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An intriguing sculptural pot by David Shaner, with an unglazed exterior

 

Through his love for ceramics, David Shaner became an accomplished artist whose work was and is widely known for his mastery of traditional pottery techniques as well as for the red glaze that bears his name. The influence of Japanese potters as well as those who studied their work is evident in Shaner’s own earlier pottery. Over the years his interest in non-traditional pot-making grew into a developed pursuit of what we might call ceramic sculpture. Here (below) are three Shaner pots that show his willingness to explore forms that move beyond the circular shape we usually associate with clay that has been molded on a rotating wheel and bat (or platter on which a pot is shaped). Notice the manipulation of the rims of the second and third pots, as well as the presence of the Shaner’s Red glaze on all three.

     

In Shaner’s work, these explorations of the plasticity associated with raw clay then progress to more dramatic departures from traditional pot making. Such pot making is largely focused on forms where the subsequent utility of the result is at least suggested if not also intended (as with Shaner’s teapot displayed in a prior post). In addition to the pot depicted at the top of this post, I share below a number of my favorite examples of what I have referred to as his ceramic sculptures.

A number of these examples of Shaner’s explorative work with fired and glazed clay are termed his series of ‘pillow’ pots, suggested by their rounded ‘puffed-looking’ forms. In addition to his regard for the work of fellow potters, Shaner admired the sculpture of the modern Japanese artist Isamu Noguchi, as well as that of the British sculptor Henry Moore, with whose work he felt an affinity. Below are some more examples of Shaner’s ceramic art.

David Shaner’s traditional-looking pots represent well his skills and lifelong dedication to mastering the medium for his chosen work. His sculptural art is more immediately identifiable as representing a vision expressed in ceramics that was uniquely his own, and which continues to be widely admired.

  

David Shaner taking a break, and another example of his work as a ceramic artist.