PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College’s Artist in Residence Scott McClellan will present Thursday’s Studium Generale lecture.
The free lecture will begin at 12:35 p.m. in the Little Theater on the Peninsula College Port Angeles campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd. A reception will follow in the PUB Gallery of Art.
His solo exhibition, “Rest and Silence,” is on display in the gallery through Thursday. Admission is free.
“I am inherently drawn to flaws because they are relatable,” McClellan said. “The wise can recognize their flaws and still accept themselves as works-in-progress. This is why my objects have irregular contours and are slightly misshapen. These objects become timeless in what they communicate.”
“Reflecting on the glacial floods that carved rivers and ravines across the landscape, these meandering paths are abstractly mimicked through the process of creating compositions that are simultaneously strong but elegant,” McClellan said.
“I hope the viewer/user of my work will reflect on the briefness of our existence along with the liberating power to live life to its fullest.”
McClellan was born in Brigham City, Utah. He first found ceramics at Box Elder High, learning from Lee Burningham. He continued ceramics in college at Utah State University where he studied under John Neely and Dan Murphy and found a connection to wood firing.
After graduating with a bachelor’s in ceramics, McClellan moved to Edinboro, Pa., to work as a ceramics studio technician at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Lee Rexrode and Chuck Johnson. While there, he developed multiple clay bodies for soda and wood firing.
McClellan then moved on to work as a resident artist at Taos Clay in Taos, N.M. There he continued his research of firing wood kilns in differing atmospheres. He also took on the responsibilities of a studio technician, gallery attendant, ceramics instructor and show curator.
After his residency, he moved to Columbia, Miss., to study under Bede Clarke and Joe Pintz in pursuit of his master’s degree.
At Mizzou, McClellan experimented with a variety of technical processes, primarily focusing on wheel-thrown pottery and hand built sculpture. He fired his work in a variety of different wood kilns, researching multiple firing patterns.
After receiving his master’s degree, he worked as the wood fire resident at The Clay Studio of Missoula (CSOM) for two years. There he developed wild clays to be used in reduction cooling, glazes and as additions to Wollastonite clay bodies. He rebuilt the CSOM anagama and increased the efficiency to get hotter using less wood and time.
For more information, contact Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.
