Gillan Doty

Handmade pots are commonly engaged with and appreciated simply for their function. They can also hold the power of creating more meaningful rituals and relationships with objects that support a vital human interaction. There is a gratifying feeling that comes with using a tangible item, one that involves a physical sensation that cannot be easily described. My work attempts to address ideas relating to our humanity and our engagement with objects in life. Evidence of process is a consistent source of pleasure for me as a maker and allows me to insert a level of humanness into my wares. Diverse atmospheric and graphic surfaces adorn often modest forms that possess a hefty quality both visually and physically. Making pots enables me to create work that can be interacted with in a simple manner while still posing a sense of intellect.

Gillan Doty was raised in rural New England, spending time in both the Adirondacks in New York and the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. Gillan discovered clay in high school and went on to receive a BFA in Ceramics from the Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. After graduating he was awarded a year long residency at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. Following his time at NCC, Gillan relocated to western North Carolina and is currently an Artist in Residence at Odyssey ClayWorks in Asheville. He is also an assistant to potter Akira Satake. His experiences in the northeast, midwest, and now the southeast have all greatly influenced the work he is currently making.