Curriculum Vitae

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Osa Atoe

943 Patterson Dr.

Sarasota, FL 34234

hello@potterybyosa.com

Statement

Pottery helps us find each other. The pots I make highlight our commonalities rather than differences. These symbols of idealism are a visual and tactile respite from the division, acrimony, and injustice of the world.  

Form and surface decoration techniques link my pottery to a lineage extending back to Nigeria, where my parents immigrated from in the 70s, and elder ceramicists like David MacDonald, Jabulile Nala, including historical Nigerian potters like Ladi Kwali. Most vessels are wheel-thrown but emulate the volume and proportion of ancestral coil-built pots. The carved geometric patterning is inspired by the pots made by Ibo women in Nigeria and the body adornment of Zulu women in South Africa. I use red stoneware clay, which I carve as my main mode of surface decoration and I fire my work in both electric and wood fired kilns. While I primarily draw on Nigerian aesthetics, the commonalities in pottery from all over the world fascinate me.

Education 

2018: Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, Ceramics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 

2007: BA, Sociology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 

Alternative Learning

2023: Clay Cohorts with Lisa Orr

2022: Jabulile Nala, Mudflat Pottery School & Studio, Somerville, MA 

2016: Workshop with Jen Allen, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN

Apprenticeships 

2014: Studio Assistant, Rachael DePauw Pottery, New Orleans

2013-2014: Work Trade, Hands in Clay, New Orleans

Classes & Demonstrations 

2024: Featured Presenter, Alabama Clay Conference, Orange Beach, AL

2023: Harvard Ceramics, “Africa Adorned: Surface Decoration Techniques Inspired            by the Continent” with David MacDonald, Allston, MA 

          Studio T/M, “Coil Building,” Gainesville, FL

2022: Arrowmont School of Crafts, “Pattern Play” with Jen Allen, Gatlinburg, TN 

          Sarasota Clay Company, Intermediate Wheel Throwing, Sarasota, FL

2021: Companion Gallery, Humboldt, TN (Virtual) 

          The Potters Class (Virtual) 

2020: POT Studio, Los Angeles

2019: Throw Me Something, Baton Rouge, LA 

          The Knock Knock Museum, Baton Rouge, LA 

2018: The Journey Lab, Baton Rouge, LA 

 

Selected Publications & Podcasts

2023: “Osa Atoe on connecting to oneself and others through clay,” Tales of a Red              Clay Rambler Podcast       

            “Vessels,” American Craft

2022: “This Florida Potter Finds Inspiration From Around the Globe to Inform Her                  Terra-Cotta Wares,” Southern Living 

2020: “Navigating an Evolving Market (Part I),” The Studio Potter

           “The Joy of Making,” Ceramics Monthly 

2019: “10 New Female Ceramic Artists We Love,” martha stewart

Service 

2021-present: Founder and Chair, Kaabo Clay Collective 

2021-2022: Ceramics Mentor (independently) 

Solo Exhibitions 

2022: The Sea Is Alive in Me, Art Center Sarasota, Sarasota, FL 

Invitational Group Exhibitions 

2024: Portrait of a Kiln, Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO)

          The Medium is the Message, NCECA, Southside Contemporary Art Center, Richmond, VA

2023:  Clay Holds Water, Water Holds Memory, NCECA, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH

           Clouds Like Mountains, Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO)

           Winter Warmers, Good Earth Pottery, Bellingham, WA

2022: I Am the Clay Art Center Sarasota, FL 

         Teapot IX Biennial Baltimore Clayworks

2021:Contemporary Pattern, Companion Gallery, Humboldt, TN 

2020: Pots from a (Social) Distance, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis

          Critical Function 2, NCECA, Visual Arts Center, Richmond, VA 

2019: Art of the Cup Ogden Museum, New Orleans 

         Collaborative Companions, NCECA, Minneapolis

2018: ONE & ONLY: Gifts Made by Hand, John Michael Kohler Arts Center,  

         Coffee & Clay Pottery Northwest, Seattle

          You Can Touch, LSU Post-Bacc Show, Baton Rouge, LA 

          American Graphic, NCECA, Samantha Skelton Gallery, Pittsburgh

         Ceramicidal Tendencies, NCECA, Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh

2017: Art of the Cup, Ogden Museum, New Orleans

2016: Wishlist: Art of Sharing, 5 Press Gallery, New Orleans