Cindy Weaver, About the Artist

Cindy Weaver has been exploring and creating art in various media for the past thirty five years. In 1996, she began to study pottery under Hiroshi Sueyoshi and Dina Wilde-Ramsing in Wilmington, NC. Within a short time, it was clear that she had found her home in the mediums of porcelain and clay, and she continued her studies under them for four years. Although she is best known for her porcelain art vessels, she continues to work in white and brown clay as well, creating both art and functional pieces.

Ms. Weaver's works have won prizes in regional and national juried art shows and she has received art grants from the Arts Council of the Lower Cape Fear and the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County. Her work is in the permanent collection at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington as well as corporate collections, including the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, NC alongside the work of Ben Owen and Mark Hewitt, as well as private collections in the United States and Europe.

Ms. Weaver has taught pottery at Fat Cat Pottery, the Pancoe Education Center of the Louise Cameron Wells Art Museum, and continues to teach from her studio in Wilmington, NC.

Ms. Weaver’s works are available in Wilmington, NC at Louise Wells Cameron Art Museum Store, the Fayetteville Art Museum in Fayetteville, NC, the Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, NC, Sunset River Marketplace in Calabash, NC and from her studio by appointment.

Artist's Statement:

I gather both inspiration and natural materials from the Atlantic and Pacific coastal regions, as well as the areas around Taos and Santa Fe New Mexico. I would characterize my pottery as being organically inspired and calming to the senses. They reflect my feelings about the experience of personal growth; physical, mental and spiritual. I use asymmetric balance as an expression of the challenges of our lives, a reminder that we can keep our center and grow more uniquely beautiful as our own life story unfolds.

My technique typically involves either throwing and altering, or pinch work. In the process of experimenting with different clay bodies, I discovered an affinity for porcelain. I have a strong attachment to nature, so although I occasionally work with oxides, glazes and underglazes, it is my often my choice to finish a piece by burnishing with terra sigillata. Depending on the particular series being created, the work may be smoked after the burnishing or it may be left white and finally buffed with archival wax.

I have achieved my goal when my vessels take on a personality of their own. I allow the forms to develop a story or personality, an almost human evolvement. Things happen in life. We are shaped by so many factors. As a result, we come into our own as unique individuals and my vessels reflect this process.

1997 National Fourth of July Juried Show, Associated Artists of South Port, Franklin Square Gallery, Honorable Mention for Sculptural Form

National Fourth of July Juried Show, Associated Artists of South Port, Franklin Square Gallery

Piney Woods Juried Art Show, CP&L Purchase Award presented by Arts Council of the Lower Cape Fear

2003 31^st Annual Competition for North Carolina Artists, Fayetteville Museum of ArtAirlie Arts Festival, Juried Arts Show, Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, NC

National Fourth of July Juried Show, Associated Artists of Southport, Franklin Square Gallery, Honorable Mention for Sculptural Form

“Art in the Garden” Juried Art and Fine Craft Exhibition, The Arboretum at the New Hanover County Cooperative Extension

2005 Airlie Arts Festival, Juried Arts Show, Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, NC, Jury Award for Clay

Work purchased for inclusion in the permanent art collection of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Took part in “Southern Traditions” Exhibition at New Elements Art Gallery, Wilmington, NC

Piece accepted for silent auction at annual “Black and White” Charity Ball and Auction, Wilmington, NC

“Natural Growth” Featured Artist Exhibition at Sunset River Marketplace, Calabash, NC

2006 "Through Women’s Eyes, By Women’s Hands” 22^nd Annual Art Exhibition, The Women’s Center, Chapel Hill, NC

“Art in the Garden” Juried Art and Fine Craft Exhibition, The Arboretum at the New Hanover County Cooperative Extension

2007 Featured in Article "Pottery Born", Wilmington Magazine, November/December Issue

2008 “The Art Of the New North State” Invitational Exhibition, Warwick Center, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, January 15 – February 8, 2008

Judging

2009 Associated Artists of Southport Spring 2009 Art Show, three-dimensional work, Franklin Square Gallery, Southport, NC

Teaching

Galleries

Training

Pre-1996 Thirty years experience in various media including jewelry, hand-made paper, watercolor and pastel

1996-2000 Studied ceramics under Hiroshi Sueyoshi and Dina Wilde-Ramsing at Orange Street Pottery Studio

1998-1999 Workshops with Susan Filley, Ben Owen III, Don Johns, and Mary L. Holden

1999-2010 Continued discovery and development of techniques relating to form, method, finish and meaningful expression.