Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Berman.
Hi Rick, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started making pots in 1968 at UNC Wilmington. Moved to Atlanta in 1969 to finish my BVA at Georgia State University in 1971 and earned an MFA in Ceramics at the University of Georgia in 1973. Started the Ceramics Program at Callanwolde Art Center and stayed there for eight years. In 1980, I was given an Artist in Residency by the South Carolina Arts Commission to teach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for one school year. Then moved back to Atlanta and opened a gallery with my wife Jennifer called Claywork in Little Five Points handling great potters from around the world and also folk artists including Howard Finster from Summerville, Georgia. We closed the gallery in 1997 and I was hired to teach ceramics in the Upper School at Pace Academy and retired from there in 2013. I’m now “retired” and teach at Callanwolde, Chastain Art Center, and the Central Dekalb Senior Center. I have also taught in Italy, Hawaii, Africa, India, and many Universities and Craft Schools in the U.S. My work can be found at the Signature Shop and Gallery on Miami Circle in Buckhead.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Financially it hasn’t been easy being a clay worker and a teacher in these times, but I have been very fortunate to be able to do what I love for fifty-four years.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a potter and a teacher, and I added some of my career paths in a previous question. I wrote a Teapot book years ago, and I’ve made teapots all through the years. I also developed a technique called Salku which is a fusion of Japanese Raku and German salt glazing in Graduate School at UGA in 1972 and have continued that quest off and on for fifty years. Nothing sets me apart from other potters. We are all learning and improving on our on unique paths.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
My most inspiring authors are Inyat Kahn, Saint Frances, Meher Baba, Mahatma Ghandi, and Eruch Jessawalla.
Contact Info:
- Website: rickbermanceramics.com
- Facebook: Rick Berman
- Youtube: Rick Berman Raku Video, Rick Berman on Centering, Rick Berman on trimming Bowls
Image Credits
All photos taken by Rick Berman
