Jana Evans

Artist Statement

I create useful ceramic objects to support and grow community; an intervention at a restaurant replacing mass-produced serving ware with handmade dishes, volunteering to help scouts earn a craft badge, or partnering with individuals and organizations fundraising for a cause.

My modest square or round shapes are formed using handbuilding, slip-casting and wheel thrown techniques. Colorful glazes dripping over inlaid geometric line drawings adorn surfaces. These graphic designs borrow elements from 1950’s cars, fabric, wallpaper and package design. These are mementos of my childhood, a quilt my grandmother sewed from worn-out clothing is translated into abstract hexagon patterns and accumulated recollections are long, wavering lines. Memories of driving in my dad’s seafoam green ‘56 Studebaker pick-up becomes a green glaze applied as dots or a block of color.

While I am decorating these forms with memories from the past, I intend for them to find homes where new memories will be built over a bowl of ice cream or a cup of lemonade with a dear friend.

-- Jana Evans

Bio

Jana Evans earned her MFA in 2010, from Arizona State University and has been awarded fellowships, grants and residencies including Red Star Studios (2016), The Pottery Workshop (2014) in Jingdezhen, China, Pottery Northwest (2013) in Seattle, Washington, The Archie Bray Foundation (2010-2012) in Helena, MT. Jana lives in Kansas City, Missouri and is a founding member of Kansas City Urban Potters.