Jim Rowe

I’ve been making pottery since the 1960’s. I specialize in wheel thrown functional pottery with an artistic flare. A subtle characteristic in pottery I have always enjoyed is how clay can capture the spontaneous movements of the potter. It is a quality I hope to achieve in most of the pieces I make by being a little “loose” and “natural” while throwing. My glazes are designed to accent the forms by showing the detail and qualities of the underlying clay body while blending well on the surface of the piece.

 

During my early years in pottery, I worked exclusively with salt-glazing. It’s a glazing technique that uses common rock salt that’s tossed into a white-hot kiln. Salt then vaporizes and glazes the pottery as the fumes flow through the kiln and up the chimney. The process complemented my sense of pottery esthetics. Salt-glazing itself is centuries old, but I really appreciated the cobalt blue decorated pottery made in this country from about 1850 to 1900.In

 

1975 I started Rowe Pottery Works on Main Street, Cambridge, Wisconsin. Recognizing the growing demand for historic American salt-glazed pots at the time, I adjusted my studio process to make adaptations of those early pieces. Over the next 29 years the company grew from a one-person studio to a staff of over 100 and enjoyed international distribution. It was an opportunity to employ highly skilled artists and crafts people and pay good wages and benefits in an industry that did not have many employment options. I sold the company in 2004.

 

Today I still enjoy throwing and glazing pots in my private studio. I make a limited number of pieces and enjoy the diversity of activities that family and retirement offer. If you are considering purchasing pottery of mine, I hope you enjoy the pottery as much as I have enjoyed making it.