Molly Morning-Glory
Biography
The rural wildness of my youth was marked by great solitude which provided room for creative expression. Feeling alienated from my peers further motivated retreat into productive imagination. To cope with this social disconnect I have developed a love of the absurd, and a prioritization of silliness and humor that I take very seriously.
Multiplying features on a single face illustrates complex reactions that flit between emotions. Seeking to understand and relate to others I work to engage the viewer in a process of wonder and self exploration about their own reactions and responses in comparison to those of people around them. Distorted mirror finishes in place of the face invite the viewer to come close and provide their visage, creating intimacy with the work, collaborating and sharing in an experience, and challenging identity.
Relatable yet alien, the characters in this series bring to light experiences of otherness, isolation, insecurity, a desire to empathize, and a need for compassion. The difficult reality of loneliness is offered in a up beat pallet of color and pattern, helping to digest hard feelings.
In 2009, I received an Undergraduate Research Grant and in 2010 graduated as a University Research Scholar with honors with a Bachelors of Fine Art in Ceramics and Sculpture from UNC-Asheville. After owning a functional pottery business for 5 years my work began transitioning to sculpture. I have received several awards and scholarships including a Teaching Invitation at Seika University in Kyoto, Japan. I have completed artist residencies in Grass Valley, California, Breck Create in Breckenridge, Colorado and Odyssey ClayWorks
in Asheville, NC. In 2016, I was demonstration assistant for Patti Warashina and Lauren Grossman at NCECA, workshop assistant for Patti Warashina at Santa Fe Clay, and again with Ms.Warashina at the 2017 Women Working with Clay Symposium. In 2019 I assisted Kukuli Velarde at NCECA. My work can be found in the Permanent Collection of North Carolina Pottery at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte and was featured in the 2016 group exhibition DavidStuempfle Selects: North Carolina Pottery in a Global Context. I recently exhibited work in the American Museum of Ceramic Art, Fahrenheit 2018 Biennial in Pamona, California, and in 2019 in Clay Center New Orleans, Clay Bodies, Juried by Jamie Bates Sloan. I was invited to juror the 2020 Sculpture National at the Clay Center New Orleans which opens next year. Currently I am pursuing my Masters in Fine Art at Clemson University.
Education
2019Accepted Fine Arts Graduate, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
2010 Bachelors of Fine Art with Honors – University Research Scholar, University of North Carolina at Asheville
2005 & 2009 Deans List
2002-2003 Apprenticeship, Turtle Island Pottery, Maggie and Freeman Jones, Black Mountain, NC
Permanent Collection
Permanent Collection of North Carolina Pottery at the Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC
Exhibitions
Selected Juried
2019 Clay Bodies, Juror Jamie Bates Slone, Clay Center of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
2018 Fahrenheit 2018, Juror Patti Warashina, American Museum of Ceramic Arts, Pomona, CA
2018 Shapes of Influence, international juried exhibition, Juror Simon Levin, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL
2018 Sensory Overload, Annual juried members show, The Bascom, Highlands, NC
2017 Emerging Ceramicists in Western North Carolina, Juror Akira Satake, Asheville Area Arts Council, Asheville, NC
2017 What Goes Bump in the Night, Juror Magda Gluzek, Clay Arts Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
2016 David Stumpfle Selects: North Carolina Pottery in a Global Context, Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC
2013 Northern California Wood Kilns, Juror Richard Hotchkiss, Alpha Fired Arts, Sacramento, CA
2011 Alumni Invitational, Megan Wolfe, the University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC
2010 Out of the Shadow and Into the Light, Juror Katie Lee Koven, Center for Craft Creativity and Design, Hendersonville, NC
2010 ART FRONT, Student juried show, the University of North Carolina at Asheville
2009 Selected Student Show, Megan Wolfe, the University of North Carolina at Asheville
Solo
2017 Solitude and Companionship, Robert Whyte House, Breck Create, Breckenridge, CO
2016 Cosmic Contemplationof Your Self, Still Cellars Distillery, Longmont, CO
2015 Out of the Sphere of Influence, Old Masonic Lodge, Breckenridge, CO
2010Submersion, Dispersion, and Suspension aka: Get ‘um Wet, Highsmith Gallery, Asheville, NC
Selected Group
2019Beautiful and Bizarre, National Invitational, curator Taylor Robinault, St.Petersburg, FLA
2018 Get Excited! Resident Artist Showcase, Odyssey ClayWorks, Asheville, NC
2017 Cup Show, The Pottery, Saluda, NC
2014-2016 FRESH, Firehouse Art Center and Muse Gallery, Longmont, CO
2014Longmont Clay, Firehouse Art Center, Longmont, CO
2011 {RE} Happening, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, Black Mountain, NC
2010 Beneath the Surface, Asheville Gallery of Art, Asheville, NC
Awards
2010 43rd Annual UNCA Juried Student Art Exhibition, 3rd place, juror Nina Katchadourian
2009 Undergraduate Research Grant, University of North Carolina at Asheville
2003 Scholastics Gold Key Award, Ceramics, Asheville Art Museum, NC
2003 Asheville Art Museum Award, Ceramics, NC
