Kiln It

Spotlighting the Department of Art, Design, and Music

Professor Denny Gerwin is a resident ceramics artist at Queens University and an Associate Professor of Art in the Department of Art, Design, and Music. His work has enjoyed representation at Sozo Gallery since 2015. Gerwin is often seen walking around campus in a blue hat, clenching a giant studio mug.

This summer, as one of 12 invited artists, Gerwin, a truckload of unfired work, and one student traveled to The Clay Studio of Missoula for the Woodfire Invitational Symposium. Scott McClellan, the hosting artist, had just finished his two-year woodfire residency. He had been “a student of mine at Utah State University in 2010,” said Gerwin. “When I asked if I could bring [another] student along, how could he say no?”

Morasha Winokur is triple majoring in Art History, Arts Leadership and Administration, and Studio Art at Queens; she is interning with Gerwin this summer and was excited to accompany him.

The two of them “logged 7000 miles” and “131 hours in the truck,” according to Gerwin’s calculations. The work they carried with them was his contribution to the symposium’s massive kiln space. “You’re firing a school bus essentially” explained Gerwin, as a reference for the kiln’s size. The firing process incorporates large amounts of time as a key ingredient, and none of it went to waste. “We took some daytrips to National Parks while the kiln cooled off,” said Gerwin.

From exploring new places to watching experts’ techniques, Winokur was deeply engaged in the process. “I think it’s a unique experience for a student to assist in a National workshop. You’re working with 12 artists from across the country,” said Gerwin.

As much as she learned on the trip, Winokur attributes a lot of her growth to Gerwin. “Denny challenges me to be a better student, artist, and person” said Winokur. When she is not road tripping, she has been working to create website representation for his work.

“I pretty regularly do summer internships, with students I trust to take care of themselves in the studio” said Gerwin. This opportunity is highly educational and gives students both studio space and work experience. “It’s a one-to-one work exchange,” explained Gerwin. “Every hour they spend working on their own stuff, they spend an hour working for me, instead of renting studio space and working another job.”

The website Winokur has been building features Gerwin’s work from the past ten years. Since he is constantly creating, this is no small portfolio.

Lately, he has been spending “6-8 hours a day, 7 days a week” in the studio at Queens. “Right now, I have 6 pieces in process” said Gerwin. On a “successful” day he adds “one or two coils to each.”

Since the symposium, Gerwin has eliminated major deadlines and begun to work more slowly.

“It’s much more sensitive” he said. “I’ve been trying to slow down those vessels since the winter.”

The process has evolved as well. “I started to coil build [these pieces] instead of throw them on the wheel and I like them a whole lot better” said Gerwin. He finds that “they have a whole ‘nother life to them when the machine isn’t a part of the equation.”

“My pottery was always informed by the robust female figure” said Gerwin. His latest work considers this inspiration in vessel form. He “set out to make a sort of hybrid of the two,” “encorporat[ing] gestures from figures.”

Gerwin does not feel that he has executed this vision to its fullest expression so far. “Maybe that’s ok: that the reference can be there, and not in super explicit ways,” said Gerwin. Regardless, he has “been enjoying working with. . . hip to waist ratio.”

As much as his work reflects the female form, sometimes it hits a little closer to home. “I think [a vessel] is successful when I push on it and it reminds me of my own muffin top,” he jokes.

As Gerwin’s work grows, his studio is transforming around him as well. Tillet, Queens’ 3D Studio Art building, is undergoing major renovations this summer. This construction includes the addition of an outdoor studio space. Next semester, Gerwin is teaching an Advanced Studio Course, where he will lead students in building a new wood-burning kiln.

From mixing clay to countless hours of working alongside each other, Studio Art at Queens is a space of deep community. Although he usually smooths his marks off of pieces, Gerwin is a truly prolific artist, and always involved in his students and their work.

Gabrielle Girard