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Shelburne Falls potter earns traditional arts grant - The Recorder

For the Recorder

Published: 4/22/2022 2:04:31 PM

Modified: 4/22/2022 2:03:15 PM

In recognition of his traditional ceramics and potware, Shelburne Falls potter Stephen Earp has received a $5,000 grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in the traditional arts category.

Earp’s pieces are inspired by traditional New England redware and early blue and white delftware. He said he has received the same $5,000 grant in previous years, and he hasn’t decided yet what the funding will be used for.

“I am eternally grateful for the cultural council,” he said.

The other Franklin County winner in the traditional arts category is Geoffrey Kostecki from Montague, whose work ranges from realism to abstract landscapes that he calls “fogscapes.” Efforts to reach Kostecki were unsuccessful.

Earp explained there is a common notion that the redware style died out around 1800, but he is interested in carrying this tradition into the present and building off of this conventional potware style.

“I use conventions as a springboard,” said Earp, adding that he often wonders, “At what point do your abstractions spring out to the point of no longer being in the tradition? Nothing is permanent when it’s a part of the traditional work.”

The last couple of years have seen many challenges for people in artistic fields, with shops and galleries closing. However, Earp also explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have become more invested in how they curate their home spaces.

“Some people with historic homes wanted to get items that reflected their home’s style,” Earp said. Thus, they turned to his traditional-style pottery.

Earp sells his pottery online, sometimes selling original creations modeled after traditional potware, and other times making custom pieces. As he explained it, “I’m part of a conversation with potters from a hundred years ago”

“A style becomes a tradition when it gets continued by a community over time,” he said.

Earp is participating in the upcoming Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail on April 30 and May 1. His studio is at 15 Masonic Ave. in Shelburne Falls. Guest potters at his studio include Sam Taylor of Westhampton and Tom White of Northfield.


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