When one thinks of pots and pottery and clay urns, you may imagine them with patterns and motifs wrapped around their exterior. Botanicals, animal life, figures, even architecture, all become decorative elements or patterns. Street Artist Jetsonorama is flipping the script in the North Carolina mountains this week by wrapping a house with photographic images of pottery, and sitting in the woods the presentation is striking, even provocative.

Jetsonorama. Penland School or Arts. North Carolina, USA. April, 2017. (photo © Chip Thomas)

Jetsonorama told us about the project, which he calls “Clay pieces pretending to be contestants on The Apprentice.” But seriously he says it is about a curriculum that was developed to train people for a trade so that they could provide an income for their families. Here below is his description of the genesis for the new curious looking work;

Jetsonorama. Penland School or Arts. North Carolina, USA. April, 2017. (photo © Chip Thomas)

“I’m just completing a week long residency at the Penland School of Crafts which is nestled in the North Carolina mountains. The craft school was founded in 1929 by Lucy Morgan to teach local women how to weave in order to contribute to their families economically. Over the years Penland has added courses in metal smithing, glass blowing, printmaking, photography, clay and has expanded offerings in textiles.

The institution is recognized internationally as a leader in the crafts taught. I was offered the opportunity to spend a little time there to get a feel for the place and to then install work on a building that houses gardening equipment called Green Acres. Having only a day to decide upon an image before sending files to the printer I opted to use a photograph of pots waiting to be placed in a traditional Japanese kiln where the pieces are fired over 8 days.”

Chip Thomas. Penland School or Arts. North Carolina, USA. April, 2017. (photo © Chip Thomas)

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