Jill Carway

Member since: 2007

Medium: Clay

City: Summerville, SC
Business name: Silver Pail Pottery
Phone: 843-851-9544
Email address: Silver.Pail@gmail.com
Website: www.silverpailpottery.com
Birthdate: July,1983

Process:
I do a combination of wheel-thrown, slab, and hand-cast work in white, brown, and black stonewares, and some porcelain. My current work is mid-range electric-fired in a wide range of colors, and I plan to begin some raku firing in 2008. I also enjoy working in high-temperature gas-firing, salt-firing, and wood-firing when these specialized kiln facilities are available to me.

Beginnings:

I've been occupied by the visual arts since I was very small, but my first experience with clay was as a junior in high school when I took a class from neighbor Alison McCauley. I didn't settle into ceramics fully until my first year of college, when I was assigned a clay project in one of my basic design classes. By the end of the first semester I was a clay major, and earned my ceramics degree in 2005.

Inspiration:

My inspirations are many, and are rooted in life in general. I'm inspired by historical ceramics, especially the Japanese and Korean aestheics; and also by the work of modern potters and my past instructors; by the intricacy and delicacy of jewelry and forged metalwork; by the images of painters and photographers, both famous and undiscovered; occasionally by interesting furniture and architecture; by the lines and shapes of nature; and most often by the happy accidents of my tools in the studio. Nothing is excepted.

Background:

I was born in Charleston, and have lived in all three of the Tri-counties. I received my Fine Arts degree from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where I studied under potter Jim Connell. I have also participated in workshops at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina under Catherine White and Shane Mickey, and as a studio-assistant in a full-length class under master potter Cynthia Bringle in the spring of 2007.

Silver Pail Pottery is a work-in-progress under the direction of myself and my business partner, Robin, who acts as my studio assistant, accountant, and also happens to be my mother. Until recently we worked out of the family garage, but graduated to our new home studio in January 2008.

Care, function, etc.

I enjoy making things so that I can use them, and often do use them at home, so the majority of my work is totally functional. Unless otherwise marked, all pieces are food-, microwave-, and dishwasher-safe, and oven-safe when used as directed.