Steve Godfrey

Steve received his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1996, and obtained a BFA from the Hartford Art School in Connecticut in 1993. Additionally, he studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and was a resident at the Archie Bray Foundation. Currently, along with exhibiting nationally, he teaches at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

"The shapes I have chosen to make are informed by ceremonial pieces from other cultures. In past centuries, centerpieces, salt cellars, funerary urns, planters and fruit bowls occupied an important place in a home or palace. Their sculptural presence and figural content transcended common pottery forms. Their intricacies seemed to beckon contemplation. The passage of time has eroded their significance.I began making birds as a response to my growing interest in old ivory bird carvings done by the Native people of King Island and St. Lawrence Island. This work embodies the innate understanding of form and curvature only gained by keen observation. I create my birds with the intention of hinting at the sweetness of personality and gesture of which both birds and humans are capable of. The intimacy of their character is meant to complement the serious architectural qualities of the container they rest on and act as a representation of a memory of specific people who have passed or as tributes to people who I admire."