Tom Coleman

Biography to Display:

Born 1945 Amarillo, Texas

EDUCATION

1968 BFA Museum of Art School, Portland, Oregon

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1969-1973 Head of Ceramics, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, Oregon

1971-1973 Ceramics Instructor, Portland State University, Oregon

1987-1990 Instructor University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada

1994-2001 Coleman Clay Studios and Gallery, Las Vegas, Nevada

2000-2020 Studio potter, Henderson, Nevada

APPRENTICESHIPS & RESIDENCIES

1968-1969 Apprenticeship with studio potter Bill Crietz, Portland, Oregon

BIOGRAPHY

Tom Coleman is well known for classic wheel thrown functional porcelain forms. Surface techniques include glazes Coleman perfected over 30-years. He developed “test site” glazes in response to the destruction of the Nevada desert during atomic bomb testing of the mid-20thcentury. Tom Coleman is also known for his long-standing collaboration with fellow ceramicist Frank Boyden. Coleman threw vessels, including bowls and vases, and Boyden drew, carved into andmanipulated the surfaces, often depicting animals such as fish and birds;theses pots weremostly wood fired.

Coleman is married to fellow ceramic artist Elaine Coleman, Together, they own Coleman Clay Studios and Gallery, Henderson, Nevada.

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS

Public Collections to Display:

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio

Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, Oregon

Contemporary Museum of Art, Portland, Oregon

Grimmerhus Museum, Fyn, Denmark

Hallie Ford Museum, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon
Kaiser Hospital, Portland, Oregon

Long Beach Art Museum, California

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, Utah

Portland Art Museum, Oregon

Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin

Rio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

rosenfieldcollection.com

San Angelo Museum of Art, Ttexas

Sapporo Sister City Collection, Japan

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, DC

State of Colorado Permanent Collection, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Timber Press Publishing Company, Portland, Oregon

Wooster College Art Museum, Wooster, Ohio

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography to Display:

Birks, Tony. The Complete Potter’s Companion. New York: Bulfinch, 1993.

Ceramics of Frank Boyden and Tom Coleman. Pomona, CA: The American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2008.

Coleman, Tom. Glazes I Use. Las Vegas, NV: Coleman Clay Studio,1998.

Coleman, Tom. With A Little Help from My Friends. Las Vegas, NV: Coleman Clay Studio, 2000.

Coleman, Tom. “More Glazes I Use: Glazes, Clays and Ideas.” 2009

Harper, Robin. Making Marks: Discovering the Ceramic Surface. Madison, WI: Krause Publications.

Herman, Lloyd. American Porcelain: New Expressions. Smithsonian Institution, Forest Grove, OR: Timber Press, 1981.

Hopper, Robin. Stayin’ Alive: Survival Tactics for the Visual Artist. Madison, WI: Krause Publications, 2003.

Lamberton, Daniel and David W. Armstrong. On the River through the Valley of Fire: The Collaborative Ceramics of Frank Boyden and Tom Coleman. Pomona, CA: American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2008.

Lane, Peter. Contemporary Studio Porcelain, 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.

Nance, John. The Mud-Pie Dilemma: A Master Potter’s Struggle To Make Art and Ends Meet, 2nd ed. American Ceramic Society, 2003.

Pearson. Katherine. New American Crafts: A source Book for the Home. New York: Stewart, Tabori, & Chang, 1983.

Peterson, Susan. Smashing Glazes. Madison, WI: Guild Publishing, 2001.

_____________. The Craft and the Art of Clay, 2nd ed. Overlook Hardcover, 1996.

Tourtillott, Suzanne J. 500 Cups, Ceramic Explorations of Utility & Grace. Asheville, NC: Lark Books, 2005.

WEBSITE(S):

www.tomandelainecolemangallery.com