Room to Breathe

Dan Pfohl shares new functional ceramic work created for his BFA from RIT's School for American Craft.

From the artist:
My intention with this body of work is to create functional objects of quiet beauty. I want my pottery to lead the viewer to remember an experience of vastness, the view of endless fields, or a mountain that extends into the sky seemingly forever. The surfaces of my work reference the horizon line, and the separations between fields, forests, and mountains. My work embodies my attempt to slow down, to be present in each moment, and to be more mindful. The work is the product of my pursuit to understand subtlety, elegance and purity through form and surface.

The warm tones are approachable, the colors morph into one another going from orange to green to red. Similar to a field at sunset or a lichen covered rock in the woods, the surfaces are varied and inconsistent. The forms are sturdy and secure and interact with the table the way a tree stands tall in the woods. While making this work I have been reflecting on resisting impulse, taking time to think things through, and considering notions of beauty and value of the human experience.