Exhibit Dates
January 9 – February 28, 2025
SMAC Gallery
509 W Main Street, Marshall, MN 56258
(Mailing address: PO Box 55)
Regular office hours are: Monday-Friday 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm
In the Gallery
Angie Guptill
Guptill Pottery & Fine Art
Please help SMAC welcome our next gallery exhibit featuring the fine art and ceramics of Angie Guptill (Canby). This exhibit will be in the SMAC Gallery in downtown Marshall at 509 West Main Street from January 9 to February 28, 2025.
Guptill received a SMAC Artist Growth grant in 2023 for purchasing a large kiln to create larger vessels, both wheel thrown and hand built ceramic pieces, with carved designs and glazes.
Angie Guptill Artist Bio
As a potter with seven years of experience creating functional art, my work reflects my love for large animals, the western lifestyle and natural world. Growing up surrounded by horses and cattle, I was immersed in things that brought me comfort and peace, and they continue to inspire by art today.
After working professionally mass producing and creating urns under a funeral home distributor, it is a breath of fresh air to be starting my own ceramic journey, creating art that reflects my own interests in life. Whether throwing on the wheel of riding in a saddle, the feelings are the same. First the complete rush of excitement, followed by the calming peace that feeds my soul. I love throwing soft curved pieces that remind me of the muscular structure of horses and cattle. I am inspired by western art and artists alike, whether their canvas be a hand tooled belt or saddle, or carefully carved belt buckle, I find them all beautiful.
After my vessels have been fired, it’s extremely important to me that they have some earthiness about them. I choose glazes that remind me of organic weathered objects, natural stones, flowing water, and the animals that I love. I paint all my glazes by hand because I feel it connects me more to the pieces. It is completely therapeutic to me running a brush over the dry bisque vessels and watching them slowly soak in the glaze while being patient in the process. Much like with horses and cows, patience is key for a positive outcome.
Personally, pottery is not about just creating mass amounts of objects to be sold. It is pouring your soul into something that is unique and a reflection of the natural world. I embrace imperfections because nothing natural is perfect and some things are just simply out of our control. Through my pieces, I hope to inspire others to connect with their environments and find beauty in the imperfections of life.
When I am not throwing on the wheel, painting or designing on the computer, I can be found outside with my family and animals on our peaceful acreage west of Canby.
Working in stoneware, my clay forms are designed for daily use and special occasions. They are hand thrown, hand painted through a number of stages over a typical course of a few weeks. All textures carved into the clay are created freehand. The pieces produced are uniquely one of a kind and rarely duplicated. Glazes are food safe and the process concludes with he pottery being firedin an electric kiln to approximately 2200 degrees Fahrenheit.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Funding provided by the McKnight Foundation. Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive. The McKnight Foundation supports working artists to create and contribute to vibrant communities.
