Blair Welcomes Award-Winning Ceramic & Wood Artist Lisa York 

The Romano Gallery welcomes award-winning ceramic and wood artist Lisa York for an exhibit from October 17 to November 18 entitled “In Solitude: Celebrating Functional Art in the Home.” Featuring a selection of the artist’s richly glazed pottery and finely crafted charcuterie boards, the exhibit seeks to elevate the home-dining experience. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, solitude led Mrs. York to view utilitarian pieces of pottery used in small and intimate settings through a new lens. “These last couple of years have been full of isolation, uncertainty and change,” she observes. “This unique time of isolation with my newly growing family created a more intimate setting that is not shared and enjoyed by others in the same way it once was.”

The pieces of art she brought to life in that setting, during hours bent over the workbench and laboring in front of the kiln, she says, “give a view into my life. Each object holds memories of how a piece was formed, its provenance, conversations and moments in time.” Mrs. York will share more of her inspiration and techniques with the entire Blair community at an artist’s talk on November 10, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Romano Gallery. 

A graduate of Houghton College (BA) and the University of North Dakota (MFA), Mrs. York’s functional ceramics have been exhibited at juried art shows and gallery exhibitions in more than 25 states and seven countries. She has served as an artist-in-residence at the Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute in Jingdezhen, China, the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemét, Hungary, and the Center for Ceramics’ Residency Program in Berlin, Germany. An advocate for using pottery to improve the quality of life in communities around the globe, she started a ceramics program in Tanzania to train persons with disabilities to become skilled artisans and participated in kiln-building projects in both Guatemala and Nicaragua. 

Mrs. York maintains a studio in Hartford, Connecticut, and her handmade ceramics can be found online at www.lisayorkarts.com.