Ben Carter's Biography
I've traveled far and wide to see and make pottery. It started in Virginia with an International Baccalaureate ceramics certificate in high school; then to Boone, NC for a BFA in painting and ceramics from Appalachian State; and then on to a post-baccalaureate year at the University of Florida. Along the way I have been a resident at the Canton Clay Works, Canton, CT, The Odyssey Center for Ceramic Art, Asheville, NC and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO. I am currently enrolled in the MFA Ceramics program at the University of Florida.
I've worked for numerous potteries, and I've spent countless hours in museums soaking in good pots. I consider these experiences to be essential to my formation as a potter and as a person. I think of myself as being extremely fortunate to have found a direction in life at a young age that has put me into contact with so many wonderful people, environments, and good pots.
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Some of the earliest memories I have are of being tucked into
my bunk bed underneath a handmade quilt that one of my
grandmothers gave me. It was a Marimekko print of cars, trucks
and buses that was backed with a simple navy fabric. Quilts were
a way for me to connect with my grandmothers: their protection,
their love and their practicality.
I don't think my grandmothers quilted to make a statement
about contemporary life or any other grand aesthetic notion.
They quilted because it was a chance to take scraps of clothing
and fabric that weren't needed and transform them into something
new, beautiful, and useful. This resurrection of fabric is
indicative of the philosophy that nothing goes to waste and that
all things in combination can be beautiful.
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As I've grown in my making I see that these characteristics
keep coming up in my work. A little of this, a pinch of that:
everything is thrown together to create pots that feel like the
quilts that I love. This visual framework allows me to combine
colors, surfaces and references to create patterns that have
tactile variety and visual depth. These combinations alternate
between tension and balance, which adds emotional energy and
playfulness to the use of my pots.
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