Ceramics

A member of the KCAI faculty since 1996, Cary Esser, professor and chair of the ceramics department, specializes in architectural...Read More

A member of the KCAI faculty since 1996, Cary Esser, professor and chair of the ceramics department, specializes in architectural applications of ceramics, such as tiles, wall reliefs and installations informed by the traditions and motifs of architectural ornament

Esser's work is currently featured in the nationally traveling exhibition "Craft in America" with venues including the Mengei International Museum in San Diego, the Houston Center for Contemporary Art and the Cranbrook Art Museum. Her work is also illustrated in the book "Craft in America," published in 2007 by Clarkson Potter.

Her commissioned works include a collaborative metal and ceramic sculpture and wall panel for the Secretary of State Building in Raleigh, N.C.; ceramic murals in Heritage Park in Sanford, N.C.; and ceramic relief murals at the Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Md.

Esser has served on the National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts board and was the on-site liaison for the 2002 NCECA conference in Kansas City.

Esser has presented lectures and workshops at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Peters Valley Craft Center and the Archie Bray Foundation. She has served on advisory boards for North Carolina regional art projects. She is a former artist-in-residence at Duke University and has taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Louisiana State University. She holds an M.F.A. degree from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University and a B.F.A. degree from KCAI.

Contact: 816-802-3318 or cesser@kcai.edu
 www.caryesser.com

 

George Timock, professor, has a particular interest in double-walled vessels that are raku-fired and inspired by the landscape. His work...Read More

George Timock, professor, has a particular interest in double-walled vessels that are raku-fired and inspired by the landscape. His work has been widely exhibited in solo, group, invitational and juried exhibitions, including the Survey Exhibition of GTs Raku Vessels 1978-98, Goddard Gallery, Sedalia, Mo., 1998; the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; "A Century of Ceramics in the United States," Everson Museum, Syracuse, N.Y.; and a one-artist show at Exhibit-A Gallery, Chicago.

His works are in several permanent collections, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. His work has been featured in publications including "Objects: U.S.A.," by Lee Nordess; "Raku Pottery; A Century of Ceramics in the U.S." and "Low Fire Ceramics, A New Direction in American Clay."

Timock received National Endowment for the Arts grants in 1974 and 1981.

A member of the KCAI faculty since 1973, he holds B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Contact: 816-802-3316 or gtimock@kcai.edu

Paul Donnelly, a native of Philadelphia, is a studio potter who uses slip cast and wheel-thrown techniques to create decorative yet...Read More

Paul Donnelly, a native of Philadelphia, is a studio potter who uses slip cast and wheel-thrown techniques to create decorative yet functional pottery. His work navigates between architecture, nature and popular culture to reveal notions of history and fashion and their place in the domestic landscape. He received his B.F.A. degree from Edinboro University and his M.F.A. from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Before receiving his master's degree, he managed the ceramics department facilities at the University of Pennsylvania while also participating in the Artist in Residence Program at the Clay Studio in Philadelphia. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and has been published in American Craft Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, 500 pitchers and Making Marks.

Recently, Donnelly was an invited artist at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, where he participated in a residency session titled "Crafting Content." During this session, artists worked collaboratively while examining conversations about the contemporary studio craft movement.

Misty Gamble’s work is inspired by the human figure and its infinite capacity for communication.This makes sense given that, as a...Read More

Misty Gamble’s work is inspired by the human figure and its infinite capacity for communication.This makes sense given that, as a child, Misty was immersed in her father’s world of puppetry and the performing arts.

Traveling to many parts of the world as a young girl and later as an adult has also made an indelible impact on her life and work. In 1998, Misty was invited to be the first American to perform in Iran (since 1979) at the 7th International Puppet Festival in Tehran.

Gamble’s current work, life-size ceramic figurative sculptures, focuses attention on issues surrounding femininity and challenges conventional standards of morality, normalcy and propriety.

Gamble received her M.F.A. degree from San Francisco State University and is the recipient of a number of honors including awards from the Martin Wong Foundation, National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Arts and the Ellice T. Johnston Foundation. In 2008, she received an artist grant from the Ruth Chenven Foundation and was honored as a Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist. Misty has been awarded long-term residencies at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, where she earned the Howard Kottler Fellowship, and The Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Fla.

She teaches in the foundation department at KCAI and exhibits nationally.

Elaina Wendt Michalski, a Kansas City native, received her M.F.A. degree from the University of Florida in 2004 and her B.F.A. degree...Read More

Elaina Wendt Michalski, a Kansas City native, received her M.F.A. degree from the University of Florida in 2004 and her B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2000. Her recent work includes life-size fired and unfired clay figures, found objects and video projections. She has taught art at Rockhurst University, Longview Community College and Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts high school. She is currently an artist mentor for the MyARTS program for city teens and continues to exhibit her artwork nationally. She was recently awarded a studio with the Urban Culture Project sponsored by the Charlotte Street Foundation.