Longtime professional potter Bill Capshaw created the 2017 Governor’s Arts Award. While similar in form, each award is a one-of-a-kind hand-crafted piece of Raku pottery.
The classic forms are conceived using simple line work with basic shapes and design elements. Glaze and embellished surface decoration work together for contrast, emphasizing the compositional message. Each work has its own beginning and end as described by its visual imagery or by its own unique inscription.
Capshaw holds a BFA and MFA from East Tennessee State University, concentrating in ceramics and printing processes. He began teaching painting, drawing and pottery at the Oak Ridge Art Center and working as a file clerk for Union Carbide Company in 1977. His career highlights include Pottery Studio Chairperson, President of the Board of Directors of the Oak Ridge Art Center, and Division Site Manager for Information Management Services with Lockheed Martin Energy Systems.
Capshaw’s professional works are in permanent collections of the Tennessee Arts Commission, Huntsville Museum of Art, and East Tennessee State University’s Slocumb Gallery. They are also with many private collectors, including the mayor of Naka Machi, Japan; former Mayor Victor Ashe, Knoxville; and former Mayor David Bradshaw, Oak Ridge.
Capshaw was named Artist of the Year in 1998 by the Arts Council of Greater Knoxville.
Video: Filmed by Dr. Bradley Hanson; edited by Christie Caldwell; produced by Suzanne Lynch. Photo by Suzanne Lynch
