VAL CUSHING – (1931 - )

Val Cushing has played a notable part in the history of contemporary American ceramics. As a professor at Alfred University he has both trained and mentored a large number of artists whose names are well-known in the field. He has written several books which are classic texts, and his skills as a teacher have been honored by awards from Alfred University, Regis Masters, and NCECA among others. He was one of the founders of the National Council on the Education for the Ceramic Arts and served as its president. He is equally honored for his own ceramic work which pays homage to the functional vessel with beautifully crafted and decorated bowls, pitchers, casseroles and storage jars. While he has also produced a body of work whose focus is more sculptural than functional, it is the piece that will be used, that is pleasing both to the eye and the touch, that continues to give pleasure throughout its lifetime, that is most gratifying to Cushing. Peter Beasecker, who served as Val Cushing’s teaching assistant notes that “Val conveyed his passion for pottery and the sheer joy of the expressive act genuinely and convincingly…He was inspiring in his persistent and tireless advocacy of Beauty…Beauty as found not only in objects but in a life lived.”1

1. Peter Beasecker. “Acknowledging Mentors.” Studio Potter 31 no. 2 (June 2003): 19-20.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT – VAL CUSHING

“I aspire to make pottery that is both beautiful and useful. I place as much emphasis as I can on the sensuous qualities of a pot, mainly by the use of color, form and surface textures that are as stimulating to see as to touch. The goal is to make use more pleasurable. I also make some vessels based on a different premise. In these, use is less of an issue; much more importance is placed on the imaginative potential of pottery forms to be seen as sculpture is seen. All of my work, whether pottery or vessels, employs various references and influences that help direct the visual dynamics. But nature, above all else, is my primary source. I think about how and why things look as they do. I make drawings from nature, from the landscape, from growing things, and from my thoughts about them – something coalesces from all of this and becomes a piece.”1

1. http://www.theartisangallery.com/exhibitions/val_cushing.html

RESUME – VAL CUSHING

1931 Born, Rochester, NY

1952 B.F.A., School of Art & Design, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY

1952-1954 U.S. Army

1956 M.F.A., New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY

1956-1957 Instructor, School of Art, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL

1957-1997 Professor of , School of Art & Design, State University of New York College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY

1974 Fellow, National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts (Founding Member)

1975 Fulbright Award Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, State University of New York Instructor, Manchester Polytechnic, Great Britain Instructor, Wolverhampton Polytechnic, Great Britain

1976 Ceramic Artist of the Year Award, American Ceramic Society and NCECA

1981 Kruson Award for Distinguished Teaching, Alfred University, Alfred, NY

1983 National Endowment for the Arts Artist’s Grant

1984 Instructor, National School of Art & Design, Oslo, Norway

1987 Fellow of the American Crafts Council

1996 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Award for Teaching Excellence

1997 Retired as Professor Emeritus Instructor, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME

1997-present Studio Artist, Alfred Station, NY

2004 Instructor, Touchstone School of Crafts, Farmington, PA

2005 Regis Masters Award, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN

BIOGRAPHY – VAL CUSHING

Most of Val Cushing’s life has been rooted on the East Coast. Born in Rochester, NY, he stayed in the area to attend the School of Art & Design at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. While he had been interested in art, his high school offered little formal instruction so he did not have the traditional portfolio for his application. What he did have was a good background in sports, and he was recruited by the football coach and attended the university on an athletic scholarship. As only the second member of his family to attend college, he was amazed at both the variety of experiences the college offered and the realization that people were studying not just art, but the many facets of art. During his senior year Marguerite Wildenhain spent two weeks at Alfred teaching her particular style of pottery and the experience convinced Cushing that he wanted to be a potter.

Cushing received his BFA in 1952 and was drafted into the Army. He served for two years as a military policeman at Fort Dix in New Jersey, then returned to Alfred where he received his MFA in 1956. During his time in the service he used his days off to travel to to see and sketch the ceramics at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also met a nurse, Elsie Brown, who would become his wife in 1953. When his term of service was over, the Cushings moved back to Alfred where he entered graduate school on the GI Bill, receiving his MFA in 1956.

Cushing’s first job out of school was as a ceramics teacher at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, replacing a professor who was spending the year at Alfred. During that year a job opened up at Alfred, and Cushing was invited to apply. Illinois offered him a more generous salary to remain there, but “In my mind the possibility of teaching at Alfred – …I wouldn’t even have dreamed of it. Never thought it would be possible.”1 The Cushings returned to Alfred in 1957 and Val Cushing remained there for the rest of his career, retiring in 1997 as Professor Emeritus. Since his retirement he has continued teaching, giving workshops and teaching summer courses that have had him traveling throughout the as well as to Canada and Japan. He also continues to work as a studio artist, something he has more time for now that he is no longer teaching full time.

Although Cushing has been exposed to many traditions of pottery, he describes himself as an American potter, the emphasis on functional design made by hand. In his own work he believes the usability of the piece is important and functional work remains the core of his focus. He also makes vessels that are more sculptural, but “…pottery, conceived as a functional utilitarian object…a resolution where the useful and the beautiful have one voice”2 forms the heart of his work and continues to provide him great satisfaction.

As much as for his work, Val Cushing is noted for his teaching. He made the decision early in his career to follow that path because he felt his own teachers had played such a meaningful role in his life. He credits Charles Harder, Marion Fosdick, Katharine Nelson, Dan Rhodes, and Ted Randall for their profound influences on his career, and during his own teaching years focused on sharing his enthusiasm for his work as well as his skills with his students. Throughout the time he was teaching he continued to actively work as a studio artist as he believes it enriched his teaching by bringing new insights to his work as well as inspiring his students to find their own artistic voices. Cushing was also involved with both teaching and directing the Alfred summer school, a program which he believes is very important in the history of contemporary ceramics, bringing many noted people to the school to study the technical basis of ceramics for which Alfred is well noted. In addition, Cushing has written and published several well-known books based on his courses that are standards in the field.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has called Cushing “..a firm adherent of the wheelthrown, utilitarian vessel.”3 His work is subtle, exquisitely crafted, with understated glazing. He often combines both concave and convex shapes in the same piece, many with lids. His pieces are pleasing both to the eye and the touch. Cushing’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions and one-person shows both in the United States and abroad, and is included in the permanent collections of the American Craft Museum, the , the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the International Museum of Ceramic Art in Japan, among many others. During the course of his long career he has received a number of awards. Among them are a Fulbright Award, National Endowment for the Arts grant, Regis Masters Award, NCECA Award for Teaching Excellence, Ceramic Artist of the Year Award and others. He was one of the founders of the National Council on the Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), serving as president. He is a Fellow of both NCECA and the .

Val Cushing entered ceramics during a time when the field was undergoing tremendous change. He and his contemporaries, along with the students they taught, are among the core of contemporary American ceramics, a field which encompasses both the functional and the non- functional form. “(Cushing) has deliberately chosen to work within the limitations imposed by such conventional formats as bowls, pitchers, casseroles, and storage jars. Respecting function and the traditional materials and processes of ceramic art, he has created a body of work that is artistically fresh and adventurous – and invigorating infusion of the visual and the tactile.”4

1. “Interview with Val Cushing.” Conducted by Margaret Carney in Alfred Station, NY, April 16 2001. http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/cushin01.htm

2. “Artist’s Statement.” Courtesy of the artist.

3. Smithsonian American Art Museum. “Val Cushing.” http://www.americanart.si.edu/search/artist_bio.cfm?StartRow=1&ID=5897

4. Ibid.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – VAL CUSHING

Books and Catalogs

Busbee, Everette, et al. Works by Four Ceramic Artists. Cortland, NY: State University College at Cortland, 1988.

Carney, Margaret, et al. The Alfred Asia Connection: the Asia Alfred Reflection. New York: Taipei Gallery, 1998.

Clark, Garth. American Potters: the Work of Twenty Modern Masters. New York: Watson- Guptill Publications, 1981.

Cushing, Val. The Ceramic Design Book. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2000.

Cushing, Val, and Emily H. Davis Art Gallery. An Exhibition of Works in Clay by Val Cushing…[et al.] Akron, OH: Emily H. Davis Art Gallery, University of Akron, 1976.

Cushing, Val, Kenneth Ferguson, et al. Clay Body Preparation. [S.l.]: National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, 1967?

Cushing, Val, Karen Gringhuis, and New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, School of Art and Design. Cushing’s Handbook. Alfred, NY: [The Author], 1994.

DeSmidt, Thomas, and Val Cushing. Paintings and Drawing by Thomas DeSmidt: Ceramics by Val Cushing. Rochester, NY: The University of Rochester. Memorial Art Gallery, 1972.

Hunt, Bill. 21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Canada. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 2003.

Krannert Art Museum. Alfred Now: Contemporary American Ceramics. Champaign, IL: Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavillion, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1994.

Malone, Tom, William Farrell, et al. Notes on Salt Glazing. [S.L.]: National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, 1968.

Mint Museum of Art. 3rd Annual Piedmont Craft Exhibition. Charlotte, NC: Mint Museum of Art, 1965.

Nichols, Gail. Soda, Clay and Fire. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 2006.

Pei-Ching, Lin, Hayne Bayless, et al. New Ceramics. New Haven, CT: Creative Arts Workshop, 1993.

Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000.

______. The Craft and Art of Clay. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1992.

Purdue University, Galleries. Pots and Not-Pots. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, Department of Art and Design, 1966.

25: Jane Hartsook Gallery. New York: Jane Hartsook Gallery, 1994.

Weekly, Nancy, and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, School of Art and Design. Ann Currier, Val Cushing, Andrea Gill, John Gill, , Doug Jeck. Alfred, NY: New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, 1996.

Xie, Margaret Carney, Val Cushing, et al. What You Give Away You Keep Forever. Alfred, NY: Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, 1995.

Periodicals

Anderson, G., and B. Brault. “{Adelle M. Fine Art Gallery, Dallas; Exhibit.}” Ceramics Monthly 30 (April 1982): 79+

Beasecker, Peter. “Acknowledging Mentors.” Studio Potter 31 no. 2 (June 2003): 19-20.

“Ceramics East Coast.” Craft Horizons 26 (June 1966): 20-24.

Cohen, H. G. “Six Potters at the Kendall Art Galleries.” Craft Horizons 25 (September 1965): 43.

“{Cooper-Lynn Gallery, New York; Exhibit.}” Ceramics Monthly 30 (October 1982): 27-29.

Cushing, Val. “Mentoring in Art School.” Studio Potter 31 no. 2 (June 2003): 17-18.

“GI Bill and the American Studio Craft Movement.” American Craft 67 no. 4 (August/September 2007): 54-62.

“In Celebration of Utilitarian Clay.” Ceramics Monthly 45 (Jaunary 1997): 47-51.

“In Recognition.” Ceramics Monthly 49 no. 6 (June/August 2001): 53-79.

Lebow, Edward. “Val Cushing: A Constructivist Approach.” American Craft 67 no. 1 (February/March 2007): 78-81, 112.

McCoy, Mary. “{Farrell Collection, Washington, D.C.; Exhibit.}” American Craft 53 (February/March 1993): 64-65.

McTwigan, Michael. “A Conversation with Val Cushing and Paul Soldner.” American Ceramics 7 no. 4 (1989): 36-39.

“Notes on Terra Sigillata: Earth Seal.” Studio Potter 11 (June 1983): 21-22, 32-34.

Riddle, Mason. “2006 Regis Masters Exhibition: Val Cushing, John Mason, and Paul Soldner.” Ceramics Monthly 54 no. 5 (May 2006): 15-16.

“1982 NEA Artists Fellowships {Craft Grantees}. American Craft 42 (December/January 1982- 1983): 2.

Video and Other Media

Cushing, Val. “Charles Fergus Binns, the Father of American Studio Ceramics.” Alfred, NY: Museum of Ceramic Arts at Alfred, 1991. VHS

Cushing, Val, David Fredrickson, and New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. “[Cushing/Fredrickson Kiln Lecture.]” Alfred, NY, 1992. VHS

Cushing, Val, et al. “Val Cushing, a Life of Clay.” NCECA, 2005. DVD

Cushing, Val, Ellen Shankai, and the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. “[An Accessible Art].” Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, 1997. VHS

GALLERY REPRESENTATION – VAL CUSHING

Harvey/Meadows Gallery, 0133 Prospector Road, Suite 4114, Aspen Highlands Village, Aspen, CO 81611 WEB SITES – VAL CUSHING http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/cushin01.htm Transcript of oral history interview of Val Cushing by Margaret Carney; April 16, 2001. https://www.akardesign.com/creators/moreinfo.asp?iCreatorID=451 AKAR web site with biography, resume for Val Cushing http://www.americanart.si.edu/search/artist_bio.cfm?StartRow=1&ID=5897 Biography and photos of Cushing’s work in the Smithsonian Art Museum http://www.fmschools.org/ArtDepartment/community/everson/syrchina/Cushing.html Cushing piece in Everson Museum of Art http://www.theartisangallery.com/exhibitions/val_cushing.html Exhibition at the Artisan Gallery http://www.stratsplace.com/arts/cushing/cushing.html Photos from an exhibition of Cushing’s work at Cedar Creek Crafts Center, Creedmore, NC, April, 1999. http://www.harveymeadows.com/artists/biographies/cushing_bio.html Biography of Cushing on Harvey/Meadows Gallery site

June 2008