Joshua Primmer
Sculptural and Functional Stoneware
Biography and Artist's Statement
Biography
In the past year Joshua has focused his efforts on
creating a functional line of work. In particular, he
has concentrated on drinking vessels and their
accessories, and flower containers. In the recent
past form took precedent over function, but now
priority between the two has equalized.
His process has shifted slightly from making forms
evolve from one to another and forcing utility to
the service of these resulting shapes, to something
more interactive and organic. By using these forms
from the past in his every day life, Joshua has
consciously responded to this interaction. He has
also noted the response of those who use his work
in their lives. This has all added a new level to his
creative process.
Joshua is still collecting inspiration from the
collision of industry and nature occurring around
us, especially the fungi that have exploded in
reaction to the abundance of rain this year. All of
his forms still originate from the wheel though he
has begun to explore porcelain in addition to
stoneware. He still creates purely sculptural work
in addition to his functional pieces. Joshua intends
to explore the whole spectrum of utility beyond
drinking vessels and flower vases using his newly
revised creative process.
Joshua lives in downtown Bennington with his wife
Rebecca, their dog Louie, and their two cats Ooba
and Rodney. He still supports his artistic habit with
house painting and coffee roasting, but has been
able to begin phasing out the house painting as his
art takes over. Joshua received his BFA from Maine
College of Art in 2001. His work can be seen in
Burlington,VT at the Frog Hollow Gallery, in
Williamstown, MA at Tunnel City Coffee Roasters,
and on-line at www.joshuaprimmer.com.
Artist's Statement
My
work is a culmination of surfaces, forms, and ideas that I use to
evoke peace, monumentality, and beauty in the viewer and the user.
These forms are
significantly impacted by function and process,
which is strongly evident in each final design. Also apparent in my
work are hints of my inspirational sources.
The
mediums I work with are cone 10 stoneware and porcelain fired
in a
reduction atmosphere. I fire in reduction to cone 10 because of
the
depth and
richness of surface that can be achieved at higher
oxygen starved
temperatures. High fire reduction also has a
“weathering” effect
on the glazes
and clay body. The power of the
flame can be felt in my finished work,
yet I still retain some control
over the firing results. Before
firing, my process is wheel based. I
begin with a concrete idea: a sketch
or series of sketches. I throw all
the necessary elements on the
wheel and, when needed, pull handles
and spouts. When all the pieces are
equally leather hard I cut and
join them to create each composition.
When the form is completely
and carefully dried I bisque fire my
work to cone 07 and then glaze
the bisque ware using brushes,
pouring, and
dipping.
The origins of my forms come directly from the wheel throwing
process. I suspend the motion of the wheel, cut, and then collage
together these forms in a manner that makes sense to me. From simple
disk forms made by joining two bowls lip to lip, to more complicated
pieces involving multiple disks and cylinders. I am constantly looking
back to past works through fresh
eyes for new inspiration. Each pot
is unique, but when viewed as a body of work, the relationships are
clear.
In creating art, my goal is to move the viewer and user of my work. I
intend to evoke peace, monumentality, and beauty. I want my work to
possess an
inspirational presence. I am attempting to mimic the
emotions imbued
by my sources of inspiration. My muses reside in
nature, old New England mills, and art and I immerse myself in each as
much as possible.
For me, nature represents an ideal: a beautiful tenuous ideal
threatened by humanity. The juxtaposition of nature and time slowly
inevitably weathering stark industrial constructs intensifies the
vulnerability of my ideal through its strength. Despite mankind's
irrepressible power, nature and time will be the end of us. Yet there is
hope: If human kind learns to exist in harmony with nature time will
smile on us both. My work hints at this. In a sense, it is a physical
manifestation of the fantasy of harmony.
The artists I am drawn to have harnessed the power of this conflict;
Hans Coper, Lucy Rei, Louis Kahn, Mark Rothco, and Alberto
Giacometti among others I have yet to discover. All of them create
beauty and amplify its significance with elements of corrosion and
decay.
The mechanical aspect of my process is evident in my forms. Despite
the relatively small scale of my work it possesses a monumentality
usually restricted to large-scale work and architecture. These rigid
machined shapes are enveloped by patinas of colors and textures
found in nature, oxidized metal, and weathered stone; human industry
in the embrace of nature.
-JOSHUA PRIMMER
Resume
Education
Maine
College of Art,
Portland, ME
BFA
Spring 2001
major:
ceramics, GPA 3.41
Studies included: wheel thrown and hand built ceramics, glaze chemistry, electric,
gas, soda, and raku kiln operation, gas kiln construction, slip casting and mold
making, small metal and jewelry smithing (including acid etching, raising, casting,
and sweat soldering), slide photography, ceramic, contemporary Chinese,
contemporary,
and western art history, and wood shop.
Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts,
North Adams, MA
fall
1996 – spring 1998
double major: fine and performing arts with visual art concentration, and
philosophy
Studies included: wheel thrown and hand built ceramics (teacher’s assistant), oil
painting, black and white and scientific photography, computer graphics, arts
management,
philosophy, logic, and debate.
Work
History
Ceramic
Artist,
self-employed. April 2006 – Present.
Coffee
Roaster,
Tunnel City Coffee, North Adams, MA.
January
2004 – Present.
Responsibilities include: roasting coffee, roaster maintenance, coffee tasting,
and
choosing varieties for use.
House
Painter,
self-employed, May 2003 – Present.
Responsibilities Included: Interior and exterior house painting, surface
preparation, dry wall installation and repair, light carpentry, estimating, and
billing.
Production
Potter,
Salmon Falls Stoneware, Dover, NH.
September
2002 – May 2003.
Responsibilities included: throwing, handle attachment, trimming, operation of
ram
presses and jiggers, and pugging clay.
Production
Potter,
Georgetown Pottery, Georgetown, ME.
January
2001 – May 2001.
Responsibilities included: trimming, glazing, jiggering, loading and unloading
kilns,
fabrication and attachment of handles.
Awards
Honorable
Mention,
Merit Scholarship Competition, Spring 2000.
Dean’s
List,
Spring 1997-Fall 2000, excluding Spring 1999.
Exhibitions
"Functional Ceramics," 2008, Bennington Arts Guild, Bennington, VT.
"New Works Show," 2008, Bennington Arts Guild, Bennington, VT.
“78th Annual Members’ Exhibition,” 2007, Southern Vermont Arts Center,
Manchester,
VT.
“Joshua
Primmer, Recent Works,” 2007, Bennington Museum, Bennington, VT.
“Raise
a Cup for Art,” 2007, Shelburne Art Center, Shelburne, VT.
“Senior
Thesis Exhibition,” 2001, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME.
“The Next Generation II,” 2001, Center for Maine Contemporary Artists, Rockport,
ME
“Clay…Form
and Fire,” 2000, Montgomery Memorial Gallery, Portland, ME.
“Merit
Scholarship Show,” 1999, Institute of Contemporary Art, Portland, ME
“Merit
Scholarship Competition,” 1999 & 2000, Maine College of Art,
Portland, ME.
Publications
“Kaleidoscope,” 1997 (cover) & 1998, Art and literary magazine of Massachusetts
College
of Liberal Arts, North Adams, MA.
“Mob,”
1996, Art and literary magazine, Bennington, VT.
Workshops
and Visiting Artists
Nick Joerling, 2007, Demonstration of process and slide presentation,
Frog Hollow Vermont State Craft Center, Middlebury, VT
“Evolving Legacies,” 2001, 35th annual conference of the National Council on
Education
for Ceramic Arts, Charlotte, NC.
Bruce Chao, 2001, Discussion, lecture, and slide presentation of work
(glass
sculpture), Maine College of Art, Portland, ME.
Abby
Huntoon, 2000, Surface decoration demonstration, Maine College of Art.
Mark
Johnson, 1999, Interactive kiln building demonstration, Maine College of
Art.
Watershed, 1999, Discussion, lecture, and slide presentation of resident artists’
work,
Maine College of Art.
Gary Ericson, 1999, Discussion, lecture, and slide presentation of work, Maine
College
of Art.
Paul Heroux, 1998, Discussion, lecture, and slide presentation of work, Maine
College
of Art.
Steve Welch, 1998, Discussion, lecture, and slide presentation of work, Maine
College
of Art.
College of Liberal Arts
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