Artist: William McComb

William McComb
William McComb, KENTUCKY
View Artist's Products

Artist Bio:
Will McComb is a ceramic artist from Lexington, KY. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kentucky in 2010. In May 2020, he completed his Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts with an emphasis in Ceramics at the University of Mississippi. Beyond his formal education, Will has participated in a variety of artist workshops, national clay symposiums, and national juried exhibitions. In 2015, he began a two and a half year residency at Lighthouse ArtCenter in Jupiter, Florida where he also studied with wood-fire potter Justin Lambert. Following this residency he relocated to Oxford, Ms to pursue his MFA degree at the University of Mississippi. After graduating, he taught as an Adjunct Faculty Member at the University for two semesters. In June 2021, he returned to Lexington to work for Kentucky Mudworks manufacturing and developing glaze and clay bodies. He and his wife, Stacy, maintain active ceramic studio practices in pottery and jewelry.
Artist Statement:

In an era of ever accelerating consumption, when our experiences are growing more ephemeral, solitary, and disposable I am committed to objects that feel solid in their physicality. As utilitarian objects I hope that they can bring a sense of humanity and expression to user’s daily rhythms. My pots grow from a formal balance of strength and grace, curve and angle,
stasis and movement. Built for daily life, but made to entice the eye and hand, they strive to be both sturdy and visceral. Through gestural mark-making, my works are imbued with an ever-present sense of touch, a trace of the human hand. Possessing a directional energy, gestural marks in the soft clay suggest change, movement, and excitement. These marks offer a reminder that another human has reached out through material to serve, support, and enrich your daily life.
Matte glaze surfaces amplify underlying textures through dynamic strata of color and finish. They reveal rather than obscure. The combined effect of surface and glaze reminds me of the atmospheric colorfields of abstract painting where process and material are revealed through successive and intermingled layers of color and mark. With dynamic surfaces not designed to offer concrete interpretations, my pots are meant to be slowly contemplated and explored, not rapidly consumed. Serving steadfastly, they hope to become lifelong companions.

Education
2020 MFA in Ceramics, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
2010 BA in Art Studio, emphasis in Ceramics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Teaching Experience
Spring 2021 Adjunct Instructor of Art and Art History, Beginning Ceramics (Sections 1 and 4), School of Art and Art History, University of Mississippi

Fall 2020 Adjunct Instructor of Art and Art History, Beginning Ceramics, School of Art and Art History, University of Mississippi

Spring 2020 Instructor of Record, Beginning Ceramics, School of Art and Art History, University of Mississippi

Fall 2019 Instructor of Record, Beginning Ceramics, School of Art and Art History, University of Mississippi

Spring 2019 Instructor of Record, Beginning Ceramics, School of Art and Art History, University of Mississippi

Professional Experience
2021 - Present Clay and Glaze Technician, Kentucky Mudworks, Lexington, KY
2017- 2020 Graduate Assistant (in Ceramics Area), University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS
2015 - 2017 Ceramics Resident, Lighthouse ArtCenter, Tequesta, FL