Shadow May
Chattanooga, TN
ceramic artist
Shadow May is a self-taught, award winning ceramic artist. He was born and raised in Homer, Alaska, but now calls Chattanooga, Tennessee, home. The fundamentals he gained from apprenticeships and production work early in his career equipped him with a fearless method of creating sculpture — evolving rapidly. Although he spent many years working as a functional potter, he began to feel confined by the restrictions of functional pottery. Because of the desire to push from function to form, his current large, hollow, teetering forms and opaque glazes emphasize the value of taking risks. May’s ceramic sculpture marries a studio artist’s discipline with an experimental performer’s mentality. His commitment and knowledge of the medium only encourages him to take greater risks. He welcomes mistakes and struggles and he seems to believe it brings a greater sense of resolve and presence to each form. In 2015, May received the "Best New Exhibitor Award" at the Smithsonian Craft Show and he will be a featured artist/demonstrator/ lecturer September 2015 at the Bascom Center for Visual Arts annual symposium in Highlands, NC. May teaches workshops nationally and has been published in Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times. He has exhibited his work across the country in over a hundred juried fine arts shows.
This bio/description was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2015. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).