Steve Rolf

 
Steve Rolf group shot.jpg
 
 
 
Steve Rolf.jpg

BIOGRAPHY

S.C. Rolf lives and works as a studio potter in River Falls, WI, creating one-of-a-kind functional pots. He received his BS in Broad Area Arts form the University of Wisconsin- River Falls (1988), his BFA in Ceramics from Kansas City Art Institute (1992), and his MFA in Ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (1994). Rolf was awarded an apprenticeship under master painter and wood engraver Wang Hui Ming (Amherst, MA, 1985). He is an invited lecturer and teacher at schools and workshops throughout the United States, and juror of regional ceramic shows and awards.

“I continually play with shape and surface within parameters set by the intended purpose of the pot. These parameters open a world of exploration for me. My pieces are not metaphors for landscape and feeling alone, but rather they are the landscape and they embody the feeling.”

S.C. Rolf’s work has been included in magazines and books including: Ceramics Monthly , Studio Potter, “Mastering the Potter’s Wheel” by Ben Carter, “ What Make a Potter” by Janet Koplos, “500 Teapots” from Lark books, “In The Potter’s Kitchen” by Sumi von Dassow, and “American iPottery” by Kevin Hulch.

“My work reflects an ongoing search to unite his ideas with the generosity and the intimacy that the functional pot offers.”

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a potter, I make one of a kind functional objects that are meant to be used daily. The daily routine of life is often filled with beauty that is missed or passed over. I have made a study of making objects that fit ones hand and hopefully engage the users eye, head, and heart as well. My work celebrates the daily routine of eating, drinking, storing and pouring.

Beautiful objects have the power to trigger thoughts and emotions. Interesting and beautiful clay pots do this for me because they are made of mud, and mud leaves a trail and a record of the makers touch capturing his or her ideas at the moment of making. Pots additionally deal with containment. This containment relates to use, the body, volume, space and even containment of ideas as metaphor.

My work employs the physical process of layering which describes a sense of growth of the pot, both inward and outward. The addition and subtraction of the material leave a record of time in the work. Layering of wet clay over leather-hard clay is similar to the transformation of a landscape, such as an eroding riverbed. As a maker of one-of-a-kind functional objects, I use the premise that I transmit feeling through the subtle touch in working. I feel that in order for the user to “get it” they must also touch the work. My hope is that my pots will be used frequently in the daily routine by those who bring them into their homes.


Q&A WITH THE ARTIST

Carbondale Clay Center (CCC): What’s your favorite beverage recipe?

Steve Rolf (SR): Rum Pot

This is a simple way of preserving fruit and making a delicious dessert drink at the same time.

To make rum pot you’ll need:

  • A beautiful ceramic jar with a well-fitting lid.

  • Seasonal fruit or berries

  • Sugar

  • 151 proof rum

  • Patience

Layer fruit in jar. The jar doesn’t have to be full right away.  Cover fruit layer with sugar. Pour enough rum to cover the fruit.  Add fruit as it comes into season and repeat layering with sugar and rum. Let sit for at least one month. The rum must be 151 proof or the fruit will spoil. 

What to do with the rum pot: Use the fruit as topping on ice cream or custards; add it to cake batter, or just nibble it (carefully!) Use the rum to dilute to your liking as a dessert drink or pour some over ice cream or custard along with the berries.

SR: I love making objects for drinking. There is a uniqueness that a cup holds for me. You can hold it in your hands; it has an inside and an outside. have an inside and an outside. I pour into the inside of the cup and the cup pours into the inside of me. The cup holds the liquid, then the vessel of my body holds the liquid. For me there is an enjoyment when art and life flow together - an artful life. Making art, craft, building, cooking, or doing my daily routine are all part of the same thing for me. I am using the same creative processes for each, and the transitions between them are seamless.

I can never seem to make enough sizes or variations; the human body has so many unique qualities. I remember a time when I first started out my career and I was selling pots at craft fairs. I had a gentleman approach me and ask if I had a large mug. I said yes and turned to grab one, but as I was turning back towards him, he was reaching out his hand and I stopped short seeing that his hands were twice the size of mine. I apologized to him in realization that I did not have a mug that would fit his hand. Some people like small handles that are close to the body of a mug. Others like handles that are large, open, upward, downward, one finger, two finger three finger, four. Is the lip straight, does it roll over, does it roll inward? This is as it should be. I am thankful for other makers that create pots that I can’t or don’t because of the vast differences and idiosyncrasies of the people who use our work. I now make many more sizes of cups and handles and it pushes me to create new shapes. After some years of making, I still feel fortunate to be able to make an object out of mud that can celebrate the uniqueness of the human body!