Daniel Harris Pottery
Mr. Crackpot, the baker potter
Biography
Artist's Statement
I have been drawn to the figurative nature of a bottle from the first vertical movement of the clay.
I want to be there when the clay moves into place and to see where it can go.
Each form has a beaming character which shines on the ones to come. Chance is the moving force that directly influenced the evolution of my work. From the earliest one until now, there is a lineage that connects them. The playful interaction between the form creates a fixed memory of its soul. I try to be there in that moment and let the clay influence me.
I worked as a baker for several years and began making pottery in 1977. The work ethic and integrity of a baker directly influenced who I am as a potter. A baker creates not just from a recipe, but from all the senses. The consistent repetition requires a daily pride in one's work. The cycle of beginning again anew and the chance for something new to happen is why I am a potter – to bake fresh each day.
Media and Publications
Studio Potter Archive & Jack Troy: Form to Form: A Poetry Circle for Potters – A Virtual Exhibition
Form to Form is a meeting place for gifted potters with an ear for prose, each offering their own unique perspective as they celebrate the rewards had when pairing form to form — an enlightened throwing of words to constructions in clay.
Form to Form: A Poetry Circle for Potters (PDF)
Exploring Lyrical and Centered Forms: A Poetry Circle with Guest Host, Potter & Poet Jack Troy
Old Church's 37th Annual Exhibit & Sale Review — 2011
Poetic, kinetic and intrepid is the work of Norman, Oklahoma's Dan Harris. Mr. Harris has no fear when it comes to experimenting with clay bodies, glaze chemistry and form. The artistic revenue this bodacious free spirit has created in clay is shiny and eroded, curving, circular and inviting. This is indeed unbridled excellence.
Review: The Old Church's 36th Annual Show & Sale
As he's a one-time baker, it seems reasonable to say those 33 years after turning to pottery, Mr. Harris has developed a trademark recipe that garners his blue-ribbon appeal. If there is one potter in this show whose work pushes the boundaries of what a teapot is meant to be or represent, that potter is probably Dan Harris.
Dreamer Concepts Artist Profile
"The blues influenced my pottery more than any regional style," said Mr. Harris, who is also known by his students for his eclectic music collection, ranging from the blues, of course, to hip hop. "In the moment the sounds of one form suggests the one to come. This lineage of form dances to the making of music."
Pizza Platter Pottery Show Opens at Norman Depot
"For me, this show is about the connections between the first pots I made and those made recently for this show." Harris says. "It's all tied together."
Dan Harris at the PAS: Pottery good enough to eat
But lest I give the impression that Harris's pottery is all fun and games, the reality is that his work is that of a skilled artist making pottery of great formal beauty.
Resumé
T. G. Mayes Purchase Award from Fred Jones Art Museum (twice)
National Conference for the Education of Ceramic Art – University of Oklahoma representative
Southwest Regional Platter Exhibit Best of Show Award
1995 New Forms Regional Initiative Grants Program
2011 37th Annual Pottery Show, The Art School at Old Church, Demarest, NJ – Soda salt fire pottery
2010 36th Annual Pottery Show, The Art School at old Church, Demarest, NJ – Soda salt fire pottery
2007 Pizza Man Pottery, The Depot, Norman, OK Ceramic sculpture
1992 Firehouse Art Center, Norman, OK – Raku stoneware
1988 Fred Jones Art Museum, Norman, OK – Saggar-fired ceramics
1988 Fort Smith Art Museum, Ft. Smith, AR – Copper raku bottles
1982 Circus in the Attic, St. Joseph, MI – Raku ceramics
1981 The Light Field Gallery, Tyringham, MA – Ceramic sculpture
Circus in the Attic, St. Joseph, MI – Sculpture
1994 Living Arts of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK – Process in Clay
1994 Oklahoma Artists Invitational, Stillwater, OK
1991 Leslie Powell Gallery, Lawton, OK – Saggar-fired bottles
1991 Firehouse Art Center, Norman, OK – Saggar-fired platters
1989 Arts Place II, Oklahoma City, OK – Saggar-fired bottles
1989 Eclections Gallery, Fort Worth, TX – Raku bottles
1989 Central Park Gallery, Kansas City, MO – Raku bottles
1988 Mabee-Gerrer Museum, Shawnee, OK – Raku bottles
1983 Indianapolis Art Museum, Indianapolis, IN – Raku bottles
