FORM IN FORMATION—National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Conference

How do we find form and how can we make it mean? Form in Formation features the voices of nine clay artists: Kelly Connole and Megan Thomas sensitively relate forms foraged from nature and culture; Hitomi Shibata and Takuro Shibata transform wild clay and natural materials as expressions of traditional craft; Eva Kwong and Sarah Logan repurpose evocative biotic forms; Molly Altman, Hideo Mabuchi, and Juliane Shibata explore formal synergies through assembly.  As the footprint of exploration, form physicalizes the ways we search for knowing, feeling, and connection.  Our functional, sculptural, and installation works are presented alongside sources, snapshots, and sidelines of the creative strivings behind them. — Hideo Mabuchi

Molly Altman (b. 1995) is a ceramic artist who works directly with her local floral ecology to create intricate porcelain sculptures. Altman obtained a BA in ceramics from Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont in 2019. Her experience includes Artist Residencies at Green River Pottery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Recipiente Estudio in Mexico City, and Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology in Loch Lomond, California. She has taught and shown work nationally and internationally and her works are featured in private and public collections including the Bennington College Permanent Collection and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. Altman is currently an Artist-in-Residence at the Carbondale Clay Center in Carbondale, Colorado.

Kelly Connole is a studio artist and professor at Carleton College. Her sculptural work, addressing relationships within environments, has been exhibited nationally and is included in several publications and periodicals. She is the recipient of many awards including the McKnight Fellowship for Ceramic Artists in 2014 and 2019, two MN State Arts Board Grants, and a MN Campus Compact Award for her long standing Empty Bowls Project at Carleton.

Eva Kwong was born in Hong Kong and moved to New York as a teenager. She became interested in the arts as another language in high school. She received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from Tyler School of Art. Her work-study job at the Nature Lab at RISD immersed her studies in the diversity and similarity of forms from nature. Her lifelong interest in the intersection of the art and science of the natural world provides the conceptual framework and visual vocabulary for her compelling, colorful organic forms in sculpture, installations and vessels.

Sarah Logan (b. 1982) is a Northern California based artist working in wood-fire ceramics and work on paper. Her artwork is informed and motivated by curiosity of natural phenomena, and citizen science concerning intertidal ecosystems. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2005 and a Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts from Sierra Nevada University in 2022.  Logan’s interest with wood-fire process has led to working relationships with Flynn Creek Pottery in Comptche California, and Cobb Mountain Art and Ecology Project in Loch Lomond California.

Hideo Mabuchi works mainly in his home studio in Menlo Park but also makes use of facilities at Stanford University, where he is employed as a Professor of Applied Physics, and at the Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Center. His background as an academic makes him interested in the microscopic transformations that occur when clay is fired in atmospheric kilns, and in ideas arising at the nexus of craft, science, and the humanities.

Hitomi Shibata, a Japanese ceramic artist residing in Seagrove, NC, earned her Bachelor and Master of Education in Fine Art, Ceramics from Okayama University. Her artistic journey began in Shigaraki, a distinguished and historical pottery region in Japan, where she cultivated her skills and acquired substantial experience. In 2001, she was awarded Rotary Foundation Scholarship to study at University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. After relocating to Seagrove with her husband, Takuro Shibata in 2005, they established a pottery studio utilizing local clays and Japanese style wood kilns. Her work, which merges tradition with modern design, reflects her dedication to craft and sustainability. Shibata co-authored "Wild Clay" in 2022 and was recognized as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics in 2017.

Juliane Shibata received her MFA from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She was awarded a 2021 McKnight Artist Fellowship for Ceramic Artists and Artist Initiative grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2014, 2018, and 2020. Juliane received the Tile Heritage Prix Primo award at the 23rd Annual San Angelo National Ceramic Competition and first place in the 62nd Arrowhead Regional Biennial. She has been a resident artist at Oak Spring Garden Foundation, Starworks Center, Art Omi: Artists, The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China, and the College of Biological Sciences Conservatory & Botanical Collection at the University of Minnesota. Her installations have been commissioned by, among others, Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis. Works of hers belong to the permanent collections of Northern Arizona University’s Art Museum, the Brown-Forman Corporation, the Perlman Teaching Museum at Carleton College, and the Francis Greenburger Collection.

Takuro Shibata, a Japanese ceramicist currently residing in Seagrove, NC, earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Applied Chemistry from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. After graduation, he apprenticed under Hozan Tanii in Shigaraki, a historically renowned pottery village. In 2005, he became the director of Starworks Ceramics in NC, where he has dedicated himself to local clay research and the establishment of a clay-making facility. At his residence, Takuro and his wife, Hitomi, founded their pottery studio, Studio Touya. He actively participates in exhibitions, conducts lectures, and teaches workshops. He is also the co-author of the book Wild Clay. As a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, Takuro has been featured in national and international media, publications, and conferences.

Megan Thomas grew up in Hamilton, Ohio. She studied ceramic sculpture and painting at Bowling Green State University as an undergraduate student and graduated with an MFA in ceramics from Utah State University in 2020. She currently teaches and makes pots in Florida. She birdwatches and trail runs for fun.