Barry Bernstein

I've been making Raku Pottery for over 30 years. My work is wheel-thrown, cut, and altered. Each piece gets two electric glaze firings and two-to-four Raku firings. My pieces are painterly; I use classic thrown forms as my canvas and the firing as my brush. I am influenced by the hues and textures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in particular the Northern Lights which light up the sky on many clear nights. When I was younger I was a champion ballroom dancer and I've incorporated many of the same elements into my pieces like strong form and line, balance, and grace. I'm influenced by Oriental ceramics and Southwest American Indian pottery. I'm also influenced by ceramists Paul Soldner and Richard Devore and artists Joseph Albers, Dali, Monet, and the Abstract Expressionists. I've won awards at some of the finest art fairs in the country including the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. My work has been on display at the White House. I'm in several permanent museum collections and my work is on permanent display as far away as Yokaichi, Japan.