About
ARTIST STATEMENT
As a father, husband, son, brother and friend I would like to be a good steward of this place and time I find myself in, both for me and those I share this moment with. If I think about the possible ripple effects of even simple actions I take everyday, I find it profound the extent in which those ripples can travel. It is quite possible for small actions to travel far beyond that which I can see. I have found it increasingly important to try and collect or catalog that which most captures my attention and helps focus my vision and imagination. In a moment that feels increasingly divisive and at times where it feels like division over shared value can be trumpeted louder, I have found increasing importance in the simple act of noticing.
Currently, my work often begins by me collecting objects through my daily life by me simple discovering them. We all share this ability to find beauty in the everyday, even if we would collect different objects. We also, more importantly, share the ability to find meaning through metaphor. These collected objects or even photos taken are pulled into the studio where they are put through a process of examination and recreation. Casts are often pulled from the found objects which allows me to process my original interest in the objects and through a multi-step process of casting, not only think more deeply about my original interest in the objects, but how these things are often intricately linked to so much more of my world beyond my vision. And, the process of pulling from that which is clearly fixed and tangible only to copy, liquidate, reimagine, and reform this recognizable texture and form into something completely new, I find compelling and powerful. Something that has ripple effects.
It is my hope that individuals that come into contact with these small works may start to recognize some of the same objects I originally found interesting, only to start to ask themselves, Why? Why some of these objects have been selected and even more than that, reimagined and created into something new. If one creative reimagination could spark a wonder or questioning and inspiration could spring from that, my work would be functioning in a spectacular way, much in the same way centuries of created objects in clay have captured my imagination and spurred my interest and helped my understanding of the world around me. If through the processing and creation of this work, my actions and how they may impact those that are still to come could help focus my vision and even change small actions, this work has value beyond its individual parts, processes and time.
BIO
Shannon Blakey is an artist and educator from Columbia, MO. Shannon received his BFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and his MFA from Pennsylvania State University. With a love for clay Shannon has balanced creating and educating with a range of teaching that includes teaching at art centers, museums, and teaching in schools that range from elementary to college.
EDUCATION
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, Master of Fine Arts
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE), Edwardsville, IL, Bachelor of Fine Arts
EXHIBITIONS
2023
SOLO SHOWS
Surface Tension, Columbia College, Greg Hardwick Gallery, Columbia, MO
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
Clay Bash 2023, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ
Off Center: An International Ceramic Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2023 NCECA Annual - I Contain Multitudes, Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
small works, Big Ideas, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
REGIONAL SHOWS
Synthesis, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO
2022
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
24th San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
NATIONAL SHOWS
It’s Only Clay, Watermark Art Center, Bemidji, MN
Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
A Sense of Place, 2022, Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, GA
Raise a Toast II, Edwardsville Arts Center, Edwardsville, IL
Contemporary Clay 2022, The Art Center, Grand Junction, CO
2021
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
International Coffee Cup Competition, New Taipei City Ceramics Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan
11th Annual Workhouse Clay International, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
Off Center: An International Ceramic Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2021 NCECA Annual - Social Recession, Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
NATIONAL SHOWS
Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
Hella Cups, Applied Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Cups With Conscience, Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA
Crocker Kingsley A National Art Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2020
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
The 4th China Ceramic Art Design Exhibition, Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum, Shaoxing City, China
10th Annual Workhouse Clay International, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
Off Center: An International Ceramic Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
23nd San Angelo National Ceramic Competition, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
7th Central Time Ceramics, Bradley University, Peoria, IL
Small Works Juried Exhibition, Kent State University, Kent, OH
International Cup 2020, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
NATIONAL SHOWS
2020 Southern Miss Ceramics National, University of Southern Mississippi Museum of Art, Hattiesburg, MS
The Clay Studio National, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
delecTABLE: the Fine Art of Dining - 5th Biennial, The Art Students League of Denver, Denver, CO
Small Favors XV, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2019
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
9th Annual Workhouse Clay International, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
Nature Reconsidered: Reimagining the Nature World Through, Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO
11th Annual Cup Show: Form and Function, Amelia Center Gallery, Panama City, FL
small & MIGHTY, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
the Cup show 2019, Clay Arts Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Geaux Cups II, Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
NATIONAL SHOWS
The Almighty Cup Show 2019, Gandee Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Teabowl National 2019, KC Clay Guild, Kansas Ciy, MO
10th Annual Visions in Clay, LH Horton Jr Gallery, Stockton, CA
Juried National V, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
Gallery Expo ’19 Minneapolis, Gandee Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
“You’ve Been Served”, Urban Forage Winery and Cider House, Minneapolis, MN
Twin Cups: National Ceramics Exhibition 2019, Missouri Western State University, Saint Joseph, MO
Sip: A Ceramic Cup Show, Savannah Clay Community, Savannah, GA
Casting Call, Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
