Clay Times Back Issues Vol. 1 Issue 1 • Dec 1995 | Page 4

WALKER MONTGOMERY

RON MEYERS: THIRTY YEARS
September 15 - October 29, 1995
A retrospective exhibition commemorating 30 years of work in clay
by Georgia potter Ron Meyers was
recently shown at the Museum of Arts
and Sciences in Macon, Georgia.
Curated by Clay Times Associate
Editor Rick Berman, the exhibition
featured a collection of 75 works
depicting the progression of Meyers’
early career through the present.
Among the pieces there were
functional pots ranging from teapots,
tea bowls and plates to candlesticks,
vases and soup tureens. Meyers
presently works with lightly reduced
red earthenware decorated with slips,
stains, engobes, and a clear glaze. He
was pleased to see that much of the
work borrowed back for the event
showed signs of true functionality,
such as chips, discoloration, and wax
remnants on candle holders.
Following are excerpts of Rick
Berman’s April ’95 interview with
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Ron Meyers, in which Meyers discusses the evolution of his career as an art
teacher, college professor and studio
potter. The interview was published in
a 24-page supplementary catalog commemorating the exhibition.

a little about your art
Q Talk
education background...
Also discuss Frans
Wildenhain’s influence
on Ron Meyers.
Institute of
A “...Rochester
Technology accepted me as a
remedial student for the first year
with the promise that if I displayed
potential, I would become a fullfledged MFA candidate the second
year. RIT’s MFA program at this
time was only a rude awakening.
All the ideas I had about clay or
what ceramics was were quickly
dispelled. Obviously, this was a
much more complicated pursuit

than I had envisioned. But I loved
it and was learning every day. I
went to the studio at 8:30 a.m., and
came home at 6:00 p.m., just like a
regular job.
“What I was to really learn
from Frans was the type of commitment and passion that it took to
be an artist. Frans’ whole life
revolved around his work, and it
was inspiring to see how his work
and environment reflected his
awareness and concern for nature
and life itself. He lived with great
gusto and spirit. It was the sum of
all of this, his total enthusiasm for
work and life, that I was to be
most inspired by. I have always felt
very fortunate to have been a student there when I was 30 rather
than 20.”

have your choices
Q How
for form and surface come
into being?
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