Clay Art Center Artist-in-Residence Program
...is a year long and commences in September and is uniquely designed for emerging artists who need time and space to develop their voice. They gain invaluable experience teaching classes and contribute their technical knowledge and expertise by managing many jobs at the studio. CAC provides a supportive ceramic community, while appreciating the need for privacy and independent work.
CAC artists share technical information as well as routine studio chores, and any CAC resident will benefit from this co-operative experience. We offer adult and children's classes in wheel throwing, hand-building, and sculpture, and there are always excellent opportunities for teaching.
 What our Residency Offers:
- One year residency commencing each September
- Private 10' x 10' studio space
- Free Firing
- $200 monthly stipend for materials
- Paid Teaching opportunities
- Solo exhibition in gallery at end of residency
Responsibilities:
- One year commitment
- Maintain glaze room (mix glazes, order supplies)
- Fire all student work (bisque and glaze)
- Find own living space
- Hours of job vary depending on student firing load, approx 10 - 15 hours per week.
Application Requirements:
- BFA/MFA
- Application form (please print application below)
- Resume /CV
- 10 digital images of work completed during last 2 years
- Artist's statement
- SASE
- Completed Application Form
Applicant must be a U.S. Citizen or a U.S. Permanent Resident
Thank you for taking the time to apply for the residency program. We will take the utmost care in reviewing all the material we receive. To expedite matters, please make sure you include all of the above.
Applications are due by April 15 of each year.
Download Application (PDF Format)
DOWNLOAD PDF
CURRENT 2011-12 CAC Artists-in-Residence:
 JEFF SCHWARZ received a Masters of Fine Art from Syracuse University in 2006. After graduate studies Jeff spent his time establishing a studio in Pittsburgh, running a community based ceramics center in Braddock, PA, becoming an Americorps member and working at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild during the 2008 NCECA conference. At the library, Jeff helped establish North America’s first water filter research center. Also from 2008-2011, Jeff was an instructor at the Community College of Allegheny County teaching ceramics, drawing and art history. While teaching and helping to promote the ceramic water filter, Schwarz continued in his studio exhibiting nationally and internationally. He has been shown in numerous exhibitions; including an exhibition at the Icheon World Ceramic Center in Korea, at The University of Tulsa, at the Carnegie Museum of Art and at the Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. He currently shows at the Christine Frechard Gallery in Pittsburgh and is represented by Cindy Lisica.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The study of ceramics is my form of meditation. I utilize the commonality of the material as an asset rather than a hindrance to express a common human narrative as well as my own. The scope of ceramic history is vast enough that the ceramic medium pervades every detail of our lives. As a result of that knowledge, an explanation of the material is unnecessary; it is part of our lives. That freedom allows me to concentrate on the conceptual ideas about the material and the potential physical manifestations it may encompass.
 My first epiphany that would lead me and spark my passion for the ceramic medium occurred eleven years ago when I visited a clay bank along the side of a stream. As our Intro Ceramics Class crossed the stream, my professor explained to the class that this particular area was once a Native-American village site. Most likely, the same Native-Americans who had occupied the village, utilized the same clay we were about to dig. From this simple story, time and space seemed to dissolve for me. By the simple act of digging the clay I was contributing to and changing history. It was on those banks that I began my meditation.
The manifestations of those experiences have resulted in several bodies of work: figurative, video and functional pottery. The figurative group is appropriated from historical figurative portraiture that may not necessarily draw upon any one period of time or era of figurative sculpture. I use history as a sketchbook to inform my personal narrative sculptures. My figurative explorations are very much about being raised in a rural environment. For me, growing up in a rural culture clearly separated and slowed allowing me to observe nature and the duality that is inherent. I enjoy the double meanings objects can possess. The use of antlers in my work directly relates to that rural culture’s fascination of white tail deer. The dichotomy between admiration of beauty and the killing of this animal fascinated me as a small child. The antlers in these works can be compared to the power we have as individuals but how at the same time be so vulnerable. The video work is an attempt to redefine the idea of permanence relative to the definition of ceramic. I utilize the intrinsic time-consuming process of ceramics and the time based quality of video as a vehicle, relating this time back to the rhythms of the human heart rate and nature. The rhythmic time signature in these works is taken from my own meditative heart rate as well as the intrinsic time signature of the material itself. Finally, pottery for me is the touchstone. I continuously go back to the pottery process for inspiration and information. The process of pottery is quiet and contemplative. In the making and usage of these simple objects new ideas spring. Pottery for me is simple but not lacking in inspiration. The cup, bowl and other forms get to the root of simple interaction. It is that interaction between the object and myself that I notice in the other bodies of my work.
 Hailing from Northern Utah, CORY BROWN received his BFA from Utah State University after maintaining a home studio for two years. Immediately following his education, he was fortunate to acquire a Studio Technician job working for Bard College at Simons Rock in Massachusetts. There he also taught ceramic classes to children and adults throughout the community. Prior to his Clay Art Center residency, he spent a year in the rolling hills of rural Virginia at the Cub Creek Foundation where he was inspired by the beautiful surroundings and use of the native clay. He is excited to be in New York currently, with its wealth of art and culture. Cory has always found the chemistry of life and ceramics intriguing, resulting in a fascination with atmospheric firing, glazes, and inlaying of metallic oxides. He explores the gestural qualities of clay while striving for excellence in form and function.
 ARTIST STATEMENT Using aesthetics, science, and proficient construction, I create works of art using materials that come from the earth. I am constantly amazed by the possibilities of ceramic materials and processes.
Nature is more beautiful than anything a person can produce. I often try to set up situations in which the clay can create its own natural beauty. By setting up clay to be stretched or a mold to be altered I create life and fluidity in my pieces, though I work in a very controlled way. I explore the gestural qualities of clay while striving for excellence in form and function.
The concepts behind my work root from the process in which it is made. I like to be innovative with methods of creating. I am continuously making molds and tools to assist in creating my latest body of work.
All aspects of being a ceramic artist are intriguing to me. I am an artist, a craftsman, an engineer, a chemist and an entrepreneur. These are all important facets of creating my work.
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