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Steven Hill
Medias Used or Areas of Interest:
Ceramics
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I simply have to make pots! Making pottery nourishes my soul, and selling it puts food on my table. My studio is my sanctuary. When I am sitting at the potters wheel with music reverberating through my studio, life is good! The dance that is born of clay spinning through my fingers is the place in my life where magic happens. My pottery of the last 30 years has been a slow evolution of form and surface. Ive always had a relatively narrow focus, making wheel-thrown single-fired functional stoneware, but my work never stands still. Function is what keeps me rooted, but sometimes I stretch the boundaries of usefulness just a little as I explore my vision.
Sometimes I wonder what direction my life would have taken if I had not discovered clay. The only thing I know for certain is that I lead a privileged life making my living doing something I love as much as making pottery.
Steven has been a functional potter since 1974, working out of his backyard studio and selling his work mostly at art festivals. My the mid-1990s he was looking for a way to expand his studio, to begin a resident artist program for aspiring potters, and to provide space for other ceramic artists to work. Housed in an old Red Star Yeast factory, Red Star Studios became the new home of Steven Hill Pottery in November of 1998.
The Tuscan countryside has profoundly influenced Stevens pottery. It wasnt the Majolica pottery that Italy is famous for, but the colors and textures of Tuscany that spoke to me. The weatherworn painted wood and stucco surfaces, which highlight architectural form by stripping away surface embellishment, have found their way into my pottery. His current pottery features textured matte glazes, with contrasting colors on rims, handles and feet to accentuate form.
Steven has been single-firing his functional stoneware since 1972. Although at times frustrating to glaze raw pots, he finds it encourages directness and spontaneity in his work. Steven received his B.F.A. from Kansas State University in 1973. His work is featured in nationally juried shows and in many ceramics books. Steven has taught over 100 workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada and has published articles in Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter and more.
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