NCECA 2020 Awards and Honors

Michelle Erickson | Excerpt from Richmond Regional Planning Committee

Michelle Erickson holds a BFA from the College of William and Mary and is an independent ceramic artist and scholar. Internationally recognized for her mastery of colonial era ceramic techniques, her pieces reinvent ceramic history to create 21st century social political and environmental narratives. Erickson’s works are distinguished by insightful commentary on the universal character of the human spirit. At mid career her art stands apart from much of the contemporary ceramic and craft community by its historical depth and technological virtuosity. Erickson’s highly sought creations have reinvigorated distinguished decorative arts collections by connecting past and present. Her pieces have been the first contemporary ceramic art acquired by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, NY-Historical Society, The Chipstone Foundation and more. In 2003 the London Society of Contemporary Art acquired her work for the Potteries Museums 21st Century collections as exemplary of contemporary ceramic art influenced by the Staffordshire pottery traditions. Her pieces are in the collections of major museums in America and Britain that include the Museum of Art and Design NY, the Seattle Art Museum, the Potteries Museums Stoke on Trent and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Howard Risatti | Howard Risatti is emeritus professor of contemporary art and critical theory in the Department of Art History at Virginia Commonwealth University where he was chair of the Department of Craft/Material Studies from 2001–2005. Howard’s impact and contributions to craft theory ripple out beyond his region to national and international discussions. His discourse on defining craft lays a foundation and prompts further conversations. 

He is the author of five books: A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression (University of North Carolina Press, 2007); Skilled Work: American Craft in the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998), co-authored with Kenneth Trapp; The Mountain Lake Workshops: Artists in Locale (Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1996), which accompanied the exhibition he curated of the same title; Postmodern Perspectives: Issues in Contemporary Art (Prentice Hall, 1990); and New Music Vocabulary (University of Illinois Press, 1975). His work has appeared in Art Journal, Latin American Art, Woman’s Art Journal, The Studio Potter, Sculpture Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art and Perception, Korean Monthly Ceramic Art, Winterthur Portfolio, and Britain’s Crafts Magazine, among others. He has lectured at many conferences, including the Cheongju International Craft Biennale 2003 Academic Symposium and “CRITICAL Santa Fe: Developing Criticism in Ceramics,” a conference organized by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. 

Richard Wehrs | Richard Wehrs has been a very active NCECA member contributing to the organization for over 15 years in various roles of important service and leadership. Richard has participated in preparing constitutional revisions, co-chaired (with Robert Harrison) NCECA’s fundraising committee, and co-chaired (with Rhonda Willers) the executive director search effort that resulted in Joshua Green’s selection. He’s more publicly known for his coordination of the NCECA Cup Exhibition and Sale; the 2020 conference marks his 15th year in that role. In the past five years alone, under Richard’s stewardship, the cup sale has raised nearly $200,000 with over 6,000 cups donated. The funds provide integral support for NCECA’s Emerging Artists, International Residencies, and Multicultural Fellowships, to name a few.

Beth Cavener | Excerpts from Lindsay Pichaske

Beth Cavener has had a profound impact on the ceramics field. She exhibits her work at the highest caliber of galleries, among them Jason Jacques and Garth Clark. She has received prestigious awards, including a United States Artist Project Grant and the Virginia Groot Foundation in which she received first prize. Cavener’s work resides in the permanent collections of the: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Art and Design in New York, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Indeed, the phenomenal quality of her work alone is worthy of recognition, but her generosity and dedication to the ceramics community is of great significance.

While Cavener’s success is well-known, her impact on peers as a role model for many emerging sculptors is profound. Seeing her work for the first time is a revelation about the emotive, psychological, and physical potential of clay that cracks open a world of sculptural possibilities. Witnessing the intensity that Cavener puts into the creation of her pieces, one easily understands why her work is exceptional. She leaves nothing behind, infusing every part of her being into each piece—which is why each one touches viewers so deeply.

Tony Marsh |  Excerpts from Kim Dickey and Sunkoo Yuh  

Tony has always been a teacher, and through his unobtrusive way of observing and listening, he bears witness to others’ works and challenges. He is an energetic teacher who generously shares his time, materials, and insights with his students that he recognizes as passionate and hard working. Despite his complex responsibilities, his dynamic presence in the studio impacts others’ studio practices. He is a natural born teacher who possesses a keen sense of what individual students need at specific times.  As an educator, Tony has endeavored to create unique programs that have active learning environments. Not only does he improve school facilities but he stimulates the student’s experiences. He has built up wonderful programs such as the post-bacs programs, visiting artist programs, intensive summer workshops, and travel scholarships for more than two decades. There is one word that always comes to mind when thinking of Tony – integrity. He is someone who is uncompromising, deeply thoughtful, solidly honest, and empathetic to his core. Tony is a teacher by way of example. He shows you the path by following it himself.

Walter Ostrom | Excerpts from Martina Lantin and Stephanie Rozene

Consistent advocacy of functional ceramics, its history and production, has meant that Walter Ostrom’s impact is not limited to his Canadian students but rather his engagement with the material and making meaning has radiated beyond national boundaries. His formal teaching spanned four decades at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University (1969 – 2008; currently Professor Emeritus) and continues today through workshops and lectures. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute in China. In 2003 Walter received the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts followed by being named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2006.

In Nova Scotia, Walter has championed the practices of slipware and maiolica alongside the use of the local Lantz earthenware. This material in turn is the backbone to the practices of local alumni like Joan Bruneau and Jim Smith. Former students went on to impactful careers as educators. Bruce Cochrane, Sarah Coote, Katrina Chaytor and Greg Payce are just a few who have carried Walter’s legacy forward. This legacy has also been transmitted beyond Canadian borders by leading educators like Linda Sikora, and Julia Galloway, as well as renowned studio artists such as Christa Assad, Lisa Naples, Kathryn Finnerty, Kurt Anderson and Adero Willard. Walter’s commitment to pottery forms as a conceptual vehicle for communication, craft, craft history and theory, connected and inspired not only his students at NSCAD, but around the world.

Christopher Staley | Provided by: Stuart Kestenbaum, poet and former director of the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Kestenbaum is currently the Poet Laureate for the state of Maine. 

Chris is an outstanding teacher—passionate, knowledgeable, honest, thoughtful, and caring.  His ability to frame issues and to use examples from other fields of knowledge has enabled generations of students to grow as artists and to learn more about themselves.  He has the rare ability to be provocative and compassionate at the same time. He leads by example and speaks directly.  

He has mentored many outstanding artists—Roberto Lugo, Lauren Sandler, Brooks Oliver, and Shawn Spangler—to name a few. For Chris, learning and teaching—like art-making—are journeys. He is willing to ask questions of both himself and his students. 

One of his gifts as a teacher is that he is a great listener, and he seeks to understand his students’ needs. In 2012-2013 he was the Penn State Arts Laureate. As part of his work as laureate, he created a series of short videos investigating issues in creativity.  In one of the videos, he talked about the roles that a teacher can play, which he breaks down into three categories: the expert, the entertainer, and the liminal servant. The liminal servant, Chris says, is someone who can help a person over a threshold. That is, to enter into new territory and make discoveries.  For him, this is the most important role, one in which both the teacher and student can be learners. For his entire career as a teacher, Chris Staley has fulfilled this role with clarity, honesty, and great distinction.

Ben Carter | Excerpts from Linda Arbuckle  

Ben started the recorded interviews that would become Tales of a Red Clay Rambler while he was in China as Director of Education for The Pottery Workshop Shanghai. Initially, those interviews and recordings were for his own archive. He realized over time that these interviews had broader value and appeal as educational information, entertainment, and recorded history of significant things that might not otherwise be a legacy from our field. In the early days, Ben had no sponsors or external support, and simply wanted to make a professional quality recording that could be shared over the internet with interested listeners. The equipment was from his personal funds, and he invested a great deal of time interviewing people in various facets of the art ceramics field everywhere he went. This is the eighth season of Tales of a Red Clay Rambler, and Ben has just presented his 300th episode. The information is wide‐ranging, covering full‐time makers, academic makers, K‐12 teaching makers, art center director makers, and people in other facets of the field. Ben’s vision in creating this oral history of personal information from so many people in our field shows initiative, community spirit, the heart of a historian, and great generosity in giving it freely to his audience.Thanks to the many hours Bens has given and continues to invest on interviews and editing, we are all richer, and those in the future will know more about the people who chose a creative life as a maker in this time.

Louise Rosenfield | Excerpt from Garth Johnson  

Louise Rosenfield could (and should) be lauded by the ceramics community for many different reasons, such as her direct support of emerging artists and those facing emergencies. This award nomination highlights her outsized role in breathing new life into the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York, which has historically served as a primary catalyst for the field. Through her tireless efforts on the Museum’s board of directors, as well as her philanthropy, Louise was able to set in motion a chain of events that has led to the reinvigoration of the Museum. Louise’s influence goes well beyond financial support. In summer of 2020, the Everson will open a stunning café designed by a visionary architectural firm that will transform the way café patrons interact with ceramics. The Everson’s café will be stocked with Louise’s extensive collection of handmade pottery, which will be used as intended—to serve food and drink. Over time, many of the pieces will be broken or chipped, but this is a small price to pay for allowing patrons to interact with them in a multisensory environment. Over the past decade of service and philanthropy, Louise Rosenfield has revitalized the Everson, which will, in turn, magnify those gifts to the greater ceramics community.