Artist’s Statement
I’m fascinated by objects that evoke the mystery of the natural world. Such objects reference animal and human forms, or geologic formations, and they seem to be imbued with spirit and power, or mana, in the language of my childhood home in Hawai’i. In the presence of these powerful objects it’s possible to sense, just beyond consciousness, the shape of the ordinary made sacred, to feel simultaneously bound/connected/linked to the world around us and to each other.
Clay offers multiple pathways to that sense of connection. I make functional vessels whose shapes reference organic forms. Most of my work is thrown, sometimes with added hand built elements. I look for balanced but not perfectly symmetrical forms and I like vessels that move, that feel as if they were shaped by evolution or deformed by water. I fire my work for two to five days in a wood-burning kiln, where the movement of the fire leaves marks on raw clay and fly ash falls on horizontal surfaces, enhancing the sense of dynamism in the work. Oxides and glazes echo simple patterns seen on plants and animals and thick slip applied to the outside of a vessel allows ash to fall along lines that reflect a landscape. I use soft, curved forms, earthy colors, and lush surfaces that invite being touched.
As the portal to a pot’s interior, the lip and mouth of a vessel are as important as form and surface. A generous mouth implies the acts of breathing and eating, beckoning – or daring – the viewer to look inside. A more closed form leaves the viewer to imagine the shape of space contained by the clay. In these ways I anchor my work in aspects of the world that hold meaning for me.
Above all, I value the link that a pot can create between its maker and the person who sees or uses it. Human beings come from a long evolutionary history of animals that make things; making lies deep in our DNA. Holding a clay vessel connects my hands to those of others and serves as a reminder of our shared history.
About the Artist
I grew up in Hawai’i, the child, grandchild and sibling of artists. I had no formal training in art, but it was all around me, at home and in the galleries where our father showed his sculpture. Our house was filled with Japanese pottery and artifacts from around the Pacific rim – canoe prows from Micronesia, a kava bowl from Fiji, and rubbings from Angkor Wat, in Cambodia. Weekends were spent snorkeling on the reef. The forms that surrounded me growing up continue to inhabit my dreams and echo in my work.
Clay first cast its spell in 2014 at a studio ceramics class. Four years later, a two-week workshop with master potters Randy Johnston and Ken Matsuzaki opened the world of wood firing. I like the contrast between making and firing; making pots is a solitary pursuit while firing requires teams of potters. There’s nothing like the thrill of wood firing. The kiln belches flame from every crack; inside, it’s hot enough to melt bronze and the incandescent pots are like stones to the river of fire that must flow around them in its race towards the chimney.
I work out of my studio in Washington, DC. Most of my pots are fired with Maryland potter Jim Dugan in a three-chambered wood-fired noborigama, a type of kiln based on traditional Japanese design, or in a single-chambered anagama with Kevin Crowe of Tye River Pottery, in Virginia. Learning to fully exploit the rich complexity that flame and ash can bring to surfaces will be a lifelong process.
Representation
Charlie Cummings Gallery https://charliecummingsgallery.com/represented-artists-a-c/shannon-brownlee.html
My work has been accepted into the following juried or invitational shows:
2023 Ceramics Takes over Wheeling Earth and Fire Exhibition https://www.ceramicstakeoverwheeling.com/earth-fire-exhibition
2023 Charlie Cummings Gallery, Exquisite Forms V https://charliecummingsgallery.com/exquisite-forms-v.html
2023 Creative Crafts Council 34th Biennial Exhibition of Fine Crafts https://www.creativecraftscouncil.org/2023-biennial.html
2023 Good Earth Pottery, Clay Cohorts Onward 2 Annual Show https://www.goodearthpots.com/
2022 Charlie Cummings Gallery, Exquisite Forms IV https://charliecummingsgallery.com/exquisite-forms-iv.html
2022 Good Earth Pottery, Animalia, August 1-31 https://www.goodearthpots.com/
2022 Glen Echo Park Juried Labor Day Art Show, Zoma Wallace, juror
2022 Bethesda Row Arts Festival https://www.bethesdarowarts.org/
2021 11th Annual Workhouse Arts Center Clay International Juried Exhibition, Kevin Snipes, juror
2019 and 2021 Glen Echo Pottery Annual Popcorn Gallery Show, Jeff Kirk, juror
2021 Sandy Spring Museum, Inspired by Malcolm: A Passion for Shino, Matthew Hyleck, juror
2021 Creative Crafts Council 33rd Biennial Exhibition, Aldeide Delgado, juror
2021 Eutectic Gallery, Women of Woodfire Show, Brett Binford, juror
2020 Good Earth Pottery, Kindled Spirits, Simon Levin, juror
2020 Cape Cod Cultural Center, Wild Things, Robert Nash, director and juror