ron sutterer

My interest in pottery can be traced to my graduate school days in North Carolina. My wife and I often made day long trips to visit some of the traditional farm potteries surrounding Chapel Hill and started collecting. At the time, making pottery had not occurred to me but I learned to appreciate the form and craft of production. Some years later when we had moved to upstate New York, my wife wanted to set up a small studio in our home and learn how to make pottery. This eventually led to my giving it a try, taking some coursework at Syracuse University where I taught, and getting hooked. It has been full steam ahead since. We now live in an artistically rich environment and I have put together a complete studio with a number of kilns that allow me to create pretty much anything that I can imagine. Living among so many quality potters has enabled me to get technical help as well as encouragement.

I have been drawn to two forms of glazing that are used in most of my work: ash glazes fired in a gas reduction environment and crystalline glazes fired in a well controlled electric kiln. Both forms of glazing have presented numerous challenges, but I appreciate the beauty of both and continue to explore the possibilities of each.

My goal for the coming year, five years, is the same as it has always been since I started: constant experimenting and production to increase the quality of my work. Ceramics is an activity that requires a long view in order to deal with the many mistakes that occur along the way. Although frustrating, the mistakes are part of the learning process.

Floyd, VA
rsutterer@swva.net