Paul Eshelman
Eshelman Pottery
238 N Main St
Elizabeth, Illinois 61028
815.858.2327
eshelman@eshelmanpottery.com
EshelmanPottery.com
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Culture has been defined as what we make of the world. Functional pottery is Paul Eshelman’s cultural attempt, through the material of clay, to bring order and human dignity to the merely physical act of consuming food and drink. As his pots are used daily, Paul’s hope is that they carry measures of quiet and nourishment for body and spirit. He imagines people at a dinner table, workspace, or office cubicle where food and drink are served and humanized by hospitable, well-ordered pots.
The pieces are made using a casting process in molds Paul designs and makes. The clay body is a red stoneware; the glazes are all lead free. Clarity is given to his simple forms by contrasting glazed and unglazed surfaces. Pure clean glazes render elegant presentation of food and drink.
Paul received a B.A. in art from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington and an M.F.A. in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. Since 1988 Paul and his wife Laurel, have been living and making pottery in Elizabeth, Illinois. The pottery has gone out to enhance the lives of people across the country. They are in service at the Alinea group restaurant, Roister, in Chicago and at Teaism in Washington, DC. The work has appeared in numerous books and magazines and held in permanent museum collections including:
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American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California
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Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred, New York
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The Goldstein Museum of Design, University of Minnesota
The International Museum of Dinnerware Design, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, Texas
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Santa Fe Clay, New Mexico
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Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art at Alfred, New York
Gallery
Representation
Outside the Lines Art Gallery
1101 Main St
Dubuque, IA 52001
(563) 583-9343
and
101 S Main St
Galena, IL 61036
(815) 776-9166
otlag.com
shopotlag.com
257 Iowa Ave.
Iowa City, IA 52240
2024
Art/Gallery shows
Feb 28 - April 5
Twenty Dirty Hands Show
UW Platteville
Platteville, WI
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Apr 19 - 20
Frank Lloyd Wright Laurent House,
Art Scene
Rockford, IL
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May 18
Marion Arts Festival
Marion, IA
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July 13 - 14
Art Fair on the Square Madison
Madison, WI
October 18-20
Twenty Dirty Hands
Elizabeth & Galena, IL
Hazel Green, WI
Dubuque, Asbury & Maquoketa, IA
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