About
ARTIST STATEMENT
As a father, husband, son, brother and friend I would like to be a good steward of this place and time I find myself in, both for me and those I share this moment with. If I think about the possible ripple effects of even simple actions I take everyday, I find it profound the extent in which those ripples can travel. It is quite possible for small actions to travel far beyond that which I can see. I have found it increasingly important to try and collect or catalog that which most captures my attention and helps focus my vision and imagination. In a moment that feels increasingly divisive and at times where it feels like division over shared value can be trumpeted louder, I have found increasing importance in the simple act of noticing.
Currently, my work often begins by me collecting objects through my daily life by me simple discovering them. We all share this ability to find beauty in the everyday, even if we would collect different objects. We also, more importantly, share the ability to find meaning through metaphor. These collected objects or even photos taken are pulled into the studio where they are put through a process of examination and recreation. Casts are often pulled from the found objects which allows me to process my original interest in the objects and through a multi-step process of casting, not only think more deeply about my original interest in the objects, but how these things are often intricately linked to so much more of my world beyond my vision. And, the process of pulling from that which is clearly fixed and tangible only to copy, liquidate, reimagine, and reform this recognizable texture and form into something completely new, I find compelling and powerful. Something that has ripple effects.
It is my hope that individuals that come into contact with these small works may start to recognize some of the same objects I originally found interesting, only to start to ask themselves, Why? Why some of these objects have been selected and even more than that, reimagined and created into something new. If one creative reimagination could spark a wonder or questioning and inspiration could spring from that, my work would be functioning in a spectacular way, much in the same way centuries of created objects in clay have captured my imagination and spurred my interest and helped my understanding of the world around me. If through the processing and creation of this work, my actions and how they may impact those that are still to come could help focus my vision and even change small actions, this work has value beyond its individual parts, processes and time.
BIO
Shannon Blakey is an artist and educator from Columbia, MO. Shannon received his BFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and his MFA from Pennsylvania State University. With a love for clay Shannon has balanced creating and educating with a range of teaching that includes teaching at art centers, museums, and teaching in schools that range from elementary to college.
EDUCATION
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, Master of Fine Arts
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE), Edwardsville, IL, Bachelor of Fine Arts
EXHIBITIONS
2025
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
Off Center: An International Ceramic Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
NATIONAL SHOWS
Juried National VIII, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
2024
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
14th Annual Workhouse Clay International, Workhouse Art Center, Lorton, VA
Off Center: An International Ceramic Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
37th Materials: Hard+Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX
NATIONAL SHOWS
It’s Cups of Contemplation, University of Southern Mississippi Museum of Art, Hattiesburg, MS
Wood Soda Salt, University Department of Visual Art Wyoming, WY
A Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
Craft Futures: Celebrating 60 years of Craft, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Guildford Art Center’s Ceramics 2024, Guildford Art Center, Guildford, CT
2023
INTERNATIONAL SHOWS
Little Lush, Lighthouse Art Center, Tequesta, FL
Clay Bash 2023, Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ
Off Center: An International Ceramic Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
2023 NCECA Annual - I Contain Multitudes, Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
small works, Big Ideas, The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
NATIONAL SHOWS
Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
Hella Cups, Applied Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Cups With Conscience, Gallery One, Ellensburg, WA
Crocker Kingsley A National Art Competition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
