David Shaner – (1934 – 2002) Artist's Statement – David

DAVID SHANER – (1934 – 2002) David Shaner is an icon in the field of American ceramic art. He was instrumental in establishing the Archie Bray Foundation as a major player in ceramics, and he continued to support the Bray after retiring as its Resident Director. His exquisitely formed vessels with their understated glazes are a reflection of the man himself, a man in harmony with his environment and at peace in himself. Shaner was also noted as a teacher, a collector, and a generous contributor to the world of ceramic art and the field of environmental protection; his gardens which he called his “spiritual work” included notable specialized collections. While David Shaner’s life was cut short by ALS, his legacy continues through the David and Ann Shaner Resident Studio Complex which opened in 2005 at the Archie Bray foundation. ARTIST’S STATEMENT – DAVID SHANER “Basically, I am doing what I want to do and have never done anything else. By competing only with myself, I am not in pursuit of the crowd. Following one’s work is a joy and a challenge. One learns to do what is in one’s soul – thus revealing the connections between life and art. Although over the years I have become deeply involved with my tools and materials, simplicity of form and process have been my greatest achievements. And while the pots have been saturated with optimism, this has not always been easy to achieve. It is with a certain resilience I carry the belief that as life is enriched, the work can answer a resounding YES!”1 1. “Artist’s Statement.” Peter Held et al. David Shaner: A Potter’s Work, 1963-1993. Salem, OR: Salem Art Association, 1993. RESUME – DAVID SHANER <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1934 </li><li style="flex:1">Born, Pottstown, PA </li></ul>1952-1956 1956-1957 1957 Kutztown State College, Kutztown, PA; B.S., Art Education Junior High School Art Instructor, Paoli Area Schools, PA Marries Ann Elizabeth Stoner Summer Session, New York College of Ceramics, Alfred, NY 1957-1959 1958-1959 New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred, NY; M.F.A., Ceramic Design Teaching Fellowship and Graduate Assistantship, New York College Of Ceramics, Alfred, NY Shop Assistant, Robert Turner 1959-1961 1960 Instructor, the University of Illinois, Urbana, IL Bronze Medal, Designer-Craftsman, USA exhibition 1961-1963 1962 Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL “Young American” Award, American Craft Council College Research Fellowship, University of Illinois; summer work at Archie Bray Foundation <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1963-1964 </li><li style="flex:1">Studio Artist and Assistant Manager, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT </li></ul>Louis Comfort Tiffany Scholarship 1964-1970 1966 Resident Director, Archie Bray Foundation Purchase Award, XXI Ceramic National Honorable Mention Award, Wichita Biennial, Wichita Art Center, Wichita, KS National Merit Award, Craftsmen USA ’66 Exhibition <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1967 </li><li style="flex:1">National Endowment for the Arts craft grant awarded to the Archie Bray </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Montana Arts Council Advisory Board </li><li style="flex:1">1969-1981 </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1970 </li><li style="flex:1">Establishes home and studio in Bigfork, MT </li></ul>1970-1989 1971-1974 Board of Directors, Archie Bray Foundation Representative for Montana for the American Crafts Council, Northwest Region 1973 National Endowment for the Arts Craftsmen’s Fellowship Vice-Chairman, Montana Arts council Advisory Board National Endowment for the Arts Craftsmen’s Fellowship 1976-1988 1978 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1982 </li><li style="flex:1">Luther Richman Award for Distinguished Service to the </li></ul>State of Montana 1983 1989 1990 1991 Distinguished Alumni Award, Kutztown State College Centennial Governor’s Award for the Arts, State of Montana National Endowment for the Arts Craftsmen’s Fellowship Stevenson-Meloy Distinguished Service Award, Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts 1992 1995 Elected to the College of Fellows, American Crafts Council, NY Honorary member of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">2002 </li><li style="flex:1">Dies, July 2, 2002, Bigfork, MT </li></ul>BIOGRAPHY – DAVID SHANER David Shaner was born in Pottstown, PA, his father the operator of a coal delivery and concrete fabrication business. Like many families in those post-Depression years, the Shaners were frugal and hard-working, the children expected to accept responsibilities and contribute to the family and community welfare. During high school David became interested in art, and following graduation he enrolled in Kutztown State Teachers College, the first family member to attend college. Shaner received a B.A. in Art Education in 1956 and began teaching art in middleschool. The following year he married Ann Stoner, and, encouraged by his college professor, applied to the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and was accepted. In contrast to the ceramic revolution occurring on the west coast, ceramics at Alfred emphasized a strong foundation of technical knowledge and craftsmanship and Shaner responded to the structured, committed environment. As influential as his teachers was fellow graduate student Ken Ferguson who would be instrumental in bringing Shaner in later years to the Archie Bray Foundation. Shaner’s thesis work focused on the relationship between man and nature, a topic that would become increasingly important in his life and his work. After earning his M.F.A., David began teaching at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, at the same time working as a studio artist and selling his work. He also continued to explore new glazes, and it was during these years that the well-known Shaner’s Red glaze was born. Ken Ferguson had moved to Montana after graduating from Alfred in 1958 to become resident director of the Archie Bray Foundation. In 1960 he invited the Shaner family to come for a visit to see the Bray, renew old acquaintances, and make some new ones. Two years later Shaner returned to the Bray, this time as a visiting artist, working alongside Ferguson. The lure of the wide open beauty of the West and the freer working environment at the Bray caused Shaner to reconsider his career as a professor. His restlessness at the university coincided with Ferguson’s desire to move on to different challenges, and Ferguson began talking to Shaner about replacing him at the Bray. In 1963 Shaner left Illinois to become Assistant Director at the Bray, becoming Resident Director the following year when Ferguson left for the Kansas City Art Institute. The Bray was still struggling, its efforts to become profitable a challenge and the relative isolation and harsh winters often difficult. David spent countless hours enlisting the help of Montana political officials, community members, and other potters to keep the Foundation afloat. Even after securing financing for the property, there remained the poor condition of the buildings and the need to expand the focus and reach of the Bray. It was Shaner’s vision that the Archie Bray would become a national and noted ceramics art facility, a vision sometimes at odds with that of some members of the Foundation board who preferred a more local focus. Shaner persevered, however, and in 1967 succeeded in winning for the Bray the first National Endowment for the Arts grant in the craft field to support a visiting artist program. Over the twoyear grant period the Bray hosted such artists as Val Cushing, Jun Kaneko, and Chuck Hindes, along with others, including Warren MacKenzie and Daniel Rhodes, coming to hold workshops and exhibitions. The Bray had entered a new phase. In 1970, after seven tireless years on behalf of the Bray, Shaner was ready to enter his own new phase, and retired from the position as Resident Director. By now the Shaners had come to love living in Montana and determined to remain. They found 60 acres of land just outside Bigfork, near Glacier National Park, and there they built David’s studio and a house. They also put in vegetable and flower gardens, harkening back to David’s childhood when he was responsible for the family garden. Over time the gardens expanded to include specialized collections - a fern garden, day lilies, peonies, even bamboo and a formal rose garden, although the latter proved less successful. He found in the gardening a release, calling his work there his “spiritual work.” He supported his family, which now included four children, by selling his pots both locally and nationally. Once the children were all in school, Ann returned to teaching in addition to helping with the pottery as needed. A grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1978 gave David the opportunity to study wood-firing kilns, and he built a Bourry box kiln. The kiln took on a greater role as potters came from around the area to fire their wares and be involved in the firing of the wood kiln. Shaner’s work evolved as well, now including hand-built forms along with the production stoneware and porcelain. The “Kiva” series that he created in the 1980-90’s was perhaps the total marriage of the technical skills of the potter with the spiritual depths of the man. The wood kiln was destroyed in a fire in 1991, and rather than rebuild, Shaner turned his attention to hand building and gas reduction firing. Shaner found inspiration for his work in many places, from hiking in the wilderness areas that surrounded him to his travels in the Southwest where he came to know the work of Native American potters Nampeyo and Maria Martinez. He also appreciated photography, particularly the work of Ansel Adams, Andreas Feininger, and Edward Weston, and took numerous photographs of his own, intrigued by the intricate details of nature and the play of forms and colors. Living in the West, he was particularly conscious of the fragility of the natural world and the need to preserve it from man’s destructive ways. Throughout his later work, such as the “Chimney” series and more particularly the “Cirques” his love of the natural world and his affinity for it are evident. David Shaner’s life was cut short much too young. A generalized weakening which he noticed in 1995 was ultimately diagnosed as ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Over the next seven years he continued to work as he could, making “Shields,” large platters formed by placing rope between two layers of clay and lightly pounding the top surface. He died at home in 2002. Over the course of his lifetime, David Shaner had a profound influence on American ceramic arts. He received many awards, among them three National endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship grants, the Montana Governor’s Award for the Arts, induction into the College of Fellows of the American Craft Council, and honorary membership in the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. He was instrumental in the development of the Archie Bray Foundation, continuing to support it and serve as a board member from 1970-1989. His legacy includes both his students and those artists who worked with him at the Bray, as well as the perhaps lesser known but equally important giving of himself to his community, the art world, and environmental causes. His legacy will continue in the Archie Bray Foundation’s David and Ann Shaner Resident Studio Complex, built in 2005 and named in honor of David and Ann Shaner. As much as his art, it is the man himself that his colleagues honor. “David Shaner as a person stands out among American craftsmen for the high sense of integrity that his work and life represent. He never deviated in purpose, nor compromised for expediency, in a life long devoted to making pots.”1 1. Gerry Williams. “Introduction.” David Shaner Induction, College of Fellows, American Craft Council, 1992. Shaner Family Archives. Quoted in Following the Rhythms of Life: The Ceramic Art of David Shaner, ed. By Peter Held. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Art Museum, 2007. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY – DAVID SHANER Books and Catalogs Adamson, Glenn and Davira S. Taragin. Tea, Anyone? The Donna Moog Teapot Collection. Racine, Wisconsin: Racine Art Museum, 2003, p. 76. Bernstein, Melvin H. Art and Design at Alfred, A Chronicle of a Ceramics College. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Associated University Presses, Inc., pp. 178, 183, 208, 214, 238, 240. Clark, Garth. American Ceramics: 1876 to the Present. New York, New York: Abbeville Press, 1987, pp. 103, 172, 298. Clark, Garth. A Century of Ceramics in the United States, 1878 – 1978: A Study of its Development. New York, New York: E.P. Dutton and Everson Museum of Art, 1979, pp. 190, 251, 266, 326 – 327. Conrad, John W. Contemporary Ceramic Techniques. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 1979, p. 158. Donhauser, Paul S. History of American Ceramics, The Studio Potter. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1978, pp. 218-219. Hardin, Jennifer and Peter Held. Connoisseurs of Clay; Collecting Contemporary Ceramics. St. Petersburg, Florida: Museum Of Fine Arts, 2005, pp. 8, 12-13. Harrington, La Mar. Ceramics in the Pacific Northwest: A History. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1978, pp. 1, 29, 41, 55. Held, Peter et al. A Ceramic Continuum: Fifty Years of the Archie Bray Influence, Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press and Helena, Montana: Holter Museum of Art, 2001, pp. 41-62, 63-76, 96, 104. Held, Peter et al. David Shaner, A Potter ’ s Work: 1963-1993. Salem, Oregon: Salem Art Association, 1993. _______. Following the Rhythms of Life. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University, 2007. Herbert, Linda M. Fiction, Function, Figuration The 29th Ceramic National. Syracuse, New York: Everson Museum of Art, 1993, p. 67. Herman, Lloyd. Northwest Ceramics Today. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University, 1987, p. 40. Herman, Lloyd. The Collectors Eye: American and British Ceramics from the Collection of Aaron Milrad. North York, Ontario: Koffler Gallery, 1994, pp. 10, 42. Hopper, Robin. The Ceramic Spectrum: A Simplified Approach to Glaze and Color Development. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1984 p. 80. Hyde, Lewis. The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property. New York, New York: Vintage Books, 1983, p. 56. Lackey, Louana A. Rudy Autio. Westerville, Ohio: The American Ceramic Society, 2002, p. 144. Lebow, Edward. Ken Ferguson. Kansas City, Missouri: Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, 1995, pp. 14, 17 – 18. Lewenstein, Eileen and Emmanuel Cooper. New Ceramics. New York, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1974, p. 172. Lynn, Martha Drexler. Clay Today: Contemporary Ceramists and Their Work. Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1990, pp. 132-133, 212. MacNaughton, Mary Davis et al. Revolution in Clay: The Marer Collection of Contemporary Ceramics. Claremont, California: Scripps College and Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1994, p. 157. Mayer, Barbara. Contemporary American Craft Art, A Collectors Guide. Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs M. Smith Inc., 1988, p. 73. Nelson, Glenn C. Ceramics A Potters Handbook. New York, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 1984, p. 170. Perry, Barbara, ed. American Ceramics: The Collection of the Everson Museum of Art. New York, New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1989, p. 341. Perry, Barbara, ed. Clay, Color, Content The 28th Annual Ceramic National. Syracuse, New York: Everson Museum of Art, 1990, pp. 10, 76. Peterson, Susan. Contemporary Ceramics. New York, New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2000, p 73,175. Peterson, Susan. The Craft and Art of Clay. Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 2000, pp. 317, 373. Rawson, Phillip. Ceramics. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984, p. 221. Rhodes, Daniel. Clay and Glaze for the Potter, revised edition. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1973, pp. 110, 194. Rhodes, Daniel. Stoneware and Porcelain, The Art of High Fired Pottery. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1959, p. 127. Senska, Frances and Diane Douglas. The Legacy of the Archie Bray Foundation: Four Decades of Tradition and Innovation in American Ceramic Art. Bellevue, Washington: Bellevue Art Museum, 1993, pp. 10-11, 13, 24-25. Shaner, David and Gerry Williams. Shaner ’ s Red. United States: Studio Potter, 2001. Taragin, Davira S. Contemporary Crafts and the Saxe Collection. New York, New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1993, p. 187. Tirrell, Norma. We Montanans. Helena, Montana: American Geographic, 1988, pp.138-141. Troy, Jack. Wood-fired Stoneware and Porcelain. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Chilton Book Company, 1995, pp. 120, 135. Periodicals and Reviews “2002 Editorial Index.” Art in America 91, no. 8 (August 2003): 330-339. Autio, Lar. “La Fundación Archie Bray.” Cerámica, no. 36 (1989): 18-19. Autio, Rudy et al. “Peter Voulkos.” Studio Potter 30, no. 2 (June 2002): 97-109. Barrett, Lori. “Celebrating the Object, Arrowmont Clay Symposium.” Ceramics Technical, no. 16 (2003): 11-14. Barringer, Mary. “Working Spaces” Studio Potter 26, no. 2 (June 1998): 6-11. Bonansinga, Kate. “David Shaner.” American Craft 53, no. 6 (December 1993/January 1994): 71. Carney, Margaret. “The Corsaw Collection of American Ceramics.” Ceramics Monthly 45 (May 1997): 59. “Chimney Pot.” American Craft 41 (December 1981/January 1982): 62. “Chimney Pot, Wood Fired Porcelaineous Stoneware by David Shaner.” Ceramics Monthly 40, no. 5 (May 1992): 37. “Cirque” Ceramics Monthly 49, no. 6 (June-August 2001): 37 Clark, Garth. “Bernard’s Orphans – Searching for Neo in Classical.” Studio Potter 33, no. 2 (June 2005): 6-13. Coates, Margot. “Ceramic Celebrations.” Crafts, no. 172 (September/October 2001): 21. “Covered Jar.” Ceramics Monthly 32 (June-August 1984): 46 “David Shaner, 1934 – 2002” Obituary. Ceramics Monthly 50, no. 7 (September 2002): 30 “Eight Independent Production Potters.” Ceramics Monthly 25 (February 1977): 46-52. Ferguson, Ken. “David Shaner: Notes from a Friend.” Ceramics Monthly 42, no. 5 (May 1994): 52-56. Glasgow, Andrew. “Utilitarian Clay: Celebrating the Object.” Ceramics Art and Perception, no. 10 (1992): 83-87. Harding, Thomas. “Michael Jensen” Ceramics Monthly 44, no. 7 (September 1996): 53-57. Held, Peter. “The Ceramics Research Center at Arizona State University.” Ceramics Technical, no. 17 (2003): 102-105. “Honoring Excellence: The American Craft Council Awards.” American Craft 52 August/September 1992): 6-8. “In Celebration of Utilitarian Clay, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.” Ceramics Monthly 45 (January 1997): 47-51. “In Recognition.” Ceramics Monthly 49, no. 6 (June – August 2001): 72-73, cover. Irving, Tam. “The Shape of Ceramic History, Conversations with the Past: Statements from 11 Professionals in the Field.” Studio Potter 42 (June 1996): 17-32. Jessiman, John. “How Deep a Life?” Ceramics Monthly 50, no. 9 (November 2002): 39-43. Kirwin, Liza and Joan Lord. “A Toolkit of Dreams: Conversations with American Craft Artists.” Archives of American Art Journal 43 (2003): 2-22. Koplos, Janet. “David Shaner at the Archie Bray Foundation.” Art in America 90, no. 4 (April 2002): 159. Lincoln, Joan. “Emerging Artists Competition.” Ceramics Monthly 45 (February 1997): 39-40. Lorio, J. et al. “Lodestone Gallery, Boulder, Colorado Exhibit.” Craft Horizons 35 (June 1975): 20. Lovelace, Joyce. “I Don’t Really Collect.” American Craft 55, no. 6 (December 1995-January 1996): 40-45, 64. Merino, Tony. “Color as a Prime Factor: 29th US Clay National.” Ceramics Art and Perception, no. 14 (1993): 67-69 Newby, Rick. “Spirited Variations.” Ceramics Review, no. 184 (July/August 2000): 24-25 “Obituaries.” American Craft 62, no. 5 (October/November 2002): 20. “Potters’ Favorite Pots.” Studio Potter 33, no. 2 (June 2005): 50-61. Rainbolt, Jo. “Eleven Montana Potters.” Studio Potter 8, no. 2 (1979) 44-46. Rhodes, Daniel. “David Shaner.” American Craft, 43, no. 4 (February/March, 1983): 2-5. Robison, Stephen. “Collection Obsession.” Ceramics Art and Perception, no. 59 (2005): 74-76. Senska, Frances. “Pottery in a Brickyard.” American Craft (February/March 1982): 32-35. Shaner, Ann and Gertrude Ferguson. “Conjugal Relationships: Ann Shaner and Gertrude Ferguson, Wives.” Studio Potter 20, no. 1 (December 1991): 58-62. Shaner, David. “The Archie Bray Foundation.” Studio Potter 8, no. 2 (1979): 47-51 Shaner, David. “Firing with Wood.” Studio Potter 11 (December 1982): 21-23. Shaner, David. “Seeing Oneself in the Pot.” Studio Potter 17, no.1 (December 1988): 16- 19. Shaner, David. “Daniel Rhodes, 1911-1989, Obituary” Studio Potter 18 (December 1989): 80. Shaner, David. “Woodfiring” NCECA Journal, Volume 12 (1991-1992): 72-73. Shaner, David. “Shaner’s Red.” Studio Potter 28, no. 1 (December 1999): 1-40. Shaner, David with Carl Paak. “Living for Pottery, David Shaner, an autobiography.” Ceramics Monthly 38, no. 4 (April 1990): 41-48. Spleth, Tom. “Robert Turner: An Appreciation, Obituary.” Studio Potter 34, no. 1 (December 2005): 90-93.

David Shaner – (1934 – 2002) Artist's Statement – David

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