After studying pottery in Montana, Steve Kelly apprenticed at Buckcreek Pottery in Nelson, Virginia. There, he immersed himself
in the Japanese tradition of mingei.
“Philosopher Yanagi Sōetsu is the grandfather of this tradition,” he says. “Mingei states if you do something enough, the object you
make will have an inherent presence that shows a knowledgeable hand. Sōetsu used this example of a rice bowl he found in Korea. It was
made in these factories with not much thought, but there was this inherent beauty. It was perfect but not overly fussy. My apprenticeship
and early works were very rooted in this. Yet, today, the pots I make don’t look very mingei.”
Kelly’s past and present
works look to the natural
world while taking a humble
approach to the flexibility
of clay. Bowls, teapots and
dinner plates are glazed in a
single, subtle color with his
distinctive water-etching
technique at the forefront.
“My work is very focused
on form and surface. I use
glaze to accentuate and talk
about the surfaces,” says
Kelly. “Water-etching came
about from my fascination
with typography. I looked
at serifs and non-serifs and
I’d get lost in the shapes as
objects. I’ve always liked
graffiti and I looked at the
curves of those two things
and was trying to create
forms that alluded to that.”
Pottery is more than art
for Kelly. It’s a means for
forming a communal bond
with fellow potters. His
curriculum at Orange Street
Pottery teaches students to
see the flexibility of clay in its
many different states. Much
like how it can mold beyond
the traditional steps of
design, making and drying,
Kelly has shaped his work as
life progresses, seeking new
inspiration to both educate
and create.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com 45
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A Brief History
Steve Kelly’s creations reflect the transition from student to teacher
ALLISON POTTER