John is a ceramic artist, currently living in the Asheville, NC area with his studio located at Southside Studios. John holds a B.S. from the University of Southern Indiana and an M.F.A from the University of Mississippi. After graduate school he spent 3 years as an artist assistant for Jun Kaneko, where he learned to build extremely large work. He is currently an adjunct professor of art at University of North Carolina Asheville.

John’s surface decorations are inspired by abstract expressionism. The implied gesture, movement, and boldness that abstract expressionism has achieved exhilarates me. Using line and color, I am inspired to create bold and gestural surfaces in my work. The use of various firing methods leads to exciting and interesting possibilities. Each piece requires a different process: from cleaner surfaces of an electric firing, to wild more dramatic surfaces of atmospheric high firing. The use of soda, salt, or wood firing allows the kiln to paint the work and give more variation in the surface.