Jeff Pender, Ceramic Artist
Jeff is a potter and ceramic artist working out of his studio in Mooresville, North Carolina. Jeff creates beautiful and unique works of art in clay that range from the functional to abstract.
Using white earthenware, Jeff creates ritualistic abstract sculpture and totems. His surfaces are finished to resemble other materials like bone, wood or metal. Some pieces are finished with gold luster, iron wash (sold surface finish).
The making of each piece itself is a ritualistic, meditative process allowing the mind to wander through countless ideas and thoughts.
Jeff Pender
“All creation, imagination and invention are aspects of discovering the new.” ~ Lancelot Law Whyte
Mystery is the enigmatic quality or character of something not understood. It stands as the launching pad for the imagination, and is the reason why we desire to discover…things…about the world around us. As a child I explored the woods behind my house searching under every log and every rock, looking for the unknown, the strange, the weird not knowing what I would find. A multitude of energetic butterflies would fill my stomach each time I took on a new adventure in those woods.
Searching for the unknown offers us the opportunity to explore and probe for new knowledge and insights. This mysterious void weaves its way from past to future and back again, stopping just for a moment, just long enough for the burning desire for discovery to latch hold. This cycle repeats. The ritual continues. Mystery moves. Discovery waits. It is through the ritual of personal discovery that we gain an intimate knowledge of our selves and our world. My work seeks to convey both a sense of mystery and invite discovery.
I admit to entertaining an underlying romantic notion concerning the connection between art, ritual and mystery and I am continuously fascinated by the endless possibilities of the future. I seek the bridge between what was and what will be, between stories told and one yet to be written, between past and future.
Education
2002 Masters of Fine Arts in Ceramic Art, University of Florida at Gainesville
1998 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramic Art, cum laude, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Professional Memberships
National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts
Potters Council
