Forrest Middelton

Forrest Middelton is back on The Potters Cast! You may remember Forrest as the source of the amazing tool, The Studio Sander. You may also remember Forrest as an amazing artist that creates functional wares and his amazing tiles. Forrest has now written a book on tile making. If you are looking for a step-by-step guide, Forrest's book has it, but it is much more. It also dives into the history of tiles, design, and installation. 

When I was teaching a workshop at Clay by the Bay in San Francisco, a couple ceramic artist and a designer got together with me to talk about what it would look like for ceramicists to team up with designers to help promoter ceramic work. Our two artist were Forrest Middelton and Erin McGuiness and our designer was Lane McNab. All three of our guests work in and around the Bay area.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Forrest Middelton, Arash Shirinbab, and Raeshma Razvi. Middelton, a ceramic artist, and Shirinbab, a calligrapher, have been working for the past two years towards an exhibition titled “To Contain and To Serve.” Their dialogue centers on the interplay of hospitality, morality and justice in contemporary cultural and media landscapes. The objects produced during the collaboration are calligraphy-inscribed ceramic tableware and tile inspired by the Persian ‘Nishapur’ tradition. Documentary filmmaker Razvi has been shooting the collaboration for future use in a film. In the episode, the artists use the question “Is creativity inherently spiritual?” as a jumping off point to discuss the introspective nature of craft and how cross-cultural exchange can provide a solution for political discord. An opening reception for “To Contain and To Serve” will take place Saturday October 28th from 4-6pm at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland, CA. To find out more about the event visit ICCNC.org or www.containandserve.com. For more information about Forrest Middelton please visit www.flmceramics.com. For more information about Arash Shirinbab please visit www.arash-shirinbab.com. For more information about Raeshma Razvi please visit www.vimeo.com/RaeshmaRazvi.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Forrest Middelton, Arash Shirinbab, and Raeshma Razvi. Our discussion focuses on the collaboration between Middelton, a ceramic artist, and Shirinbab, a calligrapher. They have been working for the past year on an exhibition and performance titled “To Contain and To Serve.” The exhibition mixes functional ceramics with Persian calligraphy and Twitter posts to generate dialogue around political and social issues in Iran and America. Razvi is a documentary filmmaker that has been shooting the collaboration for future use in a film. “To Contain and To Serve” will take place in the fall of 2017 at the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California in Oakland. To find out more about the event please visit ICCNC.org. To find out more about Forrest Middelton please visit www.flmceramics.com. To find out more about Arash Shirinbab please visit www.arash-shirinbab.com. To find out more about Raeshma Razvi please visit www.vimeo.com/RaeshmaRazvi. This episode of the podcast is sponsored by the Canon River Clay Tour. Happening Father's Day Weekend, June 17-18, 2017, the event features eleven local clay artists and eleven guest artists from around the country. This self-guided studio tour and sale will include four stops surrounding the beautiful community of Northfield, MN located just 40 miles south of the Twin Cities. For more information on the tour visit www.cannonriverclaytour.com.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Forrest Middelton. Utilizing screen printing techniques Forrest has developed rich repeat patterns on his ceramic forms that show the influence of Iznik decorative art, as well as other middle eastern traditions. He states that his work looks at the "effects global influences have on the craft traditions", with a specific interest on how global commerce has effected aesthetic exchange. In the interview we talk about learning to speak the visual language of pattern, developing screen printing for three dimensional objects, and moving toward direct sales to increase profitability in a business. For more information on Forrest please visit www.flmceramics.com.