Celebrate the coming of spring with an infusion of color.

Ronan Peterson’s pottery radiates bright color, with fanciful patterns and a variety of rich textures… a perfect greeting for springtime, budding leaves, and new growth.

Inspired by the forests of Appalachia, Ronan’s vessels imply trees, hints of bark, lichens, ferns and the myriad colors of the mountains. Ronan makes clear that the vessels are not actual representations of the trees and rocks, but abstractions and stylizations of these natural phenomena. He seeks to upset quiet earthiness with intense splashes of vibrant color, patterns, and glossy surfaces not commonly associated with tree bark or the rough surfaces of rocks amidst fallen leaves. He is interested in inflated volume and thick line qualities that reference comic style drawings and how that can apply to interpreting the natural world.

Ronan uses red earthenware clay to make his vessels, employing a wide variety of construction techniques. His complex surface manipulations are created with an encyclopedic array of decorating techniques including the use of slips, terra sigillata, sgraffito carving, painting, dipping, wax resists, and layering of glazes. His most recent work is influenced by the paintings of Miro, Klee, and Philip Gustin, with a focus on plates as round canvases.

Asheville Ceramics Gallery displays contemporary ceramics and traditional studio pottery in an elegant formal gallery environment.

Ronan Kyle Peterson’s studio, Nine Toes Pottery, is located in Chapel Hill, NC. He exhibits and teaches workshops nationally.

If You Go: Works by Ronan Peterson on dislplay at Asheville Ceramics Gallery, located in the Phil Mechanic Studios Building, 109 Roberts St. in the River Arts District. Open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.ashevilleceramics.com