Ron Slagle
Potters of the Roan Exhibit

Ron Slagle Biography

Ron, a studio arts major, in 1970 made his first clay object, and five years later established the Schoolhouse Clay Group outside Nashville, Tennessee in Mt. Juliet. In 1978, Ron left Mt. Juliet and came to his family farm in Bakersville, NC where he maintained his studio and a wholesale line of work. Ron's work involved utilitarian stoneware production using a reduction kiln till 1989, when he took a sabbatical leave to reevaluate his personal and professional life. During 1997 he reopened his studio and a gallery for his work using a wood fired kiln. He presently includes his drawings, paintings and sculptural work in the gallery.

Ron Slagle Artist Statement

My involvement with wood firings has widened my world of possibilities in imagery that I enjoyed only intermittently over the years. A labor-intensive involvement with the firings and the collective information from each firing has built a wide foundation of visual directions for me. I enjoy using functional and sculptural forms as canvas; themes include floral or figurative forms that wrap themselves on the surface.

Functional utilitarian work reflects my earlier interest in throwing on the wheel. Hand building work has provided me with a realm of work that is not possible with the wheel. I have given more time and thought to each piece, defining each area and direction. Sculptural forms have become an important avenue for image development. Themes cross borders, religion, politics, and nature. Simple gestures, that moment in time when body language reveals inner thought, something shared universally in nature and human relations.

Overall, I have tried to build a base of information within a body of work, which would allow me to change and evaluate each part of the object in a process. The effort of each skill is an accumulation of experience and knowledge of the material to achieve my goals. The simpler the form, the more value I hold for its visual qualities. Surface simplicity yields a greater relationship with the kiln firing as it bonds all the parts of the clay form, creating a pattern of unity.

"All pottery is a copy. The only question is what the copy is aiming for; what element of the original it is seeking to emulate."
Fusajiro Kitaoji (aka: Rosanjin) 1883-1959

Ron Slagle Artist Resume

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Art, Austin Peay State University 1973

Masters of Science in Ceramics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 1975

LIST OF NOTABLE EXHIBITIONS

The first ACC Baltimore Show, Rhinebeck, Winter Park, Gasprilla, Virginia Beach Boardwalk show, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Lincoln Center Arts on the Plaza, Artigras, Beaux Art Festival, Columbus Winter Fair, ArtScape Atlanta, a founding exhibitor with the Tennessee Artist Craftsmen Association (TACA), charter member of Potters of the Roan and numerous other shows and exhibits with galleries.