Focus Gallery
Forrest Middelton + Adam Field | Ceramics
May 20 – June 19, 2016
Forrest Middelton – Petaluma, CA
Originally from Vermont and raised in Seattle, Forrest Lesch-Middelton lives and works as a potter and tile artist in Petaluma, California. Former Ceramics Program Director at Sonoma Community Center, and currently Visiting Professor at Sonoma State University, his extensive background as an arts educator, administrator, and studio potter has earned him recognition as a diverse and inspirational member of the ceramic arts community. Forrest’s works marry historic pattern with functional forms by combining innovations in image transfer techniques with wheel thrown forms; a process he has dubbed “Volumetric Image Transfer”. Forrest’s pots have been featured on the on the cover of Ceramics Monthly magazine, and recently his architectural tile has won great acclaim, having been featured in The New York Times, Architectural Digest and Sunset Magazine. In 2014 Ceramics Monthly Magazine, and Ceramic Arts Daily chose Forrest as “The Ceramic Artist of the year”. In 2015 Forrest was awarded a Creative Workfund grant for his collaborative work with Iranian born calligraphy artist Arash Shirinbab.
Forrest teaches workshops on volumetric image transfer throughout the United States. In 1998 Forrest received a BFA from Alfred University, and in 2006 he received his MFA from Utah State University. Forrest is President of the California Association of Clay and Glass Artists, and has been an Artist in Residence at Project Art in Massachusetts, the Mendocino Arts Center, and the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, in Maine.
Adam Field – Helena, MT
Adam Field was born and raised in Colorado. Adam earned his BA in Art from Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. For two years he immersed himself in the culturally rich art scene of the San Francisco bay area where he began his full time studio practice. From there he relocated to Maui, where he established a thriving studio business. He spent most of 2008 in Icheon, South Korea, studying traditional Korean pottery making techniques under 6th generation Onggi master Kim Il Mahn. In 2013 he created and debuted HIDE-N-SEEKAH at the NCECA conference in Houston, TX. After maintaining his studio in Durango, CO for 5 years, Adam recently moved to Helena, MT where he is currently a long-term artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation. His works are included in private collections and kitchen cabinets internationally.
Forrest Middelton Website
Forrest Middelton | Artist Information
Forrest Middelton | Video
Adam Field Website
Adam Field | Artist Information
The FOCUS GALLERY program features four single or paired artist exhibitions annually.