I prefer to give my bio information in images to show the evolution of my work over the years. Please enjoy this photo flash to the past. If you would like the words and hard info, just scroll down to the bottom of the page.
This is the first work I made using colored clay - 1982
For over 12 years I supported my studio by designing Handmade Ornaments for various Galleries as well as for Holiday giving. I created at least one new design each year. By planning and executing each new design, I learned most of the techniques I now use in my larger Artwork.
This wall piece titled "Coming Home" was created for "An Artists View - Raleigh" for The Little Art Gallery in Raleigh, NC.
My Birdhouse Series featured trompe l'oeil surfaces mimicking the look and feel of wood, plastic, paper and metal.
Every once in a while, I make a group of elephants! They are blackened through reduction in a raku kiln.
My Italian Villa series were outdoor sculptures suitable for the garden. They are vented so can be used with candles for splendid night time effects.
Sooner or later every potter tries Raku firing. These are some of my Raku pieces from the 1990's.
I developed a line of subtly textured vessels.
The piece below was made by carving through multiple layers of colored slip.
Diva dishes created for the Dinnerworks Show of 2006 in Louisville, KY
From 2005 - 2010 I began to test the limits of my porcelain through various inclusions and firing techniques. I pushed it to crack and warp hoping to get the quest for perfect surfaces out of my system ... and it worked!
My latest work in 2012 involves converting the polymer clay technique called "The Skinner Blend" for use with our earthen clays. The results so far have been extremely exciting.
CHRIS CAMPBELL - the BIO in words
Chris Campbell has been a Studio Potter in Raleigh, North Carolina since 1991. Born in Canada, she attended Ryerson College in Toronto, studying Business Administration and Advertisiing. She worked in oils and water color before she discovered pottery.
In 1991 she attended a colored porcelain workshop taught by Jane Pieser, a famous Colored Clay Artist. She was captivated by the process and has spent the years since then experimenting with colors and patterns while defining her own style. Her main body of work is created using the Nerikomi(e) process.
Currently she is developing the use of the Skinner Blend technique for use with earthen clays. The intuitive ease and simplicity of this process promises to broaden the scope of colored clay pottery so it can become more immediate, fluid and dynamic.
Over the years, Chris has studied design theory, surface treatments and firing techniques with such well known clay artists as Kathy Triplett, Rimas VisGirda, Linda Arbuckle, Steve Howell, Ben Owen III, Lana Wilson, Pete Pinell, Vince Pitelka, Ro Mead and Cynthia Bringle.
Her beautiful artwork is sold in fine Galleries across the United States. Her artwork is included in many fine private and public collections including the SAS Institute, North Carolina State University and Clayworks Australia, the manufacturers of Southern Ice Porcelain.
ARTIST STATEMENT
There is nothing else that fascinates and challenges me as much as colored porcelain. I still have not come close to trying everything I want to do. There is always another question, another idea and a larger challenge.
"My Artwork would not exist without a thriving global pottery community.
In the isolation of a studio, an artist can begin to feel like an island, but in truth we are all part of archipelagoes; chains of islands loosely connected by a stream of information that enriches our Artwork."
EDUCATION
Business Administration, Ryerson College, Toronto, Canada
POTTERY EDUCATION
Colored Porcelain – Jane Pieser, Penland, North Carolina
Line and Surface – Rimas VisGirda, Champaign, Illinois
Hand built forms – Kathy Triplett, North Carolina
Surface Decoration – Linda Arbuckle, University of Florida
Surface Considerations – Lana Wilson, Del Mar, California
Designs for Function – Pete Pinnell, Lincoln, Nebraska
Wood firing – Ben Owen III, Seagrove, North Carolina
Hand building Tricks– Vince Pitelka, Smithville, Tennessee
Surface Treatments – Steve Howell, Gainesville, Florida
Colored Porcelain Tiles – Ro Mead, Colorado
Functional Wares – Cynthia Bringle, Penland, North Carolina
ELECTED OFFICES
2008 - 20012 Executive Board of Potters Council
2009 - 2011 President of Potters Council
2011 - 2012 - Past President of Potters Council
COLLECTIONS
SAS Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Clayworks, Melbourne, Australia
SHOWS
"DINNERWORKS" 2006 - Louisville Kentucky
"RALEIGH, NC" Little Art Gallery, Raleigh NC
"PORCELAIN - 12 CONTEMPORARY MASTERS" - Mudfire, Atlanta GA
"DINNERWARE SHOW" - Gallery Frank, Chapel Hill, NC
"20 POTTERS, 20 TEACHERS" - The Arts Center, Rocky Mount NC
"GREEN" - Potters Council Juried Show 2013, NCECA Houston
"HANDBUILT" Claymakers Gallery, Durham, NC
WRITINGS
"Smooth Color Blends" Pottery Making Illustrated, January 2013
"The NC Potters Conference" Ceramics Art & Perception Technical #35
Coloured Clay" Ceramics Art & Perception Technical, November 2012
"Down to Business" Pottery Making Illustrated Magazine, 2001-2004
"The Culture of Success” Crafts Business Magazine March/April 2005
“ The Gallery Shuffle” Clay Times Magazine January/February 2005
“ Colored Clay Possibilities” Clay Times November/December 2003
“ Quick and Easy Stamps” Pottery Making Illustrated May/June 2002
“ A Colored Clay Project” Pottery Making Illustrated - Summer 2000
" Textures are Everywhere” Pottery Making Illustrated Summer 1999
“The NC Potters Conference” Ceramics /Technical, Volume 35
“Coloured Clays” Ceramics /Technical, Volume 35
“Smooth Color Blends” Pottery Making Illustrated, Jan.2013
“Coloured Clay” Ceramic Review, May 2013
PRESENTATIONS
NCECA 2007, “Studio Potters – Sharing the Dream” Panelist
NCECA 2008 “Marketing your Pottery to Galleries”, Topical Discussion
NCECA 2012 “On the Edge of Success”, Topical Discussion
NCECA 2013 “Focus your Energy on Success”, NCECA Connection
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COLORING CLAY, ASK YOUR FAVORITE ART CENTER TO SPONSOR MY WORKSHOP.
