Richard Proctor

Artist’s Statement

This current (2010-11) collection of ceramic objects is more about surface enrichment than about potters traditional concerns with form, volume and vessel making.

Although some of my pieces are wheel thrown, this collection was formed by slab roller and slump-mold. Contrasting slip was applied to the still damp greenware then carved into with a loop tool revealing the color of the clay body.  Most pieces are glazed but the very newest are simply white porcelain with a self-glazing black (Albany) slip.  All have been fired to cone ten and are foodsafe.

The drawings (designs) are derived from nature, historic ornaments, and my many years of working with fabric design.  I am influenced by fellow artists Jennifer Lew, Robert Sperry, Mar Hudson, and especially by Larry Halvorsen——undisputed King of all loop tool draftsmen.

What next?  In September when I return to Silica Studios in Palm Springs I will be concentrating on increased scale, multiple tile compositions and drawing on more complex forms.

Bio

Formal art training includes a BS (1959) in art education and an MA (1962) in painting (with Abraham Rattner) from Michigan State University where I took several ceramics classes from Louis Raynor. In 1959 I studied informally with Michigan potter, J. T. Abernathy of Ann Arbor.  Most of my working life was spent teaching art and Textile Design at the University of Washington or operating the Childers/Proctor Gallery (Langley WA) with fellow artist and long time partner, Ron Childers whom I married in 2008.  Currently in print with Dover Publications is my first art book, “Principles of Pattern”. The revised edition of a second book, “Surface Design for Fabric” (with Jennifer Lew} was published by the Univ. of Wash. Press in 1979.  My work has been collected by The Museum of Northwest Art, the Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, and Uniguard Insurance Group among others and shown at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (NYC) the Detroit Art Institute, the Seattle Art Museum, the Palm Springs Art Museum (where I’ve been a Docent for the past 11 years), The Smithsonian Institution and a host of other venues. My present studio work includes painting, collage, and printmaking.  A recent return to ceramic art has been greatly facilitated by Daric Harvie and everyone at Silica Studios.  I’m represented on Whidbey Island by the Brackenwood Gallery, Langley WA, and in Palm Springs by the Desert Art Center on North Palm Canyon Drive, and by Silica Studios,

Resume

Born: Richard Macfarlane Proctor

February 27, 1936, Detroit Michigan

Education

1962, M.A. in Painting,  Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

1959, B.S. in Art Education,  Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

1954-55, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, Michigan

Employment

2001-Present; Docent (volunteer), Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA

1983-1999, Co-Owner, Childers/ Proctor Gallery, Langley, Washington

1992-Present; Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Art, University of Washington,

Seattle, Washington

1962-1992; Faculty, and later Chairman, Fiber Arts Program, School of Art, University of

Washington, Seattle Washington

Publications

“Principles of Pattern for Craftsmen and Designers”, New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold. 1969. Reissued by Dover Publications, New York, in 1990 as “Principles of Pattern Design”

“Surface Design for Fabric”, Seattle/ London: University of Washington Press. 1984(Revised  Ed. 1995), with Jennifer F. Lew.

“Who’s Who in America”, Various editions including 58th in 2004, Marquis Publishing, NJ

Collections/ Commissions

Seattle/ Tacoma International Airport

Uniguard Insurance Group Headquarters, Bellevue, Washington

Rainier Bank, (First Hill) Seattle Washington      Peoples Bank, Bellevue Washington

Safeco Insurance Headquarters, Seattle, Washington

City of Seattle Waterfront Banners (by competition, 1979)

Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner Washington

Many private collections including Hess/Taylor Collection, Victoria BC

Selected Exhibitions/ Work/ Exhibited

Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York City, New York

Detroit Art Institute, Detroit, Michigan

Kresge Art Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Horace C. Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Washington

Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs California

Northwest Craft Center and Gallery, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington

Wichita Art Association, Wichita, Kansas

Alberta College of Art, Alberta, Canada

Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Greenville County Art Museum, Greenville, South Carolina

Yaw Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan

Washington State Capitol Museum, Olympia, Washington

Smithsonian Museum/ Smithsonian Institution (Traveling Exhibition)

Childers/ Proctor Gallery, Langley, Washington

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner Washington

Brackenwood Gallery, Langley WA