Cheltenham Center for the Arts, Craft show, 2002.
Mug Shots-”First Place”- Heart in Hand Pottery show, 2003.
Best of Show-Crafts 2003- Cheltenham Art Center, 2003.
Honorable Mention- ACX Juried Show, 2004
Artists Cultural Exchange Juried Exhibit-Cosmopolitan Club 2006- Honorable Mention-Juried by Mili Dunn Weiss.
Second International Small Teapot competition-Saddleback College Art Gallery - juried by Guangzhen ”Po” Zhou, 2006- Honorable MentionEXHIBITIONS
Gardos Gallery-Manayunk, PA, 2001.
Pots and Prints- Cheltenham Center for the Arts, 2001.
Le Grande Buffet-The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA, 2002.
Mug Shots- Heart in Hand Pottery gallery-Mount Holly, NJ, 2003.
Artist Cultural Exchange- artists from Philadelphia Area, 2004.
Thirtieth Anniversary Auction-The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA, 2004
Cheltenham Clay Guild Ceramics Exhibition- Multiple Choice Gallery, 2004.
Langman Gallery-Willow Grove Pennsylvania
Long beach island Foundation of the Arts and Science-Summer 2005
Langman Gallery-solo show April 2007JURIED SHOWS
Clay Art 2003-The Saratoga Clay Company,Wilton, New York-Juried by Regis Brodie, 2003.
Crafts National 2003-Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA, Juried by Holly Hotchner, 2003.
Craft forms 2003-Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA, Juried by Paul J. Smith, 2003.
Juried Art Show-William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA, juried by Jill Bonovitz, 2001 & Juried by Jan Baltzell, J. Susan Isaacs and John Ollman, 2003.
Abington Art Center Anual Juried Show - juried by Mary Salvante, 2003.
ACX Juried Group Exhibit- juried by Milli Dunne Weiss, 2004.
Out of The Fire- Wallingford Community Arts Center- juried by Paula Winokur, 2004.
Monmouth Festival of the Arts- 2003, 2004.
The Jersey Shore National - M.T. Burton Gallery- juried by Jimmy Clark, 2004.
500 Cups- Lark Books- juried by Tom and Elaine Coleman.
New Hampshire Institute of Art- Ceramic Biennial Exhibition- juried by Chris Gustin, 2004.
Cup: The Intimate Object III- Charlie Cummings Clay Studio, juried by Peter Beasecker, 2004.
Craft Forms 2004- Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA- juried by Melissa G. Post, 2004.
American Craft Council Shows- 2005.
Holidazzle-Invitational exhibition-Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft 2005
Crafts National 39-Zollery Gallery-Pennsylvania State University 2005-juried by Jean W McLaughlin
Artists Cultural Exchange Juried Exhibit-Montgomery County Community College 2005-Juried by Rita Smith
Perkins Pottery-8th and 9th juried show and sale 2004+2005
Main Line Art Center-Juried Spring and Holliday show and sale 2005
500 Pitchers –Lark Books-Juried by Terry Gess
Chestnut Hill Academy’s Crawford Gallery-The Cheltenham Wood-Kiln 2006 juried by Brian Grow
Starbrick Clay National-“Starbrick Picks”-juried by Starbrick Clay Co-op
Small Favors-The Clay Studio
Mastery in Clay-The Clay Studio, Phila pa
Down to Earth-West Chester, Pa, Functional art displaying food