About The artist
David Gary Wright has had a fascination with clay since he was 12 years old, after stumbling upon his junior high school art teacher, Tom Ullom, making a teapot in the art room. Strongly supported by Tom Ullom and Amelita Daly (his high school art teacher), David went on to college to study ceramics.
David received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Philadelphia College of Art in 1981 studying with Wayne Bates, Mark Burns, Bill Daley, Helen Drutt, Rob Forbes, Rudy Staffel and Petras Vaskys. David received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1988 where he studied under Scott Chamberlin, Tom Potter, Andy Martin and Betty Woodman.
David Wright is a three-time recipient of New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship - 1998, 1990, 1986 and a 2005 recipient of a Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Artist/Teacher Fellowship. David has been featured in American Craft, Ceramic Review, and Studio Potter magazines, and has also written several articles for Ceramics Monthly magazine. His pottery is also featured in a ceramic text called The Spirit of Clay, by Robert Piepenburg, as well as, Studio Practices, Techniques and Tips and Exploring Electric Kiln Techniques.
David's work has been included in many national and international exhibitions. David keeps a busy schedule of full-time teaching and making pottery. David offers workshops on pottery making year-round throughout the country.
The ALEM Pottery (short for his daughters Alanna and Emily) was started in 2005, replacing the Wright Pottery (1982 - 2004).
The challenge and pleasure of creating handmade pottery is what keeps me coming back to the potter’s wheel. I learned the skill of wheel throwing in high school and I have been throwing for thirty-six years now - a long time.
All of the work that I make is handmade. Though some “tools” are used in the process, the main tools that form these pots are my hands, my head and my heart. The tranquil spinning of the potter’s wheel and the hand forming of useful vessels is an experience that I find both engaging and relevant, particularly in our culture of high tech, industrially made, throw away products.
It is my intention that people use the pots that I make for which ever creative and useful purpose they can imagine: be it a pitcher to pour coffee, a mug to hold pencils or a teapot to water the flowers. Ultimately, people find, use, and enjoy things that bring meaning and usefulness to their lives. As my pots are handmade, each of the pots, though similar, is never actually the same - like people. I believe the exceptional character found in handmade things offers the opportunity for people to discover and appreciate for themselves the “humanity” in those unique and spirited objects that are created by artisans. I believe every person can search through the body of my work and find at least one “special” pot that they connect with and that feels right to them.
The ALEM Pottery (short for my daughters Alanna and Emily) was started in 2005. It is my hope that my pottery brings joy to your heart and home and that you enjoy using my pots as much as I enjoy making them.
David Gary Wright
The ALEM Pottery
P. O. Box 204
Moorestown, NJ 08057
856/231-7648
“It is possible to live in peace.”
- Mathatma Gandhi
