Pottery, ceramics and functional art
Ken Omundson loves creating functional art.
Ken was born and raised near Detroit Lakes, MN. He joined the Navy after high school and was stationed in Long Beach, California on an aircraft carrier. Following the Navy, he attended college in Long Beach and graduated in 1974 with a B.S. In Physical Therapy. Ken practiced Therapy in several locations including California, Hawaii and Minnesota. He has always had an interest in the 'arts' and enjoyed making stained glass, photography and pottery. He is self-taught in pottery after taking one class many years ago. Until recently, pottery has been a part-time obsession, but since retiring, he has set up a studio in Felton, Minnesota and has been able to spend much more time on his passion.
He utilizes throwing and hand-building as the primary forming methods, often combining the two forms into his art pieces. He fires in an electric kiln in his studio to cone 6. He also fires two times a year in a wood kiln at Black Bear Pottery near Garrison, Minnesota and utilizes a small gas kiln for special projects like raku or reduction firings.
Ken was born and raised near Detroit Lakes, MN. He joined the Navy after high school and was stationed in Long Beach, California on an aircraft carrier. Following the Navy, he attended college in Long Beach and graduated in 1974 with a B.S. In Physical Therapy. Ken practiced Therapy in several locations including California, Hawaii and Minnesota. He has always had an interest in the 'arts' and enjoyed making stained glass, photography and pottery. He is self-taught in pottery after taking one class many years ago. Until recently, pottery has been a part-time obsession, but since retiring, he has set up a studio in Felton, Minnesota and has been able to spend much more time on his passion.
He utilizes throwing and hand-building as the primary forming methods, often combining the two forms into his art pieces. He fires in an electric kiln in his studio to cone 6. He also fires two times a year in a wood kiln at Black Bear Pottery near Garrison, Minnesota and utilizes a small gas kiln for special projects like raku or reduction firings.
Ceramics and Function | Artist Feature
Design and Living Magazine, Brandi Malarkey
READ MORE of the article from Design and Living Magazine.
A hot beverage in a favorite cup is a small pleasure many people love to indulge in. Contributing to that experience is one of the joys artist Ken Omundson loves about his work.
“I have always liked making mugs because it is a very personal item. People find one that really works for them, and they don’t understand why they always go back to it. Something about the way it looks, or the way it feels in their hands. They use it every day, and there is something...something very intimate.”
Ken sits behind a row of new pottery pieces he is getting ready to set out for display at Gallery 4, the downtown Fargo artist cooperative gallery of which he is a member. His work ranges from small, decorative tiles to large urns and vases, utilizing both hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques.
“I do some decorative pieces, like figurines. But I like to make functional things that go directly into people’s hands. A cup, or a butter keeper, or a garlic grater. I like the challenge of making something that works.”
Indeed, the smooth lines and soft blues, greens, and earth tones of his glazes create an inviting simplicity that belies the very complex process behind his work.
“I like developing the method or design. I know what I am doing and how I want to do it before I start. I visualize it and build it in my head. Then I might develop a pattern. Then modify the pattern. Then make a template, and modify the template. I don’t really have a signature element to my work, because I don’t like making the same thing over and over.”
While some of Ken’s continual modifications are to improve function, like ensuring bird seed doesn’t mold by preventing standing water in his outside bird feeders, others are purely aesthetic.
Ken gestures to a group of hand-built teapots, each distinctly different from its neighbors. “Even when I have a template where I think that is as far as I will go with the overall design, they will have different surface designs. Even if they are the same design, they are open to so many different ways of being glazed.”
Even his seemingly straightforward ceramic mugs are the result of continual experimentation.
“You have to remove the cup from the bat [flat discs that attach to a pottery wheel]. One way is with a wire. What if I use a different kind of wire? What if I wiggle the wire when I am doing it? What patterns will that make on the bottom of the cup?” he asks, demonstrating with his hands in the air, his enthusiasm for the process unmistakable. “There are so many steps where you can put your own little interpretation and method into it.”
The result of so much experimentation? Bringing unique art into the familiarity of daily use. “Simple”, beautiful, and as comforting as that warm beverage in a favorite, hand-thrown ceramic mug.
#ceramics #galleryartist #MinnesotaArtist
Design and Living Magazine, Brandi Malarkey
READ MORE of the article from Design and Living Magazine.
A hot beverage in a favorite cup is a small pleasure many people love to indulge in. Contributing to that experience is one of the joys artist Ken Omundson loves about his work.
“I have always liked making mugs because it is a very personal item. People find one that really works for them, and they don’t understand why they always go back to it. Something about the way it looks, or the way it feels in their hands. They use it every day, and there is something...something very intimate.”
Ken sits behind a row of new pottery pieces he is getting ready to set out for display at Gallery 4, the downtown Fargo artist cooperative gallery of which he is a member. His work ranges from small, decorative tiles to large urns and vases, utilizing both hand-building and wheel-throwing techniques.
“I do some decorative pieces, like figurines. But I like to make functional things that go directly into people’s hands. A cup, or a butter keeper, or a garlic grater. I like the challenge of making something that works.”
Indeed, the smooth lines and soft blues, greens, and earth tones of his glazes create an inviting simplicity that belies the very complex process behind his work.
“I like developing the method or design. I know what I am doing and how I want to do it before I start. I visualize it and build it in my head. Then I might develop a pattern. Then modify the pattern. Then make a template, and modify the template. I don’t really have a signature element to my work, because I don’t like making the same thing over and over.”
While some of Ken’s continual modifications are to improve function, like ensuring bird seed doesn’t mold by preventing standing water in his outside bird feeders, others are purely aesthetic.
Ken gestures to a group of hand-built teapots, each distinctly different from its neighbors. “Even when I have a template where I think that is as far as I will go with the overall design, they will have different surface designs. Even if they are the same design, they are open to so many different ways of being glazed.”
Even his seemingly straightforward ceramic mugs are the result of continual experimentation.
“You have to remove the cup from the bat [flat discs that attach to a pottery wheel]. One way is with a wire. What if I use a different kind of wire? What if I wiggle the wire when I am doing it? What patterns will that make on the bottom of the cup?” he asks, demonstrating with his hands in the air, his enthusiasm for the process unmistakable. “There are so many steps where you can put your own little interpretation and method into it.”
The result of so much experimentation? Bringing unique art into the familiarity of daily use. “Simple”, beautiful, and as comforting as that warm beverage in a favorite, hand-thrown ceramic mug.
#ceramics #galleryartist #MinnesotaArtist
Show on Kindness
- What if kindness could be easily remembered daily with a simple cup of coffee or tea? Gallery4's "Show of Kindness" exhibit asks the artists what kindness means to them.
- ✿ Here's Gallery4 artist Ken Omundson and his ceramic original, "A Cup of Kindness."
- #actsofkindness
