CONTEMPORARY CLAY

January 13 - February 27,2023

From the Rockport Center for the Arts: "Contemporary Clay, showcasing the work of ceramic artist Winston Taylor, will be featured at Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA), Jan. 13–Feb. 26, in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery located on the upper level.   The general public will have the opportunity to meet the Arkansas-born Taylor as he discusses his work and process in a gallery talk on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 12:30 p.m. followed by a members-only reception from 5–7 p.m. the same day. Both events will be held in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery on RCA’s upper level.   Named an “Arkansas Living Treasure” in 2011, Taylor’s commissioned works can be found throughout his native state and are highly sought by collectors.   "Contemporary Clay really tests the limits of clay and aesthetics. Taylor’s forms are both geometric and organic, and the surfaces ” said Elena Rodriguez, exhibitions curator for Rockport Center for the Arts.   The son of a self-taught painter, Taylor had always shown an interest in art — and in automobiles — often dreaming of designing them and even winning an award from the GM Craftsman Guild for some of his designs as a high school senior in 1967. But realizing his true passion as an artist would begin later in life following his military service, a nine-year career in auto body repair, marriage and the birth of his daughter. Returning to the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UALR) where he was pursuing a degree in art with emphasis in graphic design, Taylor took pottery as an elective and discovered his true passion. “I enjoyed drawing and took several courses in that medium,” said Taylor. “I also did fairly well with the other mediums I explored, but it was the clay that captured my heart.”   Since graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts from UALR, the award-winning artist has continued to evolve and develop his artistic style over the years, moving from his native Little Rock to Russellville where he has lived and maintained his studio since 1990. “I developed an interest in Raku as a student at UALR and it was there that I built my first Raku kiln.” I was intrigued by the spontaneous nature of the process, the hands-on involvement throughout, and the magical results when there was success.”   In recent years Taylor has used a technique called saggar firing, placing the clay object in a container, or saggar, where the space around it is filled with volatile materials like metal sulfates, oxides, salts, copper wire, steel wool, etc., or other methods including using metal containers or a wrapping of aluminum foil. Taylor achieves a glassy surface by first sanding a dry pot and then moistening it slightly with a combination of baby oil and water, immediately beginning to burnish in a cross-hatching manner once the moisture has soaked in until the surface is shiny and void of dull areas. The process may take more than an hour and must be done without stopping, but Taylor says he finds the process both enjoyable and meditative.   Other saggar-fired pieces may have a dry sandy surface which is the result of using a coarser clay body called stoneware, which omits the burnishing process.   “With both methods, there is a risk of cracking pieces due to thermal shock so nice color and no cracks are treasured results. I fire them in a Raku kiln and slowly raise the temperature to avoid that result. The pieces are never exactly the same although there general similarities in the effects, something I enjoy.”   Contemporary Clay will coincide with the popular Rockport Clay Expo, making its return Feb. 4–5, featuring dozens of clay artists from across Texas, as well as demonstrations and other gallery exhibits at various locations along Austin Street including The Rockport Conference Center located on the RCA campus.   “The Clay Expo brings such an energy to Rockport, we are excited to be able to host much of it on our beautiful new campus,” said Luis Purón, executive director for Rockport Center for the Arts. “We look forward to once again working with the Aransas County Council on Aging to help raise funds for Meals on Wheels with this two-day event that has always been a great draw both locally and from around the state.”   Contemporary Clay, is free and open to the public. For general information, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.   About Rockport Center for the Arts The new 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, including a 4,400-square-foot ballroom and culinary arts kitchen (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. Hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519. For information on event space, or to book an event, contact Paulette Kluge at (361) 960-2090."

Rockport Center for the Arts 638 E. Market St.
Rockport, TX 78382
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