About Noel Bailey Ceramics and Pottery

I am currently working on a Masters of Fine Arts degree at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where I am thrilled to be working with Pattie Chalmers and Harris Deller. I've been in love with clay since 1999

In 2005 I finished my B.A. in Art Education with an emphasis in Ceramics at the University of Northern Colorado. I spent four summers working as an Intern, Artist-in-residence, Chef, and as the Technical Director for Laloba Ranch Art Center, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I held a year long apprenticeship with potter Bill Wilson, in Montrose.

I teach workshops and offer private instruction and/or apprenticeships to dedicated students. I'm passionate about being in the outdoors, living sustainably, and supporting my local farmers. I love dancing in my studio when no one is around.

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Noel Bailey Ceramics Artist Statement

The natural environment and the workings of water are my inspiration. In the form of snow or vertical ice, water becomes a subtle reflection, a softer suggestion of the surface it covers or clings to. In a fluid state, and with the freedom to move, water is a relentless carver of stone and earth. I love to be out among the rock, ice, snow, and rivers, whether I am climbing, skiing, kayaking, or simply just being. What fascinates me are the many forms that result from the movement of water. Themes I encounter in these natural formations – rhythm, harmony, fluidity, and balance – are fundamental elements of my work.

Clay is a result of the subtractive process of the sculpting of the earth by wind and water. It is a responsive, malleable, and fluid-like substance that is characteristic of the materials that compose it – water and earth. I use organic, undulating lines to emphasize the inherent properties of the material, making reference to its origins. My forms are an attempt to personify clay in its natural state. I use glazes of different texture and color to create a feeling of exposure and space. Fluid, dripping glazes interact with the surface through gravity. A flowing glaze, like water, follows natural pathways caused by curves in the form.

I am interested in pots that have personality. I love how organic lines and forms relate to our bodies and reveal uniqueness likened to an individual. I strive to make pots that are present, grounded, and provide a space for reflection, similar to places I visit in the outdoors. My work with clay is a confluence for my passions.