TAWA at 45
The Exhibition
Alan Bennett
Carp
stoneware and porcelain, wood-fired, 2023; 31″l x 14″h x 7″d
“I was fortunate that my parents recognized my need to make art early in my life. I first studied art with Juanita Crosby in Bordentown, New Jersey at the age of ten. She was a very warm and nurturing person who taught me the basics of composition and self-expression. In 1972, I enrolled at Mercer Community College and had one of the best teachers I have ever met, Mel Leipzig. He helped me find my hands and took me to the grounds of this very museum to paint. I was just outside this building when I first experienced what it was like to paint in my own handwriting. It was a milestone moment in my career, and Ellarslie has always been special to me because of it. I went on to study painting at Arizona State and ceramics at Ohio State, and after college I worked at a ceramic factory in Tlaquepaque, Mexico for two years. I have taught off and on again at several institutions, including Mercer, Utah State, Rancho Santiago College, and, currently, Commonwealth University. Since 1989, I have worked out of my home studio with my wife, Rosemary, making and selling our sea life sculptures.
When I was five, my father took my brother and me to the Washington Crossing Park to go fishing. I caught a blue gill. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I put it in my pocket, took it home, and hid it under my pillow. Three days later, my parents found it and made me put it in the garden. I started drawing fish, and as the years went by and I learned about different media, I started to sculpt, carve, and paint them, as well. I also discovered that there were more than just blue gills in the world. There were bass, pike, and all kinds of trout, thousands of different kinds of fish, all with their unique profiles, color palettes, patterns, and personalities. In 1974, I discovered clay, the perfect medium for fish-making. I haven’t looked back. My wife Rosemary and I go snorkeling in fresh and salt water and visit aquariums to get inspiration. We also experiment with ceramic glazes and are always discovering something new. Rosemary tells me that these surprises, these meaningful life experiences, are the only way to keep making meaningful art. She couldn’t be more right.”