Live Auction

To whom it regards,

My name is Kade Greer, I was born and raised in Gillette Wyoming. I started ceramics in the tenth grade and continued to earn my bachelor’s degree in K-12 Art Education at the University of Wyoming. This was made possible through art, education, and rodeo scholarships. After finishing my undergrad and college rodeo career, I tried my hand at the professional rodeo circuit, but that quickly came to an end when I broke my leg.

My most recent work is from a yearlong study of ceramics in North Carolina. Working with an independent wood-fire artist there, I gained an immense amount of knowledge about making and firing. This work is from our last firing in his large, cross draft, wood kiln. They are made solely by me, with a variety of local Carolina clays. Each is covered with a local red clay slip. After that, I applied a slip composition on all the ware. I was constantly thinking about my home in Wyoming while I was there. Everything from my family and friends, to walking the fence line and breaking colts in the Thunder Basin. I painted the beautiful landscape that I know by heart. Rolling prairie hills and buttes, laying wind burned under the vast Wyoming sky.

Ceramics is a complex medium, the difference in each piece is unique to the placement in the Kiln and atmosphere achieved during the firing. The one that has a more vivid horizon line was placed at the very back of the kiln, where it didn’t get as hot and had less fly ash. The two others are heavily saturated with heat and wood ash. Salt is also used in this firing. I enjoy them all very much.

My pieces are a representation of my experiences, they depict both the adversity and beauty of being a cowboy. They express the love I have for the land I come from and the communities that embody it. They place me in the land where I was born and will always call home.

My journey has brought me back to my home state of Wyoming. The funds from this work will be for my kiln and studio build this spring. I hope to source local Wyoming materials for every aspect of my work. To then show through raw materials, landscapes, and western sensibility; the beauty and serenity that comes from the cowboy life and state. I am forever grateful for Wyoming and can’t wait to be an active member of the art community. It is an honor to share my love for western living, the cowboy way of life, and impactful art through my work.
 

Kindly,

Kade Greer