Dennis Ritter's Shared Story
What's Your Background?
I received my B.F.A. from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and my MFA from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. I have taught at the Tyler School of Art, Alfred University, and at Louisiana State University as well as in community arts programs in Philadelphia with The Clay Studio. I am currently a visiting assistant professor in the Art Program at Berry College where I teach ceramics and sculpture.
My work has been exhibited throughout the United States and is held in numerous private collections. I have received numerous grants and awards to attend residency programs such as Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts and The Vermont Studio Center. I currently live in Northwest Georgia with my partner and our two dogs.
What Media Do You Prefer and How Did You Come to Use it as Your Primary One?
I primarily work in clay but my practice also includes digital processes, mold making, photography, and wood fabrication.
I fell in love with clay and the ceramic process in community college but didn’t pursue it as a career until my early thirties when I started volunteering at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. Getting to work there gave me the opportunity to be around all kinds of artist’s working with clay in different ways that I hadn’t imagined. From there, I pursued my B.F.A., MFA, and a career as an educator and studio artist.
As a material, clay always presents a challenge or a problem to solve. I really enjoy trying to breakdown a form or a process and engineering pieces so they will survive the firing process. I’m interested in the history of ceramics, it is one of the oldest art materials and it is also a marker for past (so much of our collective knowledge of past cultures is gleaned from their ceramic objects!). I like to think about the idea that making an object out of clay is akin to creating a future artifact.
