Mud + Glory
About the Artists
Find out more about our incredible line-up of presenters below.
Rodney Mott
Rodney’s experience as a ceramic artist began in 1972 at Los Altos High School in California, working with clay, acquiring skills on the pottery wheel, and selling his pottery at a local shop. At Penn State University, while majoring in English and studying poetry, Rodney continued to maintain an interest in ceramic art. After coursework under Dave Dontigny and Jim Stephenson, he was further inspired when introduced to Paul Soldner’s artwork. After receiving his B.A. Degree at Penn State University in 1984, Rodney began graduate work at Claremont Graduate School in southern California. There, as a student of Paul Soldner, he also worked as Soldner’s teaching assistant in 1986 through receiving his M.F.A. Degree at Claremont Graduate School in 1987. Rodney returned to northern California where he continued creating and teaching art. Shortly thereafter, he met Daniel Rhodes and developed an interest in woodfired ceramics. By 1990, Rodney built his first woodfire kiln in Volcano, California.
Rodney founded “Woodstoke,” ceramic woodfiring workshops held on his studio grounds in Penryn, CA, which hosts nationally and internationally recognized artists demonstrating their skills while a multi-day woodfiring also takes place. By 2001, his “Woodstoke” event became the cover story for the October/November issue of the ceramic trade publication, Clay Times. Rodney’s artwork was the cover article for Clay Times for a second time in the May/June issue 2002. Ceramics: Art + Perception has also featured Rodney Mott’s “Time Capsule Kiln” project in 2018.
Chic Lotz
Chic Lotz has been a professional potter, artist and teacher for 50 years. She can pretty much make clay do whatever she wants on the wheel and is a master teacher for describing what she is doing and WHY she does it that way. Chic is also a Glaze expert who teaches Glaze Mixing and Glaze Chemistry Workshops. She teaches 28 students a week (4 classes of 7) in her home studio and has 40 glazes for students to use. both students and potters who feel stuck at a certain level and want up to their skill level will often request a private class or two to help them get unstuck. She has done glaze chemistry workshops at art centers and colleges around California and Canada. She has exhibited her work in numerous galleries around the country and won many awards over the years at Art festivals on both the east and west coast.
René Sprattling
“I first fell in love with the wheel at the age of 14. At 16 I was able to take my first class from Richard Ketelle in high school. That was well over 50 years ago. Since then I have been staking classes and workshops on a continual basis so I can keep learning and growing. My studio is in downtown Nevada City where I offer classes in wheel throwing and hand building. Being a clay artist is such a part of my identity I don’t know that I could ever stop. And perhaps that is such a good thing! I also love teaching and seeing the students grow their talent and stretch themselves.
My work is mainly functional. You can find my mugs for sale at Communal Café in Nevada City, and there are a variety of pieces at the Persimmon Gallery in Auburn.”
Valerie Messervy Birkhoff
“I studied performing and visual arts and received a Bachelors Degree from Portland State University in Arts and Letters. Throughout my various ‘professional’ careers, I showed and sold my paintings and beaded sculptures. Six years ago I started working in clay, something that I’d always wanted to do but never had a chance. The first four years, working in clay, I focused on the anatomy and expressions of the human face doing mostly portraits. In the past few years I’ve added ore of the figure into my work and expanded my use of finishes, adornments, and different clay bodies.
Since 2014, I’ve participated in Nevada County Open Studio Tour, pop-up shows, various art expos, and have shown my work in both Northern and Southern California. My clay work, ‘Sweating Dirt’ and ‘Human Interaction’ were awarded Best Of Show at the Sacromento Fine Arts Center. The Joshua Tree National Park Art Council granted me a First Place 3D award for my sculpture ‘Persevere’ and I have received other awards as well. I was lucky enough to be included in the 30th Annual California Clay Competition in Davis, California for my piece, ‘Clowning Around.’ Thes acknowledgments have further fueled my journey into the world of clay art. There are so many new techniques and materials to try. My work continues to expand, change, and leads me into new expressions and places.”
Lynn Wood
“Clay has long been a joy in my life. In college where, although an education major, I spent a tremendous amount of time in the clay studio. While teaching school, I pursued clay more seriously, taking professional level workshops and classes. At that time, I started teaching ceramics, also.
At age 40, I made the transition to full time potter. I never looked back. Clay has been my best teacher,
The appeal of clay has sustained: it responds so readily to the touch, directing and challenging me to continue exploring. For me this meditative process allows ideas to develop and allows clay itself to have a voice in my work.
I am an exhibiting member of ACGA. I taught pottery for 28 years at the Sharon Art Studio in SF. I have sold my work at variety of craft fairs including the ACC shows.
Texture is a primary concern as I design and craft tableware and vases at my studio in Santa Rosa, California.
My work is notable for the variety of applied surfaces, taking inspiration from nature, textiles and architecture. This focus over more than 35 years as a potter has led me to develop/ market a line of texture stamps for potters/artists and take on the moniker pottery texture queen.”
Ian Wieczorek
Ian Wieczorek received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sierra Nevada College in 2016. He went on to multiple residencies including Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park in Japan, the Ash Street Project, Heartfire Sanctuary, East Creek Anagama, Cider Creek Collective, and is currently studying with Rodney Mott at Penryn Workshops. He has taught ceramic workshops and classes through the Oregon Potters Association, Schools Uniting Neighborhoods, and Art Explorers. Ian will be the facilitator of Penryn Workshops starting in November.
Jim Lee
Jim Lee is a self-taught sculptor. He comes from a family of accomplished artists and has drawn and sculpted the human form at a young age. His first in clay project was at the age of 13, the evolution of man as a science project.
After studying with renowned sculptor Philippe Faraut, he was encouraged to become an instructor. He opened JCLee Studios in the historic gold-era town of Auburn, CA and began teaching sculpture in water-base clay in 2012. Today, his classes have taught hundreds of students including beginners and professional artists the art of sculpting the human form.
Jim is a father of four and grandfather of nine.
Bob Davis
“In 1970, I left home in the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a career in art and enrolled in Fine Art at Long Beach State University in Southern California. I enrolled to study drawing/painting, but in my first semester I took a ceramics class, and that was it for me. I fell in love with clay and have not yet fallen out of love with it. Long Beach State was focused on functional stoneware pottery in the Japanese tradition.”
Mindy Oberne
“I’ve been a resident of Grass Valley for over 40 years. I’ve always made my living by my wares which first was copper enamel and then designing and sewing women’s handbags. I’ve been playing with clay for over 13 years and after exploring various techniques, I’m now focusing on an origami style of slab construction which forms a spiral I call my Fibonacci Fold. I like using textures and showing the fluidity of clay with shapes that have movement.”
Katy Fries
Katie is the ceramics teacher at Placer High School and gets to play with clay every day with her students. Her current fascination is with mosaics, and is working on her 10th public art mosaic for the Auburn Arts Commission. She’s a jack of many trades, and not particularly expert at any one skillset, but is a life long learner, always up for a clay play challenge.
Brian Fries
Brian has been throwing and sculpting since the mid 90s. He enjoys throwing large, and has been developing both sculptural forms and functional ware in preparation for his post-retirement career. He received a First Place award in Fine Craft at the KVIE Art Auction for a large reassembled-raku jar. He has worked with his wife, Katy Fries, the ceramics teacher at Placer High School, assisting in her classroom as well as developing several large mosaic murals around Auburn.