Our Next Salon Meeting is announced! Join us November 23 with Dan Ishler!
We're the Whidbey Pottery Salon. We love clay.
We are a free, in-person meeting of potters on Whidbey Island. There will be snacks, and coffee. and ugly mugs.
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Welcome!
The Whidbey Pottery Salon is a place for potters to exchange ideas, be inspired, join their community, learn more about Whidbey and Pacific NW art history, hear career retrospectives, and celebrate the joy and craft of clay.
there are are also snacks :-)
Join our mailing list and follow us on instagram to RSVP for our next meeting on November 23, 2024
Our Guest Artist for Our June Salon
About Dan Ishler-- Oak Harbor, WA
Artist Statement
My first experience with clay, watching and feeling its reaction to my touch, happened in the 4th grade. I was basically hooked then, but did not realize it until my college years when I was reintroduced to clay and its magical qualities. I've always enjoyed building and creating things - from model racecars, airplanes and backyard tree houses to working with wood and metal in my dad's shops. But I was intrigued by clay and its responsiveness to the touch of my hand. This intimacy plays itself out with every piece I create today, using only my hands and a potter's wheel. I work with a small series of similar forms, usually 10-12 pieces concentrating on and exploring the subtle aspects of each emerging piece - actually feeling the shape as much as seeing it. I formulate and mix all my own glazes, as well as the washes and slips used under and over the glazes.
Work History
Over the last forty-plus years my life has revolved around designing, producing and marketing functional and art pottery. I began my pottery career by working part-time in the basement and expanded over the years to a separate production studio. My studio produced a wide variety of functional art pieces of my design, using numerous production methods ranging from wheel thrown and hand built to jiggering and ram pressing. I designed and built the molds and dies for the production equipment in addition to formulating all the glazes. We successfully marketed this work in galleries and art shows throughout the United States as well as through wholesale outlets covering 12 states nationwide. As time permitted, I also participated in workshops and taught private classes to beginner/intermediate students with interests from functional to abstract art pieces. My wife and I moved to Whidbey Island, WA in 1999. Each Spring, beginning in 2005, I give a workshop and throwing demonstration at Oak Harbor High School for their student ceramics department and occasionally allow students to work with me in my studio, giving them valuable experience. In addition, I offer private workshops at my studio on pit-firing theory and techniques. In 2010 I returned to my sculptural roots in clay by concentrating on producing characterizations of classic cars. I have taken an active role in developing and promoting the Whidbey Working Artists Studio Tour since 2004, whose main objective is the support and promotion of local fine art/artists. The spring and summer tours average 30 separate studios and over 40 artists, drawing attendance from the greater Pacific Northwest. Education Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA 1970 -1974 Alfred University Alfred, NY 1974 -1975