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Jan Arbogast is a native of New
Orleans who came to Indiana University where she studied ceramics
with Karl Martz. During her first year at IU, a visiting professor from Japan
taught her a love of throwing on the wheel. Since that time she has honed her
skills to produce hand-thrown stoneware under
the name Four Seasons Pottery.
Jan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Indiana University.
Her pottery interests and skills led her to earn a Master of Science in Art
Education with a focus on ceramics. Jan shares her knowledge and skills by
teaching ceramics classes to both children and adults at the John Waldron Art
Center in Bloomington, Indiana. She has also taught at the Bloomington Potters’
Cooperative.
Jan is a member of the Bloomington Potters’ Cooperative, Bloomington Area Arts
Council, Brown County Craft Guild and serves on the Fourth Street Festival
Committee. She lives in Bloomington with her husband, Keith.
Artist's Statement:
When I began my study of
pottery-making, I learned from my teacher, Karl Martz, that pots are made
from the inside out. To have integrity, the exterior of a pot must be a
reflection of the interior. To make a vase or a bowl is to make the inside
of the form. Similarly, the Japanese speak of a person who has eyes to see
things -- one who not only sees the thing but sees into it.
The art of making pottery is permeated with the nature of things; both the
outward and the inward, the visible and the invisible. The beauty of
hand-made pottery reflects the beauty and rhythm of nature. It is a beauty
that is especially appeasing because it defies the artificial precision of
technology, and results in something that follows the timeless flow of
nature.
The rhythm of the seasons is felt in the process of potting. In the full,
static heat of summer, pots take forever to dry, as if reluctant to meet the
fire; while in the crispness of autumn they hurry into the kiln. Winter is a
time when preparation takes longer; the studio must be warmed, the clay is
cold and stiff, the focus is on planning. Spring brings a renewed ease of
working and the pots seem to come on with the energy of spring flowers. As
the seasons repeat year after year, the cycle of making pots repeats - the
clay is worked and forms come into being, always something new and something
timeless. |
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