Much of my pottery originates from the basic human joys of eating and cooking with all the overtones these activities evoke: fireside, nourishment, caring. Beautiful pottery dishes have become synonymous for me with love of food and its presentation. Even my vases present themselves to me in the context of a table setting. I make my pottery based on my personal domestic needs and life style choices; and the focus of my production is everyday dishes for use in cooking, dining and home decoration.
My influences are varied, though rooted in the American studio potter movement. These influences are the foundation of my personal style and philosophy of making pottery. In addition to reflecting a traditional functional pottery heritage, my pottery dishes have contemporary sensibilities. My ultimate goal is to create pottery that is fresh and alive in its form, color and surface. I feel it is important to make pottery dishes that are affordable so that they can be used as everyday dishes. For me the beauty of my work is in its use; and only through use can one see the true beauty of the pottery dishes. As one of my favorite potters, Rosanjin, once said: "If clothes make the person, dishes make the food."
Steven Davis-Rosenbaum 346 Sheridan Drive Lexington, Kentucky home: (606) 278-8335 college: (606) 846-5415 EDUCATION: 1986 Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics. University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 1983 Apprentice to Michael Simon, XXIX Oaks Pottery. Watkinsville, GA. 1978 Bachelor of Science. Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 1991-present Instructor of Art, Midway College, Midway, KY. 1986-present Studio Potter, SDR Pottery, Lexington, KY. 1986-1988 Resident Studio Potter, Berea College, Berea, KY. SELECTED GRANTS AND AWARDS: 1994 Al Smith Fellowship, Kentucky Arts Council, Frankfort, KY 1992 Community Arts Development Grant, Lexington Arts and Cultural Council, Lexington, KY. PRIVATE COLLECTIONS: San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, Texas Arizona State University Museum, Nelson Art Center, Tempe, Arizona. John Sinker Collection, Plymouth, Michigan. Berea College Department of Art Collection, Berea, KY SELECTED EXHIBITIONS -1994 Visual Arts Fellowships. Friedman Images Gallery, Louisville, KY -(invitational) Majolica Show. Duncun Gallery, Stetson University, DeLand, FL. (invitational) -The Ninth Annual Monarch Tile National Ceramic Competition. -Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX. Juror: Rob Barnard. Traveling Exhibition to Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, Florence, Alabama. Third Place Award. (catalog) 1994 Gallery 15 '15 Collection'. Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY. 1993 Contemporary Traditions: Works of Kentucky Craftspeople. Kentucky Museum, Bowing Green, KY. Invitational Brian Boggs and Steve Davis-Rosenbaum, Downstairs Gallery, Kentucky Art and Craft Gallery, Louisville, KY. Invitational Ceramics Southeast, 1993: Students of Ron Meyers. University of Georgia, Visual Art Building Galleries , Athens, GA. Invitational Function on Function. Headley -Whitney Museum, Lexington, KY. Solo exhibition. Clay National 1993, National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA. Jurors: Janet Mansfield, Akio Takamori and Mary Stofflet. Traveling exhibition 1993- 1995. (catalog) SELECT PUBLICATIONS AND REVIEWS 1994 Ceramic Monthly March, 1994 v. 42 no. 3, p 22, "Up Front" (exhibition review). Work pictured. 1993 Ceramics: Art and Perception 1993 no. 14, "Function on Function" by Joe Molinaro. (exhibition review). Work pictured in color. 1992 Ceramics Monthly "Building Experience", Steve Davis-Rosenbaum. March 1992, Vol. 40 No. 3, PP. 36-39. Work pictured in color.