The Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
Dictionary of American Ceramics, 1945 onward
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Tom Shafer, Thomas Shafer
Born1938
EDUCATION
BFA University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
1965 MFA University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE
1965 - Potter
BIOGRAPHY
Thomas Shafer is best known for hand-built decorative stoneware forms and wheel-thrown functional stoneware. Common forms are plates, bowls, and covered jars. Some pieces are decorated by using molds to either stamp into the clay surface or to create sprigs (a molded clay detail to be applied with slip to a clay vessel surface). Before glazing, Shafer stains the form with iron or manganese oxide to create a surface for colorful patterns made with enamel-like glazes. The glazes contrast with the earth tone of the stoneware.
Shafer’s inspirations are Spanish and Middle Eastern pottery designs.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bonham, Roger D. “Thomas Shafer,” Ceramics Monthly, 17, no. 10 (December 1969).
Bonham, Roger D. “Thomas Shafer Demonstrates Building a Jar,” Ceramics Monthly, 17, no. 10 (December 1969).
Shafer, Tom, “Jepson Exhibition,” Ceramics Monthly, 30, no. 5 (May 1982).
Shafer, Tom, “John Glick: The Plum Tree Pottery,” Ceramics Monthly, (September 1972).
Shafer, Tom, “Ohio Potters,” The Studio Potter, 11, no. 1, (December 1982). Digital Issue: Woodfiring - Vol. 11 No. 1 | Studio Potter.
Shafer, Thomas. Pottery Decorations. New York : Watson-Guptill, 1976.
Shafer, Thomas. The professional Potter. New York : Watson-Guptill, 1978.
Shafer, Tom, “Tyrone and Julie Larson,” Ceramics Monthly, (April 1971).
 | Center For Craft |
 | AMOCA American Museum of Ceramic Art |
“Shafer” at base.
Citation: Lange, Hanna. "The Marks Project." Last modified March 25, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/shafer
