John Olstad

A Brief Bio

I was introduced to ceramics as an undergrad in the early 1980s, and it has remained a significant part of my life ever since. I’ve had the good fortune to study with a number of excellent potters, both at university and in various studios. My greatest influence was my good friend Ken Shenstone, who introduced me to the pottery wheel and went on to build his own studio as well as one of the largest wood-fired kilns in the country. The experience of firing with wood led me to appreciate the unpredictable in art.

My academic degrees are in the physical sciences, not the fine arts, and I find ceramics to be a beautiful combination of the aesthetic and the technical. While art and science certainly have their differences, both require a high level of creativity (and perhaps a bit of obsession) and have more in common than most people realize. I also find the experience of working with such an ancient method of creation to be grounding in our disconnected, digital age.

I moved permanently to southeast Florida in 2019 after 28 years as a teacher of high school physics.

Contact Me

Should you wish to contact me, I can be reached at olstadpottery@gmail.com.

My Work

I make my pottery out of stoneware, a type of clay typically fired to high temperatures (nearly 2400 degrees F) making it durable and nonporous. The work is fired in a kiln fueled by natural gas in a low-oxygen atmosphere, a process known as reduction firing. This gives the fired clay a darker, richer color, and can dramatically affect the appearance of glazes on the surface of the ware. Reduction firing adds unpredictability to the firing process.

My work concentrates on the subtleties of traditional forms, particularly bowls and vases, as well as alterations of those forms. I enjoy making functional ware as well as altering vases to introduce elements of dissonance and optical illusion.