Jason Silverman

Philadelphia, PA

Artist's Statement

“I took my first pottery class when I was 19-- I always wanted to try it. As soon as I was halfway into my first attempt at throwing on the wheel I was hooked. I remember thinking: this is it. From that moment on, I had no choice, I had to be a potter.” 

Rhode Island School of Design trained artist Jason Silverman creates forms on the wheel with a combination of traditional techniques and his own contemporary vision. He has been influenced greatly by Chinese Chun Dynasty pottery’s forms and glazes. At the same time, he draws from many modern sources in ceramics as well as other media such as blown glass and turned wood. At RISD he gained the technical ability and training that freed him to articulate his innate aesthetic vision through his ceramic forms and surfaces. The act of throwing, forming clay on the wheel, is only the first step in the complex process of matching both form and glaze to an aesthetic vision-- developing original glazes can be tedious, tricky, and volatile.

“I see the balance of function and beauty as an underlying guide to all of my pottery, from the most common cereal bowl to the most decorative vase.”

Starting with the bowl, Jason has made this most universal and fundamental form into an object of art which pleases the eye as well as the hand. And he does it in a way that has become more identifying than his signature: with his omnipresent “swirl” design. Jason layers the glazes upon one another in this particular pattern. During the firing, the mineral elements in the glaze are touched by the kiln flame as they melt and flow over each other, creating layer upon layer of glass. It takes a temperature of 2400 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve this dramatic reaction. This “high fire” process produces a range of subtly different effects which makes each piece unique, from common bowl to decorative vase. WIth this process and his vision, Jason has created beautiful, durable pottery which is dishwasher safe and microwavable.