Lincoln, NE ARTIST STATEMENTThe pieces I create are visual and sculptural objects. I conceive of each body of work with a particular set of formal goals in mind. The contours and volumes, colors and surfaces of the objects I create compose a dimensional image. Volume is a key element in utilitarian forms as it defines the potential for containment. The visual evidence and the physical quality of this volume is important to the way my work communicates formally, whether the volume is expansive and taut or soft and weighted. I think of the outlines and edges of the work as drawn lines. I choose and manipulate the softness, weight and speed of these lines. I craft my work paying studied attention to the weight and texture of each piece. I anticipate that the work will be held, carried, and poured from; lids will be lifted and replaced. Details are important. My more elaborate forms are designed to require care and attention when used, the simpler ware is designed for a less conscious interaction. When creating my work I am also engaging in a dialog with the existing vernacular of utilitarian forms. Each of us has an inherent understanding of functional forms that is embedded in our culture. This vernacular changes with time and place. I am both utilizing and questioning this rather slippery language of form and use in my pots. My choices of form, scale and color, as well as the style and placement of spouts, handles and feet are based in part on my understanding and examination of this cultural vernacular. In this way utility provides a particular form of communication between myself and my audience. BIOGRAPHYMargaret Bohls makes hand-built pottery and vessel forms that she shows and sells both locally and nationally. She received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 1989, and an MFA from Louisiana State University in 1995. She has been teaching ceramics at the college level for over twenty-five years. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She previously taught at the University of Minnesota from 1998 to 2011 and has taught as visiting faculty at Ohio University, Penn State University, and NSCAD University in Halifax. She has given lectures at universities across the U.S. and has taught hands-on workshops at art centers such as Arrowmont School of Art and Crafts, in Gatlinburg, Greenwich House Pottery in New York, Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Aspen, Colorado, and Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Bohls’ work has been shown in over 100 group and solo exhibitions since 1995 and is included in the permanent collections of the Everson Museum in Syracuse, The Weisman Museum and the Minnesota Museum of American Art in the Twin Cities, the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), and in the Sonny and Gloria Kamm Teapot Foundation Collection. She has written articles for the Journal of the National Council for Education on Ceramic Arts, Ceramics Monthly, Pottery Making Illustrated, and Studio Potter Journal.