Bill Ginn - Pottery
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Education - BFA in Ceramics from University of Washington 1982
Biography
Raised on a farm in Virginia, I moved to Washington after high school. Graduated from UW and started a studio near Snohomish, WA, hand building porcelain animal figurines. Went to Japan in 1986 to teach English and study the arts there for 1 year. Returned to the Seattle area and started a production studio in our home in Kenmore, with my wife decorating the work I produced. We had 34 galleries across the US displaying our work. We returned to Japan with our son, in 1992, living in Uji, near Kyoto, for immersion to lean Japanese, and to be closer to traditional arts we wanted to study. I studied traditional ceramic techniques and assisted in firing wood burning kilns, gaining a deep appreciation for the work that can only come from these kilns. While studying traditional wood joinery, we found and dismantled a 200-year-old Japanese thatch roof farmhouse and shipped the wood, bamboo, and other materials back to Seattle. We used the wood to build a custom post and beams house in Kenmore, and used the remaining antique materials in my work. I then left art to enter the tech field, as a tester and systems engineer. After 20 Years in that very different world, I 'retired' to our 14-acre farm on Whidbey Island. It was abandoned in 1973 and we spent 10 years restoring it, reclaiming the barn as a studio, and finally finishing my own wood burning kiln. 'Retirement' means being able to make the art that I want to, and to explore using natural, found materials to create visually impactful yet functional work.
Approach
I have always felt a deep connection to the natural world, and at times feel deeply the astonishing miracle that is our existence on this warm blue/green marble floating in space. I try to balance thinking, designing and planning the work I make to express this connection, with allowing a spontaneous, intuitive, natural stream of creativity. It's like trying to keep two circuits open to my hands, one from my head and one from my heart. When both are open, time loses meaning and I become a conduit, a vehicle, and the work conveys more. One could say that the work is a by-product of trying to balance the two.
Biography
Raised on a farm in Virginia, I moved to Washington after high school. Graduated from UW and started a studio near Snohomish, WA, hand building porcelain animal figurines. Went to Japan in 1986 to teach English and study the arts there for 1 year. Returned to the Seattle area and started a production studio in our home in Kenmore, with my wife decorating the work I produced. We had 34 galleries across the US displaying our work. We returned to Japan with our son, in 1992, living in Uji, near Kyoto, for immersion to lean Japanese, and to be closer to traditional arts we wanted to study. I studied traditional ceramic techniques and assisted in firing wood burning kilns, gaining a deep appreciation for the work that can only come from these kilns. While studying traditional wood joinery, we found and dismantled a 200-year-old Japanese thatch roof farmhouse and shipped the wood, bamboo, and other materials back to Seattle. We used the wood to build a custom post and beams house in Kenmore, and used the remaining antique materials in my work. I then left art to enter the tech field, as a tester and systems engineer. After 20 Years in that very different world, I 'retired' to our 14-acre farm on Whidbey Island. It was abandoned in 1973 and we spent 10 years restoring it, reclaiming the barn as a studio, and finally finishing my own wood burning kiln. 'Retirement' means being able to make the art that I want to, and to explore using natural, found materials to create visually impactful yet functional work.
Approach
I have always felt a deep connection to the natural world, and at times feel deeply the astonishing miracle that is our existence on this warm blue/green marble floating in space. I try to balance thinking, designing and planning the work I make to express this connection, with allowing a spontaneous, intuitive, natural stream of creativity. It's like trying to keep two circuits open to my hands, one from my head and one from my heart. When both are open, time loses meaning and I become a conduit, a vehicle, and the work conveys more. One could say that the work is a by-product of trying to balance the two.
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garryoakgallery@gmail.com
Copyright © 2022 Garry Oak Gallery
Privacy Policy
