ABOUT THE ARTIST
 Photo by Bruce Plotkin 2009
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Weston, Connecticut based potter Frances Palmer's passion is to create irreverently shaped white tableware and accessories. Frances offers both custom works, which she throws by hand in her studio one at a time for private clients, and the Frances Palmer Pearl Collection™, a line cast from her handmade molds by century-old Buffalo Pottery.
The hand-thrown process leaves a good deal of the outcome to fate. Frances revels in this serendipity, and is fond of saying that the clay “has as much to say about itself as I do.” She also loves the randomness of the transformation in the firing process. “As it dries, it moves. And when it is fired two or three times, it definitely changes. The best part is seeing what emerges after the kiln is opened.”
This is why she can describe something like a set of twelve cups as each having its own personality, a goal she sets for all her pieces: to be simultaneously functional and artful. To that end, she looks to the turn-of-the-20th century Bloomsbury-based Omega Workshop, an artists’ collective making useful objects in defiance of the Industrial Revolution. Other influences on her design approach include the elegant proportions of ancient Greek and Roman vessels, the simplicity of the 19th century European creamware and Song dynasty ceramics, the stoneware and porcelains of British artist David Leach, and the dramatic sculptures of Diego Giacometti.
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May, 2010:New White Porcelain Bisque Vases Just delivered to the Philip Johnson Glass House, a new collection of white porcelain bisque vases. Special to the Glass House, Frances designed these vases in honor of David Whitney, Philip Johnson's partner. |
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For Members, By Members: Meet Ceramics Artist Frances Palmer Thursday, May 13, 2010, 6:30 to 9 pm Frances is the featured speaker at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's "For Members, By Members" event on May 16. Frances will discuss her creative process and the influences evident in her work. Go to the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's web site for information on this event. |
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NEW YORK TIMES, April 7, 2010, Home & Garden, by Penelope Green On Tuesday, April 6, 2010, Frances was among the 30 artists who designed a table for the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House Gala hosted at Sotheby's. See the article in The New York Times Home & Garden section from April 7, 2010. |
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Frances' pots featured in newly published SoNo Baking Company Cookbook See Frances’ pots in The Sono Baking Company Cookbook: The Best Sweet and Savory Recipes for Every Occasion by John Barricelli,owner of the SoNo Baking Company & Café in South Norwalk, Connecticut, a third-generation baker and host of PBS's "Everyday Baking from Everyday Food." Publisher's Weekly gives it a rave review! The cookbook is available on Amazon.com; see the write-up by Publisher's Weekly on the Amazon site.
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NEW YORK TIMES, June 24, 2009, Page D4 Home & Garden, Shopping with Frances Palmer: "A Potter's Eye," by Julie Scelfo SERVING cool summer drinks like iced tea, lemonade and sangria calls out for a pitcher that not only is functional but also is an object of beauty. At least that’s what Frances Palmer, a potter who lives in Weston, Conn., believes. “If someone goes to the trouble to make a beverage for others, the vessel they serve it in should also say something,” said Ms. Palmer, whose one-of-a-kind pottery is sold at stores like Bergdorf Goodman and will be exhibited next month at the North Haven Gallery in Maine. read more >> |
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Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times
Will my pots be in the White House? Dominique Browning of the Wall Street Journal, reporting on the Obamas' selection of Los Angeles designer Michael Smith to outfit their family quarters, votes to include my dishware and vases in the decor! |
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 Photo © Paul Warchol |
The Philip Johnson Glass House The Philip Johnson Glass House in now opening to the public for the first time and the property is beautiful. I have been asked, as part of the first group of six artists, to design pots that are influenced by the House
and/or Philip Johnson and David Whitney. |
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