Michael Stumbras
Mike Stumbras makes ceramic vessels that are inspired by 18th and 19th century European production ware. His work is created primarily on the potter’s wheel with the immediacy and individuality attributed to hand processes and alternative firing methods. Stumbras' work explores the beauty and horror of our existential uncertainties as creatures seeking meaning in a microcosm. These pots combine inspirations from historical production ceramics with contemporary studio art practices in wheel thrown and soda fired cone 11 porcelain. The work addresses design elements from 18th and 19th century European slipcast ware, but is created with the immediacy and individuality attributed to hand processes and alternative firing methods. In this dialogue between the tangible past and immediate present, the work appears both conspicuously old fashioned and relevant to contemporary concerns in an unsteady American social landscape.
Stumbras was born in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at St. Olaf College, where he received a BFA in Studio Arts and BS in Biology in 2007. Stumbras received an MFA in Ceramics from Louisiana State University in 2017. Stumbras has completed residencies across the country including 323 Clay in Kansas City, Missouri; The Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York; and the Carbondale Clay Center …
Mike Stumbras makes ceramic vessels that are inspired by 18th and 19th century European production ware. His work is created primarily on the potter’s wheel with the immediacy and individuality attributed to hand processes and alternative firing methods. Stumbras' work explores the beauty and horror of our existential uncertainties as creatures seeking meaning in a microcosm. These pots combine inspirations from historical production ceramics with contemporary studio art practices in wheel thrown and soda fired cone 11 porcelain. The work addresses design elements from 18th and 19th century European slipcast ware, but is created with the immediacy and individuality attributed to hand processes and alternative firing methods. In this dialogue between the tangible past and immediate present, the work appears both conspicuously old fashioned and relevant to contemporary concerns in an unsteady American social landscape.
Stumbras was born in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at St. Olaf College, where he received a BFA in Studio Arts and BS in Biology in 2007. Stumbras received an MFA in Ceramics from Louisiana State University in 2017. Stumbras has completed residencies across the country including 323 Clay in Kansas City, Missouri; The Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York; and the Carbondale Clay Center in Carbondale, Colorado. Formerly a Visiting Professor of Ceramics at the College of William and Mary, and a lecturer at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale Stumbras has exhibited work nationally and internationally. He is currently Living and making work in Kansas City.
