Bill BrouillardBill Brouillard
The platters I have sent to this exhibition combine several ceramic traditions. The first is, The Palace Art Pot. Palace Art Pots were made to demonstrate wealth and power. They were made to tell a story, to commemorate an event or a person, and to demonstrate skill and challenge the abilities of the artisans who made them. The second tradition is the Fish Platter. Fish platters were a staple of the Neo Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1950s and 60s. The third and last tradition is the One-Line visual and verbal Pun, Platters of the ceramic Funk Movement.
Humor through the use of the visual pun was a mainstay of the California Funk movement. Humor in clay has a tradition as old as the use of the material. I have always felt that humor has been given short shift as a serious emotion. Art work that uses humor and has been actively excised from collections of serious art. It may be that we do not understand the function of humor as well as we understand the function of the other emotions.
In the work presented I have tried to inject some humor into the decorative / commemorative object. The platters are big to give them a slightly overblown sense of their own importance and to be able to be viewed from a distance . They are meant for the wall and the table. The large size to fit the importance of large gatherings.
I have tried to replace historical patterns with objects reduced to pattern. Some of the objects are extensions of my environment or reflections of personal interests. Images of turn of the century technology, (the Machine Age), are a personal favorite. Subject matter ranges from humorous depiction of everyday objects to gender stereotypes. My abilities as A draftsman are limited but seem to be adequate for the kind and quality of image that the subject requires. They have a cartoon look as opposed to the crisp complexity of fine china.
The clay body, a red earthenware, is heavily potted and makes no secrete of its variations and flaws. The glaze work is in the Majolica style and is done very much like a watercolor on soft paper. The pots are fired twice. They are bisqued to cone 05 and glazed to cone 04. Some may have an additional firing to Cone 018 for low temperature luster and enamels. They are fired in an oxidizing atmosphere using an electric kiln.
William Brouillard June, 22 1993
William Craig Brouillard
CURRENT POSITION:
Associate Professor of Art, Ceramics department, The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, from 1980
EDUCATION:
M.F.A., Ceramic Art, The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY, 1976
University of Wisconsin, at Madison, Wisconsin, 1973
B.A., Art Education, State University of Wisconsin, Stout at Menomonie,
Wisconsin, 1969
RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE:
Brouillard Studios, 2662 W14th st. Cleveland, OH 44113, production of pottery and ceramic commission work 1980-1993
Resident Craftsman at The Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North
Carolina, as a full time self supporting studio artist in clay, with some
related teaching duties, 1976 -1978
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Instructor, Teaching beginning intermediate and Graduate level ceramics, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. 1978-1979
Teaching Assistantship, teaching Kiln Design and Construction, to advanced and graduate level students at New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, NY. 1974 - 1976
Teaching Assistantship, teaching Two and Three Dimensional Design to beginning and advanced Students, also instruction in materials and techniques of woodworking, at The New York State College of
GRANTS AND AWARDS
National Cup Show, purchase award, University of Southern IL. 1992
Ohio Designer Craftsmen, purchase award, Best of 92 exhibition, Columbus, OH. 1992
Excellence in Design Award Ohio Designer Craftsmen, Best of 92 Exhibition, 1992
American Craft Museum, Design Award , for Excellence in Design, in conduction with the Designed and made for use Exhibition, at The American Craft Museum, NY 1986
Purchase Award, The Clay Cup Show, Southern IL. University, 1986
Art Park , Lewiston NY. Summer work and travel grant 1980
COLLECTIONS REPRESENTED BY
The Detroit Museum of Art [DIA], Detroit MI.
The Cleveland Museum ofArt, Cleveland OH.
The Millard Collection, St Louis, MO
The Sinker Collection, Detroit, MI.
The Vincent Lim Collection,Philadelphia, PA
The Pfannebecker Collection, Lancaster, PA
University of Southern Illinois
Ohio Designer Craftsman, Columbus, OH
Ceramics Monthly, Columbus, OH
The Cleveland Art Association, Cleveland, OH
Alfred University, Museum of Ceramics, Alfred, NY
University Hospitals of Cleveland, Lerner Tower, Cleveland, OH
PUBLICATIONS, REF.
American Ceramics
GALLERIES REPRESENTED BY
-The Clay Place, 5416 Walnut St., Pittsburgh, PA. 15232, 1-412-682-3737
-The Pewabic Pottery, 10125 East Jefferson, Detroit, MI. 48214, 1-313-822-0954
-The Farrel Collection, 2633 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008, 1-202-483-8334
-Objects Gallery, Chicago,
IL
ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIP
-NCCECA, National Conference For Education in the Ceramic Arts
-SPACES, Arts Organization, Cleveland, OH
-OHIO DESIGNER CRAFTSMEN, North Central Area Represenitive, Columbus, OH
-AAUP, American Association of University Professors, Washington DC
CURRENT ADDRESS INFORMATION
BROUILLARD CLAY STUDIO
2662 W. 14th St
1011 Literary Rd.
Cleveland, OH. 44113
WILLIAM BROUILLARD
Assoc. Prof. of Ceramics
Cleveland Institute of Art
11141 East Blvd.
Cleveland, OH. 44106
216-566-7926 / 216-696-6010/
216-421-7353