Andrew Jowdy Collins has worked with ceramics since 2001. His work combines iconic form with a revisionist approach to color theory to create vessels and wall works. He has exhibited nationally, including at Grohmann Museum, Plinth Gallery, and Nemacolin. He has created artwork for Fallingwater, Andy Warhol Museum, Hampton Designer Showhouse, The Grand Tour, and has work featured in American Art Collector and Table Magazine, among others. Current projects include a collaboration with Patterns of Meaning, a small collective of artists who create multimedia works inspired by and utilizing a collection of steel foundry patterns dating to the 1890’s. He lives and works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where in addition to fine art, he runs JOWDY, a studio for functional ceramics.
Philosophy
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Clean and precise, JOWDY pieces bring meaning and pleasure to the daily life of homes and interiors. As my fine art work continues to evolve in dialogue with my materials and the world at large, I develop fresh bodies of work that I release as editions of functional yet highly decorative wares. Crafting each piece is an exploration of shape and hue — the ways they play off one another create harmonies of configuration within the whole of the form. Each piece is unique, but plays off that edition's common theme.
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Recently, I’ve developed a range of wares evoking “landscapes” that derive from specific areas where I’ve lived or traveled, places that I’ve tried to understand on their own terms. This practice developed because, years ago, I found that I often imposed my expectations and meanings on places I wished to explore, which actually limited those supposed explorations. Developing this body of work has been one part of my attempts to understand and overcome that limiting impulse.
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I announce the release of these editions first to my patrons who subscribe to my mailing list, then on social media.
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My practice utilizes traditional wheel, slab, coil, and slip-casting methods, as any given form dictates the proper method required to produce the best result. I make my own clay and glazes using specialized pigments to create an original palette of matte colors that come alive within the surface of high-fired porcelain.