Functional Work
Because of my focus on form as primary in my work with clay I consider my functional pieces as sculptural too. I draw upon the rich traditions of China, Japan, the pre-Columbian world of the Americas.
The studio world encourages exploration, in all aspects of a potter's work. The form can be a classic form, or it can be altered. Surface can be calm and smooth, or it can be tooled in a variety of ways. A vase can have lugs affixed to its shoulder. The rim of a bowl can have bears walking around it. A cup can have a bear for a handle. Throughout the process I am thinking “How will this be used?” There are other questions. Do I wish to add an element of whimsy? Or is this a serious piece?
Over many years I have developed a vocabulary of glazes which is very personal. These, which I mix myself, include celadon, ash, shino, oribe. Mostly I fire in my own gas or electric kilns. But I also enjoy the opportunity to fire in alternative ways: pit, raku and recently, especially, wood. Each firing process will give a very specific and different result.
The Geometrics
The geometric series emerged in the early 1990s as an exploration of form and divided form. Assembled, the separate parts create a whole; divided, they can be arranged in varying and evocative relationships.
In some I have created at the center a sphere, a heart within the form, which can be seen as the connecting and energizing force.
These pieces are built from stoneware slabs; they are hollow rather than solid forms. They are low-fired, either in a sagger within my gas kiln or in a raku kiln. Surface color comes from various oxides, organic matter surrounding the piece, or splashes of glaze in the case of raku.
The Torsos
The endless variety in the human form has inspired the torso as a recurring theme. I am interested in the archaic and timeless qualities of the clay figure, as well as its organic nature. The process of building them is slow and experiential. Adding small bits of soft clay allows the form to evolve, as a living being. The focus is on gesture, in either stasis or movement. For the stoneware figures I select a gritty clay, which gives an energetic surface, allowing my fingerprints to show clearly. Surface, as clothing, is important, often built up with successive layers of oxides such as iron and manganese, then glazed and scraped or sponged to express an inner and lively depth.
I want the torsos to look as though they have lived a long time, to reflect the earth, wind and fire of that life.
The Torsos
The endless variety in the human form has inspired the torso as a recurring theme. I am interested in the archaic and timeless qualities of the clay figure, as well as its organic nature. The process of building them is slow and experiential. Adding small bits of soft clay allows the form to evolve, as a living being. The focus is on gesture, in either stasis or movement. For the stoneware figures I select a gritty clay, which gives an energetic surface, allowing my fingerprints to show clearly. Surface, as clothing, is important, often built up with successive layers of oxides such as iron and manganese, then glazed and scraped or sponged to express an inner and lively depth.
I want the torsos to look as though they have lived a long time, to reflect the earth, wind and fire of that life.
The Torsos
The endless variety in the human form has inspired the torso as a recurring theme. I am interested in the archaic and timeless qualities of the clay figure, as well as its organic nature. The process of building them is slow and experiential. Adding small bits of soft clay allows the form to evolve, as a living being. The focus is on gesture, in either stasis or movement. For the stoneware figures I select a gritty clay, which gives an energetic surface, allowing my fingerprints to show clearly. Surface, as clothing, is important, often built up with successive layers of oxides such as iron and manganese, then glazed and scraped or sponged to express an inner and lively depth.
I want the torsos to look as though they have lived a long time, to reflect the earth, wind and fire of that life.
The Torsos
The endless variety in the human form has inspired the torso as a recurring theme. I am interested in the archaic and timeless qualities of the clay figure, as well as its organic nature. The process of building them is slow and experiential. Adding small bits of soft clay allows the form to evolve, as a living being. The focus is on gesture, in either stasis or movement. For the stoneware figures I select a gritty clay, which gives an energetic surface, allowing my fingerprints to show clearly. Surface, as clothing, is important, often built up with successive layers of oxides such as iron and manganese, then glazed and scraped or sponged to express an inner and lively depth.
I want the torsos to look as though they have lived a long time, to reflect the earth, wind and fire of that life.
Alice Marks Corning
Mailing Phone EmailWebsite
Born Education
209 Ethel Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941 415-383-0889
claycorn@aol.com
alicecorning.com
Cincinnati, OH
BA in English Literature from Harvard University. 1965
Studied Ceramics at Spring Street Pottery, Soho, Manhattan, NY, 1970-1974 Attended summer raku workshop with Piero Fenci, Nantucket Island, MA, 1974 Various workshops at Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA, 1975
Workshops at Big Creek Pottery, Davenport, CA, 1975, 1983
EXHIBITIONS
2013 Clay & Glass National Juried Exhibition, Brea, CAFalkirk 2013 Annual Juried Exhibition, San Rafael, CAEight from ACGA, Davis, CA
2012 Alice Corning Ceramics at Ruth Livingston Studio, Tiburon, CAAhhh! Silica, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
Julia Terr Annual Exhibition of Functional Ceramics, Sonoma, CA 2011 ACGA@MAH, The Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz, CA 2010 Out of the Fire, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
Annual Juried Exhibition, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA
Miniature Show, Bolinas Art Museum, Bolinas, CA 2009 Earth and Ether, The Overlook Gallery, Moab, UT
*Biennial 2009, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Sonoma, CAKiln God National, Gecko Gallery, San Angelo, TX
Small Works, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
Miniature Show, Bolinas Art Museum. Bolinas, CA
2008 Treasured Vessels, Gump’s, San Francisco, CA Marin Society of Artists, juried exhibition, Ross, CA
Miniature Show, Bolinas Art Museum, Bolinas, CA 2007 Insite Antiques & Design, San Francisco, CA
September Show, Museo, Langley, WA
Miniature Show, Bolinas Art Museum, Bolinas, CA
Torso Show, Museo, Langley, WA
Wabi Sabi, The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CAFalkirk Annual Juried Exhibition, San Rafael, CA
2006 Insite Antiques & Design, San Francisco, CA
Wabi Sabi, The O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
2005 Words, Hands, Clay--Three Potters, Museo, Langley, WA
60 Years of Fire, Form & Function, Falkirk Center, San Rafael, CAACGA Comes to Oakland, Oakland, CA
ACGA/BCG Juried Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
2004 The Art of Fine Craft. O’Hanlon Center For the Arts, Mill Valley, CABay Area Fine Craft. Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA
East Meets West. Danville Fine Arts Gallery, Danville, CA
2003 Collector’ s Gallery, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CAMiniature Show, Bolinas Art Museum, Bolinas, CA
Craft Showcase 4, San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Figurative Work in Clay and Glass from ACGA, Gallery Alexander, La Jolla, CA 2002 California Design 2002, Contract Design Center, San Francisco, CA
2001 Craft Showcase 2, San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Operating Systems, Susan Cummins Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
2001 A Spatial Odyssey, Hayward City Hall, Hayward, CA
2000 Craft Showcase 1, San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Poetry in Clay and Glass, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
1999 California Design 2000, Contract Design Center, San Francisco, CA
1997 Clay and Glass, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA
1996 Vessels, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
1995 Bacchus’ Vessels, San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
Encounters with Nature: Sculptural-Functional, Gallery One, Petaluma, CA 1994 The Next Step - Innovations in Clay and Glass, Tesori Gallery, San Mateo, CA
1993 The Marin Scene, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CAThe Bowl, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
The Year of American Craft, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Contemporary California Ceramics, Rosicrucian Museum Gallery, San Jose, CARing of Fire, Faith Nightingale Gallery, San Diego, CA
1992 Thirtieth Anniversary Show, Mission Gallery, Taos, NM
The Great String Along, Marin Community College, Kentfield, CA *Spouts, Pots That Pour, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
The Functional Pot, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
*Ceramic Sculpture, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Marin Arts Council Show, Marin Community College, Kentfield, CA
1991 California Design ’91, Baulines Crafts Guild, San Francisco, CA
The Functional Pot, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Oregon Ceramic Invitational ’91, Renshaw Gallery, McMinneville, OR Six Potters, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
1990 Small Treasures, Oakland Museum Collectors Gallery, Oakland, CA
*Falkirk Annual Show, Falkirk Community Cultural Center, San Rafael, CANew Decade/New Visions in Clay. Rosicrucian Museum Gallery, San Jose, CA
1989 100 Artists, 100 Ways. Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
The Garden and all its Aspects, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA EDL Ceramics, Kirtland, OH
1988 Torso Pots, Framing Dragon, Mill Valley, CASix Potters, Worden Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Tea Party, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Animal Vessels. Mill Valley Public Library, Mill Valley, CA 1987 Sculptural Vessels. Branson School Gallery, Ross, CA
Tea Party, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Bay Clay, Handworks Gallery, Carmel, CA
1986 Sculptural Vessels. Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
The Language of Clay, ACGA, San Francisco, CA
1985 Paintings and Sculpture, Marin Art and Garden Center, Ross, CA
HONORS
Clay and Glass 1985, Marin Community College, Kentfield, CASix Potters, F.J. Michaels Gallery, San Francisco, CA
* Merit Award
Represented in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Sculpture selected as the prize in perpetuity for the Mill Valley Film Festival, Mill Valley, CAReceived Milley Award from the City of Mill Valley
AFFILIA TIONS
Exhibiting Member, Association of California Ceramic Artists. Marin Arts Council, San Rafael, CA
Baulines Craft Guild
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
David Hurley Goldsmith, Sausalito, CA Dorothy Weiss Gallery, San Francisco, CA Mission Gallery, Taos, NM *
Overlook Gallery, Moab, UT *
Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA
Insite Antiques & Design, San Francisco, CA * Ruth Livingston Studio, Tiburon, CA * Source, New Orleans, LA *
* current
COLLECTIONS
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Drs. Bruce and Giovanna Ames
Dr. Meryl Botkin
Margy Boyd
Sandy and Connie Calhoun
Dr. Larry Erickson
Joan Foster
Gloria Getty
Joan Heffelfinger
Roberta Huberman and Stuart Schwartz Huey and Susan Johnson
Birgit Kelly
Dixon Long
Forrest Merrill
Millicent Tomkins
Drs. Joe and Estelle Weiss
Laura Volkerding
Drs. Alan and Ilse Wheelis
Anne Woosley and Alan MacIntyre
Dr. and Mrs. Denny Zeitlin
Boston, MA Berkeley, CA
San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA Modesto, CA Tiburon, CA
San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA Santa Rosa, CA Mill Valley, CA Mill Valley, CA San Anselmo, CA Berkeley, CA
Mill Valley, CA San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA San Francisco, CA Dragoon, AZ
San Francisco, CA