Stephen Ruby

BIO:
Stephen Ruby's interest in wheel throwing initially pulled him into the medium, however, over time he has grown to explore and incorporate elements of hand building, mold making and even printmaking into his work as well. Over time, surface decoration took a front seat to his process using floral motifs as the backbone to his design. Beginning by taking classes at CCSF in San Francisco, and working for many years in studios as assistants and technicians from the west to the east coast, he soon found himself teaching classes and producing work full time. For over 15 years Stephen has been instructing students through classes and workshops while working on developing his artwork. In 2015, Stephen co founded Merritt Ceramics, a community driven pottery studio, offering classes, workshops, memberships and private events while he continues to produce his work. Recently reconnecting with one of his early mentors has given him the opportunity to return to high fire reduction firings after over 10 years of firing in oxidation. Stephen sees this as an opportunity to step up his production and especially his quality of work after having little time to focus on his work the last 5+ years due to prioritizing the founding of Merritt Ceramics.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I consider my past experiences as a form of accumulating tools or options that I can pull from during the making process. While my focus began with wheel-thrown forms, currently my interest has taken me towards surface decoration and other techniques involving handbuilding and sculptural approaches. My process involves traditional wheel throwing, varying handbuilding and sculpting techniques as well as a variety of surface decorating approaches in my work. While I am most comfortable firing my work and materials to a mid fire temp in an oxidation atmosphere, I have recently shifted to high temp reduction atmosphere firings in the hope that I am able to create more dynamic surfaces.
My ongoing goal is to make art that is authentically personal to me and my ever changing experience. My intense interest with understanding and knowing, for example, has led me down paths of history, religion, and art which seem to end up manifesting into my work in unexpected ways. I try not to force this personal influence onto my work, allowing the emergence of my identity to emerge naturally through my process of making and creating. As a result, I find that my work ends up as a hybrid between traditional influences and my personal aesthetic which is constantly being shaped and reshaped. After exploring printmaking, I have found that the way I look at ceramics as a medium has changed and it is these types of changes in viewpoint and approach that I particularly try to seek out and discover, in the hopes that it will better enable me to perpetuate my vision and aesthetic. It is through these goals and attitudes that I feel free to utilize the entire surface through repetitive design and the creation of negative space to emphasize contrast in my work.