Clyde Burt Ceramic Vase, American

Clyde Burt ceramic vase in glazed stoneware with incised, abstract details. Signed to underside: [CB]. American, circa 1965.

Born in Melrose, Ohio in 1922, Clyde Burt would go on to become a major voice in American studio ceramics. He studied at Fort Wayne Art School and later at the Cape Cod School of Art before landing at the Cranbrook Academy of Art to study under Maija Grotell. While Grotell is responsible for bringing the wheel to Cranbrook, Burt made it central to his practice and his thrown works express the same endless curiosity as his teacher. Upon returning to Ohio, Burt built a home studio on his family’s farmland near the Little Auglaize River and harvested rich clay from the surrounding area. He started every day at 5:30 in the morning and would work until he knew he “had enough”. Constantly experimenting with glazes, colors and surface decoration, Burt painstakingly recorded his successes and failures in a small notebook...