Local Clay is on display in Kentuck's Museum Gallery from February 6, 2025 through February 28th, 2025. This exhibition features eight ceramic artists from West Alabama whose clay work showcases a variety of techniques and artistic voices.
Artist Talks:
(Recorded Feb 6, 2025)
Artists and their work:
Doris Blum
Doris is a Red Dog Potter and has had her hands in clay, on and off, for nearly 50 years. Her backyard is wildly overrun with weeds and vines she collects to press into leather-hard clay. She then overlays colored slips and underglazes, lifting the leaf to reveal an outlined image.
Work on View:
A: Organic Shaped Platter, Doris Blum, Cone 6 electric fired slip ware with leaves, 16"x8", EX-DB-02, $175
B: Organic Shaped Platter, Doris Blum, Cone 6 electric fired slip ware with leaves, 12"x13", EX-DB-01, $175
C: Large box twig handle with Bug, Doris Blum, Raku fired twigs wire work with China paint, 5"x6", EX-DB-04, $175
D: Bowl, Doris Blum, Cone 6 electric fired slip ware with China paint, 4.5"x9", EX-DB-03, $145
E: ‘Rock’ box with bug, Doris Blum, Cone 6 fired with wire work and China paint, 2.5"x2.5", EX-DB-07, $75
F: Box with colored leaves and bug, Doris Blum, Cone 6 fired wire work with China, 3"x3", EX-DB-08, $85
H: Brown Lizard Box with Bug, Doris Blum, Sawdust fired wire work with China paint, 2.5"x4.5", EX-DB-06, $95
I: Green Lizard Box with Bug, Doris Blum, Cone 10 raku glaze fired wire work with China paint, 4"x5", EX-DB-05, $110
Kerry Kennedy
Kerry’s first love is pottery and sculptural ceramics. She has thrown pottery for over twenty years. As a student, Kennedy was deeply interested in sculptural works that fused thrown forms with organic aesthetics. Kerry was a Kentuck studio artist for almost eighteen years, and now works from her studio at her home. During her Artist Talk on Art Night, she said, "I really found my voice in that (Kentuck's) studio."
Work on View:
A: Large Misty Grey Bowl, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-09, sold
B: Large Waterfall Bowl, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-07, $75
C: Medium Green Wavy Bowl, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-05, $35
D: Medium Green Lotus Bowl, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-06, $35
E: Small Lotus Bowl, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-04, $18
F: Heart Bowl 1, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-01, $24
G: Heart Bowl 3, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-03, $24
H: Heart Bowl 2, Kerry Kennedy, Clay, EX-KK-02, $24
Amy Smoot
Amy received her MFA from The University of Alabama in 2019. Her practice involves a variety of ceramics techniques including mold-making, slip-casting, hand building, and wheel thrown pottery. Amy began teaching for Kentuck in 2021 and joined Kentuck’s staff as Clay Studio Manager in 2023. Amy's work is based on the playful and nostalgic elements of the universal experience that people share.
Work on View:
A: SIMulacrum, Amy Smoot, Clay, Underglaze, 22"x30"x23", EX-AS-01, $5,000
Meg Howton
Meg began her young career making mud pies in the iron-rich Alabama clay. She now is a full-time instructor of ceramics at The University of Alabama. Meg has received awards such as the Alabama Clay Conference Student Scholarship & received the Wingate Grant in 2019. During her Artist Talk on Art Night, she said, "There is something special about a handmade object and how we interact with them."
Work on View:
A: Platter, Meg Howton, stoneware, underglaze, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 13.5"x13.5"x1.5", EX-MH-04, $90
B: Blueberry Vase, Meg Howton, stoneware, underglaze, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 9"x 7"x 7", EX-MH-01, $125
C: Oval Blueberry Platter, Meg Howton, stoneware, underglaze, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 14" x 6"x1.5", EX-MH-05, $75
D: Strawberry Vase, Meg Howton, stoneware, underglaze, slip, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 7.5"x6.5"x6.5", EX-MH-02, $115
E: Strawberry Mug, Meg Howton, stoneware, slip, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 6"x5"x5", EX-MH-06, $65
F: Blueberry Mug, Meg Howton, stoneware, underglaze, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 6"x5"x5", EX-MH-07, $65
G: Strawberry Platter, Meg Howton, stoneware, underglaze, glaze, cone 6 oxidation, 13"x13"x1.5", EX-MH-03, $90
Daniel Livingston
Daniel has been working with clay for a large portion of his life. During his Artist Talk, he said, “I have always been fascinated by the potter’s wheel. There was just something about it that drew me in when I was younger, and this was years before I even touched one.”
Daniel is a retired ceramics professor from The University of Alabama has been involved with Kentuck since the 1970s. Livingston exhibits his work at many other galleries throughout the Southeast and is known fondly as “the guru of raku.”
Work on View:
A: Green Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 12"x7", EX-DL-05, $200
B: White Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 4"x6.5", EX-DL-09, $50
C: White Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 4.5"x6.5", EX-DL-10, sold
D: Green Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 9"x8.5", EX-DL-02, $150
E: White Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 12"x8", EX-DL-04, $200
F: Blue Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 8"x9", EX-DL-07, $150
G: Blue Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 8"x8.5", EX-DL-01, $150
H: Blue Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 10"x7", EX-DL-03, $130
I: White Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 7"x10", EX-DL-08, $150
J: Green Raku Fired, Daniel Livingston, Ceramic, 10"x10", EX-DL-06, $225
Lee Busby
Colonel Lee Busby is a retired Marine Infantry Officer and former Tuscaloosa businessman. He is a lifelong Tuscaloosa resident. As a Marine, Busby was awarded three Legion of Merit awards, a Bronze Star, a Joint Meritorious Service medal, a Meritorious Service medal & numerous personal and Campaign awards. He is a military certified parachutist and combat diver. Busby took up, sculpting and pottery after his retirement from the military. His pottery grew from his sculpture work and he enjoys combining facial sculpture with large pottery vessels.
Work on View:
A: Muse (with Handles), Lee Busby, Clay, sculpted pottery, 15.5 ", EX-LB-02, $300
B: Shebahb lady, Lee Busby, clay sculpted pottery, 19", EX-LB-04, $300
C: Medusa, Lee Busby, Clay, sculpted pottery, 20", EX-LB-01, $350
D: Tall vase, with swirly handles, Lee Busby, Clay, thrown pottery, 16", EX-LB-03, $300
Carol Lammon
After Carol retired from teaching nursing, she participated in painting and pottery classes offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and Kentuck Art Center. During her Artist Talk, she said, "Once I got my hands in clay it was all over."
A love of collecting pottery was transformed into a passion for creating pottery. Most of Carol’s works are functional pieces; inspired by antiques, organics, and old lace.
Work on View:
A: “Little” Big Leaf Magnolia Kettle, Carol Lammon, "The kettle shape was inspired by my Father’s kettle which sat on a huge wood heater to humidify the air. My version is imprinted with a stamp I made from a newly opened “baby” leaf from the champion big leaf magnolia tree in Alabama. This tree is only a few yards from my pottery studio. The wooden handle was turned by Dwight Lammon from ash wood. Note: This is a sculptural piece and cannot be used as a functional kettle," 14.5"x12"x11", EX-CL-07, sold
B: Spirits of the Mississippi River, Carol Lammon, "The handle is a piece of driftwood I picked up along the Mississippi river. The carving in the bowl is influenced by pottery from the Mississippian era of Native American Culture," 8"x12"x19", EX-CL-08, sold
C: Big Leaf Magnolia Lamp, Carol Lammon, "Lamp imprinted with three big leaf magnolia leaves. The lamp cap invokes the image of the seed pod. The finial is a bloom on the cusp of opening. Dwight Lammon turned the cherry wood base of the lamp," 28"x12.5", EX-CL-01, $350
D: Vintage Lace Bowl, Carol Lammon, "This bowl is imprinted with a piece of handmade vintage lace over one hundred years old," 4.25"x15"x15", EX-CL-03, $150
E: Pierced Blueberry Bowl, Carol Lammon, "This fruit bowl was formed using a vintage wooden dough bowl as a mold," 3"x10.75"x18.75", EX-CL-09, $150
F: Yellowhammer Alabama Tray, Carol Lammon, "Alabama tray imprinted with the Alabama state bird," 1"x8.5"x13",
EX-CL-05, sold
G: American Beauty Berry Platter, Carol Lammon, "This platter is imprinted with an American beauty berry branch. The leaves are enhanced with a slip “embroidery” technique. The texture on the rim of the platter was created with an ocotillo cactus branch I picked up in Oklahoma," 1.5"x15.5"x11.5", EX-CL-06, sold
Hayes Dobbins
Hayes has been making art her whole life, always drawn to create with whatever materials she had on hand. She earned her BFA with a concentration in sculpture from the University of Montevallo in 2001. "Clay is a very seductive and forgiving medium, and I form a relationship with each clay body I use." Her sculptures are primarily made from wild clay (naturally occurring clay) that she harvests from the creek and riverbanks in West Alabama.
Work on View:
A: Vine Bodice, Hayes Dobbins, local clay, 11"x4"x3.5", EX-HD-03, $135
B: Hecate, Hayes Dobbins, local clay and mixed media, 19"x6"x7", EX-HD-04, $1300
C: Raw Bodice, Hayes Dobbins, local clay, 7"x3"x3", EX-HD-02, $95
D: Brigid, Hayes Dobbins, local clay and mixed media, 31"x14"x14", EX-HD-05, $1400
E: Leaf Bodice, Hayes Dobbins, stoneware, 5"x4"x4", EX-HD-08, $75
F: Green Dress, Hayes Dobbins, local clay, 8.5"x7"x7", EX-HD-01, sold
G: Gaia, Hayes Dobbins, stoneware and mixed media, 30"x12"x6", EX-HD-06, $NFS
H: Wedding Dress, Hayes Dobbins, stoneware, 5.5"x5.5"x5", EX-HD-09, $120
I: Green Bodice, Hayes Dobbins, stoneware, 4.5"x2.25"x2.5", EX-HD-11, $75
J: Blue Bodice, Hayes Dobbins, stoneware, 8"x4.5"x4", EX-HD-07, $125
K: Lady of the Tree, Hayes Dobbins, local clay, 21.5"x5.5"x5.5", EX-HD-12, $850
L: Pink Bodice, Hayes Dobbins, stoneware, 5"x2.5"x2", EX-HD-10, $75
From The Earth: Local Clay is on view in Kentuck Art Center’s Museum Gallery until February 28, 2025. We encourage you to visit to see this work in person! See something you're interested in purchasing? Give us a call at 205-758-1257 or email us at kentuck@kentuck.org. Out staff is happy to help! Kentuck is open regular hours—Monday-Friday, 9:30-5:30 and Saturday-Sunday, 12-4.