Lucy Breslin

Like his wife, Lucy Breslin, who is also a ceramicist and professor at MECA, Johnson not only accepts but embraces the possibility of the unexpected during the process of firing his work.
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Lucy Breslin

In the mid-1980s, Lucy Breslin had to leave the country to find validation for what she instinctively felt was missing in her ceramics: color.

A native of Pennsylvania, Breslin moved to Maine 20 years ago to teach ceramics at the Maine College of Art; her husband, the artist Mark Johnson, is also a professor at MECA.
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It was after arriving in Maine that Breslin began to create the brilliantly colored and energetic ceramic pieces for which she is known today.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the American ceramic scene was dominated by minimalist, earth-toned ceramics.But Breslin yearned for something brighter and more baroque."I wanted to get festivity and celebration into my work," she says.While on a Fulbright Fellowship to Spain in 1985, Breslin discovered troves of dazzlingly decorative pottery.The experience solidified her belief that there was a place for colorful ornamental ceramics in contemporary art.

"My work is still rooted in nature," Breslin says, "but it takes things to another place.Nature isn't just about browns and greens."You need look no further than a flower garden, she says, to see the interplay of vivid colors in nature.

Oddly enough, though Breslin relishes bright color she has also chosen to work in a medium in which color can be deceptive.Unlike oil painters, who know exactly what they are getting when they stab their brush into a glob of paint, a ceramicist works with muted, milky glazes that don't reveal their true color until after they have been fired in a kiln.In addition, the temperature of the kiln and length of firing can have subtle affects on the outcome."I tell my students," Breslin says with a sheepish grin, "that if you don't have some gamble in your blood, you shouldn't be in ceramics."

Education: Breslin received her bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University and a master's of fine arts from Kent State University.

Lucy Breslin is an associate professor at the Maine College of Art.She has an MFA in Ceramics from Kent State University, and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to research traditional pottery and kilns in Spain.Her work has been exhibited nationally.

with Lucy Breslin
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Lucy Breslin teaches in the ceramics and art history departments at The Maine College of Art, Portland.She received her M.F.A. from Kent State University, Ohio, and is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, awarded to research traditional pottery and kilns in Spain, which she wrote about in Ceramics Monthly and the New York Times.She has exhibited extensively nationally, including a solo exhibit at the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA.

with Lucy Breslin

Exuberant pots are the goal of this workshop.While there are many ways to achieve this goal, participants will concentrate on combining throwing and handbuilding to arrive at newly realized forms, vigorous and animated, beginning on the wheel and then altering the wheel-thrown shapes by twisting, cutting, folding, etc.The newly reshaped pieces become the units for constructing finished forms.

Demonstrations, discussions, and the slide presentation will act as springboards for individual investigations.Whether your goal is to increase your repertoire of forms, to breathe new life into tired work, or even to begin again, this workshop will help reveal new possibilities and suggest ideas for future explorations.
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Lucy Breslin teaches in the ceramics and art history departments at The Maine College of Art, Portland.She received her M.F.A. from Kent State University, Ohio, and is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, awarded to research traditional pottery and kilns in Spain, which she wrote about in Ceramics Monthly and the New York Times.She has exhibited extensively nationally, including a solo exhibit at the Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA.

Lodging - If you are visiting from out of state, here's a place just up the road ...

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Lucy Breslin received her MFA from Kent State University.Presently she is a ceramic instructor at MECA.Lucy has had a studio in South Portland for 15 years.The pots that Lucy creates are bright, colorful, interesting and fun.Her techniques involve throwing small pots, then changing their shapes and combining them into a larger, finished piece.Her work includes both functional and decorative pieces.Lucy works in the low-fire temperature range, and uses both commercial and mixed glazes.She will be sharing her glazing suggestions.Students will have a chance to try out her technique and explore different form possibilities

May 11 Karen Orsillo Colored Clay Workshop

This workshop will cover the basics of layering colored clays.Using porcelain, you will learn how to color the clay, and then cut and layer it, to form blocks of patterns.You will have a chance to try several different construction and forming methods.Karen has been a professional studio potter and teacher for many years.