Alabama Craft Guild

"I am a full-time studio potter after retiring from being a Professor of Art at Jacksonville, State University in Jacksonville, Alabama for 27 years.  My ceramic work is divided between utilitarian pottery and glorified vessels. My functional, utilitarian pottery is elegantly or whimsically designed to perform with ease and delight making using it a special and pleasurable experience. My glorified vessels are based upon functional vessels that abandon utilitarian concerns for a more sculptural approach. The pieces are glazed with multiple layers of glazes that are medium to high-fired in a reduction or oxidation atmosphere.

"I am also a studio potter. I was awarded the Alabama State Council on the Arts Fellowship in Crafts twice and a Southern Arts Federation/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Crafts as well as numerous awards in national juried competitions. I have conducted numerous workshops which include Odyssey, Penland, Arrowmont, John C. Campbell Folk School and 92nd Street “Y” in NYC. My BFA degree in ceramics was earned at the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and MFA at the New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

"My wife, Lynnette Hesser, and I share a studio in Wellington, Alabama where we make, glaze and fire our ceramic work. Sometimes we collaborate on pieces which is a very trusting method where one or the other of us makes the pieces on the potter’s wheel or by hand building then carves, adds sections together, or makes unique embellishments to the pieces. We fire them in our various kilns and then we glaze and do the final glaze firing. This is a fun process where our individuality is fused within the collaborative effort. We enjoy making utilitarian pottery, which has our creative flair, for everyday use in the home or business. Lynnette and I often conduct workshops together at ceramic centers across the country where we focus on our ceramic techniques, styles and glaze development to enhance the learning experience of our participants.  We install bathroom and kitchen tile work and make outside, ceramic decorative elements for the home or business. In our studio, we also play with wood, glass, metals, dyes, and fibers."