About the artist:

George Pearlman started potting in 1980 and received his BS from Syracuse University in 1983, attended School of Visual Arts in New York in 1984, and secured his MFA in Ceramics from Pennsylvania State University in 1994. He has shown his work internationally and has been the recipient of numerous grants, residencies, and teaching positions throughout the U.S.A. and abroad. George established the St. George Pottery in 1999 by designing and constructing the three-story building himself over seven months in 1998. This is the only break he has ever taken from his passion of working with clay since 1980, but it was well worth it. His studio and gallery are all connected to his coastal home in St. George, Maine. Mr. Pearlman’s ceramics have been exhibited in a variety of exhibitions including: “Work of the Hand,” Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME, 2000 and 2001; “Penn State Alumni Show,” Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD, 1998; “Fletcher Challenge,” Auckland, New Zealand, 1994; and “American Clay Artists,” Port of History Museum, PA, 1989. George Pearlman spends most days in his studio, but he is also involved with music and plays the piano and drums. He is a passionate outdoorsman, hiker, and kayaker. He is a Registered Maine Kayaking Guide and has paddled throughout the island-heavy Maine coast, as well as the northern parts of Newfoundland. George Pearlman Artist Statement Despite more than twenty years of potting, I still feel like a beginner because I constantly explore my preconceptions about beauty and function. This is a daily act of daring. If I am not excited about what I am making then it is not the right work. Usually I know it is a good piece if it makes me laugh. By this I mean it sits there complete and stares back at me as if I had nothing to do with it being there. When customers come to the pottery and truly respond to the work, the process is complete. A wonderful aspect of pottery is its complete abstraction. It does not have to look like something else. A pot can be anything as long as it works and rarely does anyone ask me what a certain pot means. Still, customers will laugh, gasp, and wonder at what they are seeing and I love that they are allowing themselves to have their experience without some dread of incorrect interpretation. To me, this is art.The artist and viewer are experiencing imagination together while most likely thinking and feeling completely different. My goal as an artist is to generate the energy that creates the space for myself and the viewer to expand freely. I see this as a way of life and the definition of a peaceful and vibrant society.