Landscape Bowl, 1994 4"x13"x13" stoneware	Seascape Bowl, 1994 4"x14"x14" raku
Kente Bowl, 1994 5"x22"x22" stoneware	Aztec Bowl, 1994 5"x14"x14" raku
Pod Shaped Bowl, 1994 8"x10"x8" stoneware	Bird Bowl, 1994 3"x10"x10" stoneware
Sanctum Bowl, 1994 6"x14"x14" raku	Thanks to the University of North Texas for putting these images together for Doug Gray's alumnus web site. Please visit their site at www.art.unt.edu/artbase to view these and other works representative of their art programs.

Gray was born in Knoxville, Tennessee and raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  He earned his BA degree in ceramics and creative writing from the University of Louisville and his MFA degree in ceramics and art history from the University of North Texas School of Visual Arts.  After graduation he taught at the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Arlington, and Sul Ross State University.  Having worked with clay for over thirteen years, his art work has been exhibited in juried and invitational exhibitions across the nation. In writing about his work Gray states that "much of my inspiration comes from observing and reflecting upon our everyday surroundings.  The color of moss, the texture of bark, the sound of water, these are among the most common sights, sounds, and experiences yet they still have the power to stop me in my tracks.  Often, I feel compelled to preserve some of the natural mystery that can be found in a piece of clay-to trade places and allow the clay to become the maker, and I the responsive agent.  Sometimes, the clay responds to this approach and together we manage to preserve a bit of that natural essence with which I was first transfixed."

At work in Ceramics Studio

"My work is primarily concerned with space and the constructed barriers which not only divide the spaces of our existence but divide us as well. So often we are like vessels, sometimes concealing and other times revealing the central landscape of our being. It is the process of concealing and revealing space that intrigues me. I am fascinated by the facility in which, in an instant or over a long lifetime of experiences, we construct these impenetrable and sheltering barriers. In this sense, my work might be seen as metaphorical portraits of myself and those important to me. Whether a vessel or a wall piece, my work explores these perceptions of "inscape" and "centeredness." It explores the division of space and the walls implemented in its division. It explores the universality and individuality of the self."

---

Art Gallery Series October 3 - November 16, 2006 Hyman Fine Arts Center Gallery Predicated by Loss: Ceramics by Doug Gray `It has been said that every adoption is predicated by loss—the loss of a child, the loss of parents, the loss of that biological thread that binds past, present, and future. When I first read these words, I was angered by the premise, almost inexplicably so.  The idea seemed in direct conflict with my personal experience in which adoption was a joyful union, a gift, even a panacea.   But on further reflection, I realized that this issue of loss, while not immediately or persistently apparent, is nonetheless an issue that must be addressed as one goes about living one’s life.  One carries this loss with them just as they carry the memories, regrets and uncertainties resulting from the loss of any loved one, known or not. "This series was created to address the dichotomy present in joy predicated by loss and also to address the redemption found in accepting both.  Perhaps more than ever before, I sought to develop a visual narrative in the work, combining symbolic imagery and forms to better illustrate those sacred moments in which a child is passed from set of hands to another.  The vessels are derived from a few essential forms: bells that call out and bring together, prayer wheels and temples that house our most sincere desires and wishes, and finally cisterns that bring the very sustenance of life.  The imagery is also laden with symbolism as the fish represent fertility, birds are the couriers from this world to the next, gingko leaves represent a slow and deliberate growth, fingerprints touch upon the very maze of identity, and the almost whimsical fortune cookie encapsulates the very mystery of what fortune might lie ahead." Douglas E. Gray, Fall 2006

Family Constructs

---

Return to Fine Arts Home Page

---