Christopher Staley | Also Known As: Chris Staley

Mel Jacobson is known for functional wheel-thrown functional stoneware traditional forms, influenced by the Japanese aesthetic. Jacobson fires a 45 cubic foot "Minnesota Flat Top" kiln.

Jacobson has exhibited nationally and internationally and ...
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About

Biography

Mel Jacobson is known for functional wheel-thrown functional stoneware traditional forms, influenced by the Japanese aesthetic. Jacobson fires a 45 cubic foot "Minnesota Flat Top" kiln.

Jacobson has exhibited nationally and internationally and has taught workshops across the United States. He established Hay Creek Studio Camp for professional artists and teachers to gather in Wisconsin. Started in 1996 by Joe Molinaro and Richard Burkett, Jacobson took over as moderator of CLAYART, an email forum for discussion of issues relating to ceramics. CLAYART now exists in archive on the website Potters.Org, run by the American Ceramics Society.

Jacobson, an educator, who has been recognized as an outstanding ceramic educator by both New York University and Studio Potter Magazine. Jacobson has written about modern kiln construction, ceramic techniques and technology, and Japanese pottery methods.

An interview with Mel Jacobson conducted March 2006, by Arnold Howard of Paragon Industries is available at:

http://www.paragonweb.com/files/videos/Jacobson_Mel_March_2006.mp3

Apprenticeships & Residencies

Primary Work Experience

1980

1982

Ceramic Technician, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

1982

Summer Term Faculty, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

1982

1985

Adjunct Faculty, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

1983

Summer Term Faculty, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Alfred, New York

1984

1985

Summer Term Faculty, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island

1985

1989

Assistant Professor, Area Head of Ceramics, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas

1990

Professor, Ceramic Art, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania

Other

Public Collections

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana

Arizona State University, Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii

European Ceramic Work Centre, Oisterwijk, Netherlands

Fule International Ceramic Art Museum, Fuping, China

Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas

Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Arts, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

Lannan Foundation, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California

Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, Utah

Palmer Museum of Art, University Park, Pennsylvania

rosenfieldcollection.com

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC

Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England

Wichita Art Association, Wichita, Kansas

Bibliography

Beach, Polly, “An Interview with Chris Staley.” Clay Times (May 1998).

Burkett, Richard. Masters: Porcelain: Major Works by Leading Ceramists. New York, NY: Lark Books, 2008.

Clark, Garth. American Ceramics: 1876 to the Present. New York, NY: Abbeville Publishing Group, 1987.

Coakes, Michelle. Creative Pottery: A Step by Step Guide & Showcase. Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, 1998.

Davis, Don. Wheel-Thrown Ceramics. New York, NY: Lark Books, 1998.

De Waal, Edmund. Design Sourcebook: Ceramics. London, UK: New Holland Press, 1999.

Fairbanks, Jonathan, and Angela Fina. The Best of Pottery. Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, 1996.

Higby, Wayne and Warren Mackenzie, “Art, Money and the NEA.” Ceramics Monthly (February 1987).

Illian, Clary. A Potter’s Workbook. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1999.

Held, Peter, ed. Innovation & Change: Ceramics from the Arizona State University Art Museum. Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Art Museum, 2009.

Tourtillott, Suzanne J. E. 500 Plates & Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function & Style. New York, NY: Lark Books, 2008.

Jiusto, Chere, and Janet Koplos, Peter Held, ed. A Ceramic Continuum: 50 Years of Archie Bray Influence. Seattle, WA: The University of Washington Press, 2001.

Lane, Peter. Ceramic Form. New York, NY: Rizzoli Publishing, 1988.

Mansfield, Janet. Salt-Glaze Ceramics: An International Perspective. Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Company, 1991.

Newby, Rick. “Chris Staley’s Rituals of Perception.” Ceramics Art and Perception no. 50 (2002).

Oliver, Retha. Process & Promise: Art, Education and Community at the 92nd Street Y. New York, NY: 92^nd Street Y Publishers, 2006.

Staley, Chris. “Copying vs. Creating.” Ceramics Monthly, May 2000.

__________. “Curator’s Statement on Strictly Functional Pottery National.” Ceramics Monthly (November 1995).

__________. “The Dirt on Teaching and Learning.” NCECA Journal (2015).

__________. “The Challenge of Making Pots at a University.” Ceramics Monthly (1996).

__________. “Personal Reflections.” Ceramics Monthly (February 1987).

__________. “Portfolio.” American Craft Magazine (February 1985).

Stevens, Dennis, “The Paradox of Craft.” Studio Potter Magazine (September 2007).

Tudball, Ruthanne. Soda Glazing. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995.