Springfield Pottery

Jennifer Falter's craft as a potter allows her to both create and embellish. She enjoys making functional, yet decorative porcelain pots, encased in a tactile, sgraffito or carved surface. Her love of pattern making, line, and mark making appear in both her narrative, light-hearted pieces and in the quiet nature-inspired wares. Her pieces invite the viewer to investigate through touch, sight, and use.

Each piece of Jennifer's work is thrown from porcelain on the potter's wheel. This pure white canvas of the clay provides a striking contrast to the layers of black slip that she brushes on to the surface of the pot. After all layers are applied, Jennifer carves the entire exterior with a small loop tool to expose the clay and bring her imagery to life. Afterward, each piece is bisqued, clear glazed and fired. All of her work is both dishwasher and microwave safe.

Jennifer graduated from Missouri State University in 1996 with a BFA in ceramics. She has worked diligently in clay since graduation and has gone on to share this passion with her community.

Nathan Falter's current work takes inspiration from the beginning of the industrial revolution--a time when things were mass produced but not fully mechanized. It was a moment when man was just beginning to master machine. His pieces embody the quirky nature of discovery and reflect a desire to revisit the past.

Falter prefers to work as immediately as possible in small groups, six to a dozen pieces at a time. Most pieces are wheel thrown, altered, and assembled. He uses a limited palette of very sensitive glazes and fires often in a small gas-fueled kiln. His work cycle is chaotic, but it allows for the whole making process to be seen as a moment, a moment where the piece reveals itself.

Raised in southern Missouri, Nathan Falter earned a B.F.A. in ceramics from Missouri State University in 1995, and an M.F.A. in ceramics and sculpture from the University of Delaware in 1998. In addition to creating pieces for exhibitions and commission work, he teaches as an adjunct professor at Missouri State University. In 1998, he co-founded a community clay center with his wife, Jennifer Falter.