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Samuel Johnson | Episode 240
Samuel Johnson was born on the Eastern prairie of the Red River Valley in 1973. After studying painting and ceramics at the University of Minnesota at Morris, he served a three and half year apprenticeship in pottery under Richard Bresnahan. In 2000, he was invited as a guest of Denmark’s Design School to study Scandinavian Ceramic design in Copenhagen; while also working at the International Ceramic Center in Skaelskor and as an assistant in private porcelain studios. After working for a short period in a studio in New York, he traveled to Japan as a studio guest of Koie Ryoji. In 2005, Johnson earned graduate degrees in fine art from the University of Iowa. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Artaxis.org, and international artist organization, and is an Associate Professor of Art at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University in Central Minnesota.
Bryan Hopkins went to college to study mathematics, and later earned an MFA in Ceramics from SUNY New Paltz. He lives in Buffalo, NY. Bryan’s personal research in ceramics centers on the vessel- both utilitarian and sculptural. He teaches at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, NY.
Eric Stearns earned his BA from Doane College and MFA from Fort Hays State University in Kansas, returning to Doane to teach after graduation. When not teaching, Eric creates sculptural pierced raku-fired art with a eye toward precision while emphasizing his mathematical patterns.
Anne Pryde is a professional ceramic artist working from her home-based studio in Hatchet Lake Nova Scotia. A graduate of NSCAD University, Anne has been working as a professional in clay since 2006. Her recent work can be found in a variety of galleries and gift shops in Atlantic Canada. Anne’s work is influenced by wild medicinal plants, agricultural practices and a strong tradition of pottery in Nova Scotia.
Garrett DeLooze is a wood fire potter from Annapolis, Maryland, currently working in Gishen, Indiana. Garrett received his BFA from Frostburg State University in 2012 and stayed an extra year to be the ceramic lab tech/teaching assistant. The following year Garrett was a production potter for a center helping adults with developmental disabilities gain employment through a day program. At the beginning of 2015, Garrett moved to Goshen, Indiana to be Justin Rothshank’s assistant.
Matthew Schiemann is a second-generation potter that grew up watching and helping his dad create ceramic works. This early exposure taught Matt to appreciate the handmade object and eventually to choose the field of ceramics for himself. He received his Bachelors of Arts in Sculpture and Ceramics from Ashland University in 2005 and his Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2009.
Robert Piepenburg was born in Detroit, MI and received his Bachelor’s, Master’s degree and MFA degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, three Michigan Council for the Arts Creative Artists Grants and an Outstanding Teacher of the Year award from Oakland Community College. His works appear in public and private collections from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Ian F. Thomas is an installation artist living in Slippery Rock, PA and works at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. Ian holds a BFA from Slippery Rock University and an MFA from Texas Tech University. Ian received additional training at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia, and The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China.
Risa Nisimori has been working and teaching ceramics at her studio, N.Y. Togei Kyoshitsu in New York City. Risa studied proper wheel throwing in Japan, but Risa’s preferred method is Nerikomi, using different mixed clays and creating new and interesting patterns.
Lauren Gallaspy received her BFA in ceramics at the University of Georgia in 2005 and her MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2007. From 2009 to 2012, Gallaspy served as co-director and owner of Trace Gallery in Athens, Georgia alongside artist, educator, and collector Andy Nasisse. In 2013, she was recognized by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts as an Emerging Artist in the field. Additionally, she was one of 25 artists awarded the prestigious Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant for 2012. Her work has been featured in Ceramics:Art & Perception, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics Now, Clay Times, Lark Book’s The Best of 500 Ceramics and 500 Cups, Rocky Mountain Artists, and the recently published Glaze: The Ultimate Ceramic Artist’s Guide to Glaze and Color. Gallaspy has exhibited nationally and internationally in over 60 group and solo exhibitions since 2007, including in the highly publicized “State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now” at Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas. Lauren was an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts from 2012 to 2015 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She is currently a long term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana.