GG&A 2016.qxp_Layout 1 10/12/15 4:48 PM Page 13
y
GREGORY TEGARDEN
Shortly before completing his Bachelor of
Science degree in Botany from Sul Ross State
University, Gregory Tegarden took a Ceramics
class from Jim Bob Salazar. “It was over! Working
with clay was all I wanted to do,” exclaims
Tegarden, who now teaches Ceramics at Sul
Ross.
Gregory is best known for his large jars, pots
and planters. He is a natural at shaping forms on
the potter’s wheel, which he attributes to keen
muscle memory and his willingness to “have a
conversation with the clay.”
During graduate school, Gregory learned a
traditional Thai method of coil-throwing large
vessels from Daniel Johnston, a North Carolina
“large jar” potter. With this hand-building
technique, a vessel is built by consecutively adding
narrow ropes of clay and refining the internal and
external walls to create a uniform, homogeneous
surface. “It’s all about the timing,” explains
Tegarden, because the clay is continuously
changing. Creating a large form typically takes three
days. “Then you fire it and hope it doesn’t crack.”
Gregory feels a personal connection with the
Chihuahuan Desert of the Big Bend; it is the
primary influence on his work. Desert plants
inspire his forms and decorative rims, and the
JIM LONG
West Texas National Bank’s Vice President of
Commercial Lending, Jim Long, had never
considered working with clay until his wife Jana
advised him to take a pottery class. In researching
Jim’s ancestry, Jana discovered that his great-greatgreat-grandfather, Jesse Bradford Long, was a
Left: Tegarden with two of his very large pots in the SRSU Ceramics lab
Right: Twenty-five-gallon stoneware and porcelain planter by Tegarden.
austere landscape inspires his surface treatments.
Check out Gregory’s work at Gallery on the
Square in Alpine.
potter who moved to Georgia from Glasgow,
Scotland in the 1800s. A prolific maker of mugs,
jugs and jars of all sizes, Jesse’s pieces are highly
prized today.
Many years passed before Jim took his first
ceramics class and astonished his teacher. “He
didn’t believe it was my first time; said it looked
like I had been throwing all my life,” recalls
Jim. That sparked the hobby that occupies
Jim’s free time. He reasons that “Clay is in my
genes and on my jeans.”
Jim’s pieces are heavily influenced by 1800s
potter George Ohr. Known as the “Mad
Potter of Biloxi,” Ohr’s brightly colored pieces
are deliberately twisted, warped and
crumpled. The vivid colors were due to the
unique Mississippi clay, which was also highly
elastic and enabled the pieces to be pulled and
stretched paper-thin. Although today’s clays
do not enable Jim to fully duplicate Ohr’s
work, he comes incredibly and impressively
close.
Jim’s work is on display at Traditions
Gallery in Alpine.
Top: Long at the Potter's Wheel
Left: Fully functional art deco tube teapot with pistol grip handle and, right, ornate urn and
vase with pulled and carved handles by Long
WATCH FOR THESE UPCOMING POTTERY EVENTS
ARTWALK 2015
(Nov. 20-21) at Gallery on the Square, 5-8 pm.
Gregory Tegarden will demonstrate coiling and
turning a large pot.
CERAMICS
INVITATIONAL 2016
(Feb. 1-27) at Sul Ross State University. Experience
the work of guest ceramicist and sound artist Kevin
Dean Ramler. Closing reception: Feb. 26, 6-8pm.
Workshop: Feb. 27, 10am-4pm. Open to the public.
CLAYWORKS 2016
(May-June) at Gallery on the Square. An
annual, curated exhibit featuring the work of
over 20 clay artists of the Big Bend.
BIG BEND GALLERIES AND ARTISTS / 2016 13