Mary Barringer

Artist Statement

I have been working in clay for more than fifty years. What has always interested me and pulled me onward is making: my hands on the clay, investigating things for which I have no name. The interplay between the inside and the outside, for instance, or between the ground and the rim; between the stance and the opening, the body and its boundaries. The objects that result from this investigation then move out into the world – into other hands, other rooms, other lives. I love this about making pots.

Artist Bio

Mary Barringer received a BA in art from Bennington College, apprenticed with Michael Frimkess, and has been a studio artist since 1973, making both sculpture and functional pottery. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she has taught widely at universities, art schools, and craft centers including Ohio University, Hartford Art School, and Penland. She has written and lectured on the history of ceramics, and from 2004-14 she served as editor of The Studio Potter journal. Since stepping down from that role, she has done freelance editing and writing along with her studio work. She lives in western Massachusetts.