Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s Hammons Gallery is pleased to announce its second exhibit of 2009 presented by ceramicist Ken Shipley of Clarksville, Tenn.

The exhibit, which will be open Feb. 4-March 11, will open with a reception to be held in the gallery at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The artist will present a demonstration in room 204 of Moses-Provine Hall at 3 p.m. following the reception.

Shipley is an associate professor of art at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. His professional experience includes set, lighting and sound design in theatrical and musical settings in addition to his work as a production potter and seven years of teaching at the university level.

Shipley has exhibited nationally and internationally. His recent international exhibits include selected work exhibited in Vallauris, France, as well as the Celadon Art Gallery in London, England, which has been ongoing for the past two years. Additionally, in the fall of 2006 he was included in “The International Top 10 Teapot Masters Exhibition" in Shanghai, China, which then re-opened for permanent display at Fudan University in Shanghai. Recent exhibits in the United States include showings in Clarksville and Nashville, Tenn., and Statesboro, Ga.

Shipley, who has worked in ceramics for 30 years, began his career as an apprentice to both Charles Counts in Rising Fawn, Ga., and Bill Ashley in Chattanooga, Tenn. His work covers many aspects of ceramics, from production pottery to large, one-of-a-kind vessel pieces, both wheel thrown and hand built. The artist also uses a variety of firing processes including high fire reduction, salt/soda, wood fire and electric kilns to produce his work.

For more information, call (870) 245-5559 or visit the artist’s website at http://www.shipleypottery.com.

 

by Donnie Copeland, OBU Assistant Professor of Visual Art