Artist Statement: Vic Duffhues

As a potter, I feel deeply connected to our planet and its rich human history. Clay vessels always contribute not only to culture, but spiritual rituals, and even simple sustenance. Working in my studio allows me to strive to fulfill my own goals and life purpose in a way that not only fulfills my creative needs, but is spiritual for me as well.


My wife was my first instructor, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to continue to work in our studio for the past 3 decades. But I also spent 10 of those first years honing my skills as a production potter. I know my wheel-work is exceptionally well made, and I still love making functional stoneware pottery. It requires repetition and consistency, but offers a rhythm that truly centers me. I take great pride in, for instance, making what are considered to be the most beautiful of mugs, knowing that they are the prized possession of many customers as well as collected by many other potters. People often tell me how important their own mug is to them… and don’t they kiss the rims daily?

While I am considered a production potter, I’m proud to say that I don’t make factory ware, and I absolutely refuse to uses molds or presses. It’s true that a ram press can result in total consistency, but it leaves me cold because it lacks individuality. It’s rather like artificial insemination, it works, but it takes all the fun out of it.

I know that my work reaches far back into the past and will live on well into the future. But unlike ancient potters, I have modern technical advantages, like the pug mill I use to make sure my clay is well-blended, and the computer technology that helps me to ensure that my functional stoneware is complete food-safe. Our glazes are the result of many years of testing and development, and they too are the result of a creative joy. But it’s so great to know that I can use computer analysis to ensure their safety.

As much as I love making stoneware, like my wife, I do love to create special one-of-a-kind pieces. Funeral urns, ginger jars, vases, lamps, even special series, such as the Myanmar Vases I made after seeing a documentary and some amazing photographs… each of these can transport me to a place beyond simply being centered. There’s a euphoria that comes from making pieces that transcend the purely functional. And I sure do enjoy playing with raku firings as well. Hunter Thompson once said something to the effect that working with your hands makes you a laborer, adding your head makes you a technician, adding your heart makes you an artisan, but adding your soul to that mix makes you an artist. After three decades of working with clay, I can truly affirm his theory.

I’ve had the pleasure of learning from some great potters, but for me the real joy in the development of my career in clay stems from the fact that I am now the Master Potter, offering courses and workshops and inspiring others the way that Tom Coleman, Mick Casson, and so many others have inspired me. It has been many years since my first formal training began at Sir Sanford Fleming--almost 3 decades have passed. With a little luck, I have a few more of those decades ahead.