Betsy Morningstar

 Charlie Cumming's Gallery (Gainesville FL) has wonderful ceramic art displayed, and I'm fortunate that they send me an email of art. Here are a few pics of Betsy Morningstar's work.

Mug, "May 5 Capture that rage and turn it into action," $95

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Betsy Morningstar

Featured Artist

Betsy Morningstar makes memorable porcelain pottery not quite like anyone else's. In the fineness of porcelain she masterfully crafts crumpled, folded, stained, and scribbled-on pieces of notebook paper. Frayed edges of porcelain seemingly torn from a notebook or binder become exquisite details. Doodles, dates, and notes become archival and indelible. Stains from tea or coffee and those familiar blue and red printed lines become delicate surface decorations that make the surfaces of these seemingly weightless forms sing. Some of the written notes are poignant, some humorous, some meditative. All are compelling, making us think of mundane, yet powerful moments when we are left to our own thoughts. These humble notes capture snapshots of life and affirm our humanity as they simultaneously serve as eye-catching vessels and light-as-a-feather companions at the table.

Betsy Morningstar earned an MA in Ceramics at Hood College in Frederick, MD as well as an MA in Curriculum and Teaching at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, CA. She earned a BA in Art Education with a K-12 Certification at Mercyhurst University in Mercy, PA. She is a High School Art Teacher in the Howard County Public School System in Columbia, MD and shows her beautiful porcelain nationally.

Artist Statement

Lined paper has been in my life for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I drew all over it. I scrawled lists and scribbles. I have carefully folded it into love letters, wrinkled it with use, and torn bits for silly notes and gum wrappers. I use it to organize life and store memories in journals. Lined paper is familiar, nostalgic, and comfortable, but it is often unacknowledged in day-to-day life.

I enjoy the magic of trompe l'oeil as I manipulate porcelain to mimic the normalcy of notebook paper, creating the comfort of blue and red lines, the placement of binder holes, and the inevitable frayed edge. I find beauty in the folds, wrinkles, and waviness of used paper. I started creating porcelain notebook papers out of a need to find and see importance in each day and communicate outside of myself in a physical way. Each porcelain paper features journaled notes and fleeting moments from a day in my life, now forever special and permanent. The notes vary on the emotional spectrum of life, but all are significant moments I never want to forget. They are my brain and my heart in physical form.

Shop Betsy Morningstar's pottery here.

I actually have a friend and a granddaughter who live in Gainesville. I wonder if either has ever heard of this gallery, or visited it! Must ask.