Beautifully unique vessels fulfill the holiday spirit
Justin Rothshank is widely known for his work using wood-fired kilns.
What could be more intimately human than the cups, bowls, goblets, and glasses that have been part of human culture for millennia? Utilitarian they may be, but they’re also the bearers of much beverage-born conviviality — a fact celebrated in this season’s “Vessels of Merriment” show at Asheville’s Grovewood Gallery, featuring the work of 16 potters from around the country and their hand-crafted drinking vessels. Everything from whisky cups to wine tumblers to growlers will be on display, all potential bringers of bonhomie.
Among the highlighted artists is Justin Rothshank, an Indiana potter known for his colorful floral and decal-based designs and glazes with a Japanese aesthetic. “I’ve never been to Japan, but have long admired Japanese wood-fired pots,” Rothshank says. One of his early mentors was the noted Pittsburgh-based ceramicist Dale Huffman, who studied in Japan and was widely known for promoting traditional wood-firing techniques and pottery forms.
Rothshank has been working with clay since high school, attracted to the tactile connection between artist and material. He says he was “drawn to dirt and fire” from an early exposure to kilns fed by wood or soda rather than artificially produced heat. Firing using natural materials requires the vessels to spend more time in the kiln — up to three days, in some cases. It also requires a great deal of patience, not to mention manpower, since the kiln has to be constantly fueled with wood over many hours to maintain a constant temperature.
The artist grew familiar with the properties of various kinds of wood through his parallel interest in woodworking, specifically marquetry and inlay. He’s traveled often from his Indiana studio to teach wood-firing technique at Western North Carolina’s Penland School of Craft and at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee.
“I greatly enjoy the process of decorating vessels using ceramic decals,” says Rothshank. He layers the laser-printed decals through multiple firings — a process he discovered in the work of Howard Kottler, who was famous for appropriating images from popular culture for his pieces, which are in the collections of the Smithsonian and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Rothshank’s work features iconic pop portraits ranging from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Abraham Lincoln to Mao Tse-Tung. A chainsaw appears on one of his tea cups, showing a surprising combination of delicacy and brute power.
The Grovewood show is a popular one. This is the third year it’s being mounted, and other exhibited artists include Kelly Lynn Daniels, Jordan Jones, Reiko Miyagi, Amy Sanders, and Maria Dondero. All pieces are for sale as the holiday season approaches: the perfect time to lift a vessel in a toast to creative spirit.
Vessels of Merriment runs through Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Grovewood Gallery (111 Grovewood Road, Asheville). For more information, visit grovewood.com. For more information on the artist, see rothshank.com.