Richard Petterson

1910 Born Hollywood, California

1996 Died Pomona, California

EDUCATION

1938 Teaching credentials University of California, Los Angeles, California

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1939-1947 Pasadena City College, Pasadena, California

1941-1946 Director Summer Art and Craft Program, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

1948-1976 Head of the Ceramics Department, Scripps College and the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California

Richard Petterson's early pieces are earthenware eventually he moved to using stoneware and porcelain. Petterson typically decorated his pieces with incised designs, brushed on engobes or fritted glazes.

He first studied ceramics with Olive Newcomb and then Glen Lukens. His work is inspired by that of Marguerite Wildenhain and Glen Lukens. 

In collaboration with his wife Alice, he also worked with slumped glass. In the 1950s painter Phil Dike painted the surfaces of some of Petterson’s vessels.