Micheal Smith Pottery
Micheal Smith
Kansas City, Missouri
For the past twenty years I have worked as a potter, producing a diverse line of functional stoneware and porcelain. I started with a four year apprenticeship, the traditional method for learning the potter’s art. In that setting, I learned basic technique, discipline, endurance, and the skills for making a living as a potter. Function is the starting point and context for my work. My best work is completed through the act of its use. When I am throwing, marking, or altering pots, the process becomes like a dance - listening to the music of the wheel, creating and interacting with the rhythms, dancing on the edge of collapse. When the last mark is made and the wheel stops, the pot, like a photograph, captures the dancer in motion. I strive to keep the movement alive in my work - allowing it to evolve as I participate in its creation, never losing the delight in creating pots that bring pleasure to everyday experience.
