The Marks Project - A Marks Dictionary of American Studio Pottery, 1946 to Present

Dorothy Bearnson

1921 Born

2015 Died

EDUCATION

1941-1942 Undergraduate study, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

1943 BA University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

1945 MA University of Utah

1956-1957 Graduate Study, Fulbright Grant in Ceramics, Finland

APPRENTICESHIPS AND RESIDENCIES

1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1958, 1961 and 1964 Student, Marguerite Wildenhain, Pond Farm, Guerneville, California

1956-1957 Student, Kyllikki Salmenhaara, Finland

1963 Summer Student, Shoji Hamada, Japan

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1946-1999 Faculty, Art Department, University of Utah

BIOGRAPHY

Dorothy Bearnson created functional, wheel-thrown ceramics with local clays and glazes and images that are inspired by and cultivated from the Salt Lake City landscape.

A major figure in the development of studio ceramics in Utah, Bearnson organized the Utah Designer Craftsmen group and taught at the University of Utah for over 50 years.

The Dorothy Bearnson papers are stored in the Special Collections division of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah.

Public Collections

Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred University, Alfred, New York

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, Utah

Salt Lake City Art Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah

Bibliography

Bearnson, Dorothy. "The History of Utah Designer Craftsmen." Utah Artisan, March/April 1972.

________________. "What is a Pot?" Utah Architect. Winter 1966-1967.

"Ceramics in Art Faculty Exhibition, University of Utah." Craft Horizons, March/April 1972.

"Ceramics in Art Faculty Exhibition, University of Utah." Ceramics Monthly, February 1962.

Cox, David. "Features - Dorothy Bearnson - University of Utah Ceramics Pioneer." Ceramics Monthly 1999.

Kemp, Jane, David Kamm, and Greg Tiburzi. Pond Farm Collection: Works of Art Created by Students Who Studied with Marguerite Wildenhain at Her Pond Farm Studio, Guerneville, California. Decorah, Iowa: Fine Arts Collection, Luther College, 2003.