21. Joel Shoemaker

I fell in love with ceramics as an art ed minor (English/Reading Teacher, major) at the University of Illinois in 1971-72. I bought a used wheel at that time and subsequently lugged it from house to house as my wife, Becky Kobos, and I raised our sons and taught until our retirement from Iowa City schools in 2010. Since opening our studios in 2012, most of my work is wheel-thrown functional and decorative stoneware or raku-fired ceramics. My aim is for each piece to reveal the physical qualities of the clay itself as well as the thought and touch that creates each pot, whether a simple bowl or more complex form. Hand-built pieces generally marry a thrown form with slab construction, and occasionally small, more whimsical pieces appear, especially in work made collaboratively with my wife, Becky Kobos, who often contributes painted or carved surface designs. There is much to be said for little brown pots, but we also incorporate bright underglazes to accentuate our designs.