Cole Zimmerman

My name is Cole Zimmerman, and l am a potter and artist born in Texas with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics and printmaking from MSU Denver. My relationship with clay has been an evolving one. From first touching clay in high school and absolutely falling in love with it, to dreaming about wheel throwing in my sleep, clay has had a hold on me. In the beginning of my pottery career, I began striving for absolute protection, learning the most efficient throwing methods, throwing as thin as possible, wanting to blur the line between handmade and machine made. Throughout the evolution of my relationship with clay, I see the making process more as a conversation between the artist and their material. Embracing the material and its imperfections as we engage in this ritual of ceramics that has been performed for thousands of years and letting the clay speak to you as it moves between your hands.

My work deals with my fascination of the modern world, the idea of bringing the hidden mechanisms that made our world turn out of the shadows and place it on display for the world to see. My work makes the viewer think about the world around them in a new way, seeing the undercurrent of infrastructure and industry that keeps our society together but also breeds innovation and progress. By using functional ceramics to tell a larger story, you give each piece a life of its own, an energy imbued into the material that a mug bought from the store is completely devoid of.

Pottery in one of the most challenging mediums to learn as it is unlike any other medium artists typically work with. The plasticity and ability to modify and change the clay until you reach a point where it's out of your hands and into a kiln to be solidified in history created a sense of stakes when confronted with the material.

This intimidation is the first word spoken in the conversation about to take place between the potter and the clay.

Artists of the Staatliches Bauhaus, a design house in Germany from 1913 to 1933, believed in the artistry of function and that beauty followed function. The idea that beauty was simply the by-product of a perfectly designed, and completely thought out piece of functional work. Throughout my classes you will learn to appreciate the beauty of function and explore your creativity.