Virginia Marsh | Also Known As: Ginny Marsh

Born: 1945, Sherman, Texas

Typical Marks

About

Biography

Meredith Host is known for porcelain pottery. Forms are developed on the potter's wheel and revolve around pieces included in a standard dinner set. As a collector of domestic patterns, Host's creations revolve around themes of patterning in everyday life, especially those found on utilitarian embossed paper products.

Once off the potter's wheel, Host moves through a series of surface decoration techniques when pieces are in the pre-fired leather hard stage. Host begins her surface decorating process by using the thermofax technique, where she custom prints underglaze patterns (using a thermofax machine) on 8 x11? pliable plastic sheets. Plastic sheets are placed (underglaze side down) over the exterior of a leather hard form and rubbed softly with the hand or finger. The underglaze pattern is then transferred to the clay body and the process is repeated based on the desired effect. Host uses the thermofax technique to develop the bulk of her pattern designs.

After thermofax patterns are transferred on the leather hard form, Host applies a series of brightly colored underglaze dots to add a secondary pattern over and around thermofax designs. Work is then fired to bisque and glazed using a clear satin gloss. A final electric kiln glaze firing commences, allowing for underglaze design work to become the prominent feature in the finished state.

Apprenticeships & Residencies

1984

Banff Centre School of Art, Alberta, Canada

Primary Work Experience

1980

1995

Editorial Advisor, Chilton Book Company

Studio Potter

1975

1995

Professor of Fine Arts, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky

2000—

Craft Guild of Dallas, Dallas, Texas

2000—

Adjunct Professor, University of Dallas, Irving, Texas

Other

Public Collections

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC

Bibliography

Arbuckle, Linda, ed. 500 Plates and Chargers: Innovative Expressions of Function and Style. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2008.
Burkett, Richard and Glenn C. Nelson. A Potter’s Handbook, 6^th ed. London: Thomson Learning, 2002.

Cushing, Val M. The Ceramic Design Book, a Gallery of Contemporary Work. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1998.
Davis, Don. Wheel-Thrown Ceramics. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1998.

“Ginny and Tom Marsh.” Ceramics Monthly (January 1979).

Hemachandra, Ray and Jim Romberg. 500 Raku: Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique. Asheville, NC: Lark Crafts, 2011.

Hopper, Robin. Functional Pottery, Form and Aesthetic in Pots of Purpose, 2^nd.edition. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2001.
___________. The Ceramic Spectrum, 2^nded. Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2001.

___________. The Ceramic Spectrum, 1^st ed. Radnor, PA: Chilton Books, 1984.
Hunt, Willian. “Marsh Pottery.” Ceramics Monthly (March 1974).

__________. 21st Century Ceramics in the United States and Canada. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 2003.
“Kentucky Potters.” Studio Potter (Summer 1987).

Lawton, Jim. 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design, v. 2. Asheville, NC: Lark Crafts, 2013.

Marsh, Virginia. “Surface Design and Clay.” Contact: The Alberta Potter’s Association Quarterly, no. 97 (Summer 1994).

____________.“The Ceremony of Tea.” Ceramics: Art and Perception, no 24 (June 1996).

____________. “Notes on the Teaching of Ceramic History.” Studio Potter 25, no. 1 (December 1996).

____________. “Wheel Throwing: Low Stress Centering.” Pottery Making Illustrated (winter 1998).

Molinaro, Joe. Pottery Tour of Kentucky. Lexington, KY: Crystal Communications, 2000.
Pancioli, Diana. Extruded Ceramics. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1999.

Rogers, Phil. Ash Glazes. Radnor, PA: Chilton Book Company, 1991.

Salamoni, Amedeo. Wood fired Ceramics: 100 Contemporary Artists. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. 2013.
Triplett, Kathy. Handbuilt Ceramics. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 1997.
Turner, Anderson. Pottery Making Techniques. Westerville, OH: American Ceramic Society, 2004.
Zakin Richard. Ceramics: Mastering the Craft, 2^nd ed. Iola, WI: Krause
Publications, 2001.

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