AUSTIN P. SMITH is a ceramic artist working primarily in slip-cast porcelain.

-----------------------------------------------------

BIOGRAPHY

Austin was born and raised in Mid-Coast Maine. From 2003 to 2007 he attended Bennington College in Southern Vermont, and graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts, focus in Ceramics.

Highlights from Austin's eclectic experience in clay thus far include working with some truly inspiring ceramic artists, in particular Barry Bartlett, Andy Brayman, Yoko Inoue, Tom Spleth, Steven Heinemann and Simon Van Der Ven. He dug and processed clay in Ecuador, learned how to use a ram-press at Brayman's Matter Factory in Kansas City, KS, and assisted in teaching ceramics to high school students back home in Maine.

Family plays an integral role in Austin's inspiration. With artists and craftspeople on both sides of the gene pool, he was encouraged in his creative endeavors from an early age.

Austin draws on the skills and tools he has garnered from his experience in the family masonry business in his mold-making practices. He enjoys finding the connections between clay work, and stone and brick work.

The emphasis on functionality in Austin's work is largely attributed to a family culture of food. Growing up with a kitchen-full of passionate chefs, and a dining-room-full of passionate eaters, Austin now has an ingrained appreciation for the way ceramics are used in day-to-day life.

Austin has kept a studio at the Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education in Rockland, Maine since 2007. There he continues to explore new materials and techniques.

STATEMENT

It’s the versatile nature of clay that attracts Austin to this material. Few other materials have so many facets to their process. Especially with slip cast work (which allows the artist to make multiples of one piece) this provides the opportunity for tweaking elements of a piece throughout its physical gestation. This “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” approach to making can both free an artist to create with abandon, and push him to fine-tune a piece to an exact specification.

Austin’s work explores the dichotomy between utilitarian function and delicate aesthetic. The porcelain and Celadon glazes evoke an almost ethereal lightness, yet the form itself is heavily carved, like a tree trunk transformed by a chainsaw.

-----------------------------------------------------

EXHIBITIONS

2010 - Fresh MEat: A New Generation of Maine Artists, Rockland, ME