Stanley Mace Andersen
Potters of the Roan Exhibit

Stanley Mace Andersen Biography

Stan Andersen works with earthenware clay and is concerned primarily with making utilitarian ware for the table and kitchen. He uses the majolica technique in decorating pots, and fires them in an electric kiln to cone 03.

He wants his pottery to become part of the daily flow on domestic life, to contribute to the enjoyment of preparing, serving, and presenting food. He is concerned with the expression of line, color, patterns, and their relationship to the pottery forms.

Because he wants his pots to be used daily, he doesn't want to give the impression that the maker has painstakingly labored over the decoration. He paints quickly and directly on the raw glazed surface, creating liquid flowing lines, splashes of color and overlaps of brushstrokes. His hallmarks are exuberance and casual spontaneity, rhythm and grace.

Stanley Mace Andersen Artist Statement

I work with earthenware clay and I am concerned primarily with making utilitarian earthenware for table and kitchen use. The pieces are fired in an oxidation atmosphere to cone 03 (about 2000 F) in an electric kiln. I use the majolica technique in decorating my pots. This is simply to paint with stains, oxides or colored glazes on an opaque light or white background glaze. Then the pieces are fired. Historically, majolica-decorated pottery became popular during the 15th century in Italy. The name comes from the island Majorca where the Italians were first introduced to this type of pottery. This technique provides a wide range of bright, sharp colors. More importantly, I feel the majolica technique best allows me to convey the kind of attitude or feeling I want my pottery to evoke, that is one of lightheartedness.

Most of my life was spent in the Midwest-I was raised on a farm in Iowa. After high school I worked as a farm hand and on cross-country pipeline construction until I decided to go to college. I moved to New York after graduating from the University of Iowa and worked in the Columbia University Law Library. In 1971, My wife and I left New York and traveled around Europe. I began to work in clay when I returned to the University of Iowa which led me to enroll as a graduate student at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Stanley Mace Andersen Artist Resume

Education:

Master of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design (1978)

Master of Arts, Library Science, University of Iowa (1976)

Bachelor of Arts & Sciences, Philosophy and Sociology, University of Iowa (1967).