« Bill Gossman Named SMAHC 2010 Prairie Star «

The Southwest Minnesota Arts and Humanities Council is proud to present Bill Gossman as the Prairie Star for 2010.  This award was established to honor a distinguished artist whose work exemplifies the highest quality of art in the SMAHC region.  New London artist Robert Mattson, nominated Gossman for this award.  Mattson wrote "Bill grasps and practices the essence of what it means to be an artist and lives it day to day. Simply put, Bill is the finest potter I have ever known.  His work equals or surpasses that of others the world over." 

Interview with Bill Gossman

Where were you born – where did you grow up?  Tell a little bit about your childhood.  I was born in St Paul MN in 1953 and spent my school years in Rochester MN.  I have two brothers, one older and one younger.  I had a pretty normal childhood and grew up with lots of kids my own age in the neighborhood.  We lived on the edge of town then and my pals and I spent a lot of time out in the woods, down by the creek.

Where did you go to school – public school and college?  After I graduated from high school I went to Mankato State College for two years and I realized that the academic route wasn’t for me.

When did you first begin to be interested in art and specifically in pottery?  Being a normal kid I had a normal interest in art right from childhood.  Growing up I was always encouraged to draw and paint and it felt good.  I can still recall making a small piece of pottery with coils in kindergarten and wishing I could take it to our fort down by the creek and use it for a drink of cool creek water.

What took you abroad to work in Denmark and Africa and how long were you gone?  What are some highlights of your stay?  When did you return to Minnesota and what brought that about?  I went to Denmark to visit a girl in February 1979.  I helped on the family dairy farm and eventually went into business with her brother, buying a small sawmill.  I had originally hoped to find work at a pottery studio or workshop since I had been making a living as a potter already for several years by then.  It didn’t come to pass at that time so I constructed my first wood fired kiln at the farm and made pottery when I wasn’t working either on the farm or in the woods and sawmill.  In early 1981 I went to Swaziland Africa with my wife who had been hired to work with a Danish aid agency as an agronomist.  Quite by chance I met a Canadian potter who was there with his wife in a similar situation.  She was an English teacher at a college.  Both of our respective wives earned good salaries which meant we were free to be pioneer potters. How nice that was.  In 1983 my wife and I returned to Denmark, and she soon after returned to Africa.  Then I met Janne, my present wife, and I continued with my pottery and became a father to two children while Janne studied to be a nurse.  Before we moved to Minnesota I was working at a traditional Danish pottery workshop for a couple of years.  We chose to move to the New London  area because a colleague, with whom I had shared studio space in Minneapolis during the 70’s, had offered a me a job in his pottery studio making souvenirs for the Rennaisance Faires.

How would you characterize your present work?  I have been mainly making functional and one of a kind pottery since I started in the mid 70’s.  Now my work is a continuation of what I started years ago though much more refined and an expression of all I have seen and experienced up until now.  I have also incorporated translucent porcelain into the body of materials that I use in the process. Wood kilns and wood firing also remain a part of my work since my first wood fired kiln in 1979.

Talk about the firing process – tell us about your kiln – any special techniques that you use?  My present kiln is now undergoing a transformation.  It is built into a hillside and is called a climbing chamber kiln. It has three chambers for ware and one for preheating air for combustion.  After reconstruction, the first ware chamber, or the one at the bottom of the hill, will be enlarged to twice the previous volume.  It is meant to be used as a learning tool which will enable several potters to fire their ware and learn about the wood firing process while they assist during loading and stoking the kiln.  One special process I use is a “once-fire” approach to the firing procedure.  This means that I forego a pre-firing or bisque firing which cuts down on fuel and time spent on loading, firing and unloading an extra time.

What would you say to encourage someone who wants to be a potter?  I would first recommend that they find a potter who may allow them to help at their studio. Visit other potters and their studios, ask a lot of questions, read a lot of books and get all the hands on experience with clay that they can.  Also take some sort of business or marketing class.  But most importantly I would tell them to make a lot of pots and practice all the time.

What are some of your hobbies?  Besides my main hobby of pottery, I also play music, and there are even a couple of groups that let me hang out with them and play along.  I used to make beer and wine but now I just drink it.

Tell a little bit about your family - My wife, Janne, is an original Dane from Denmark. She is a registered nurse working with hospice and ensures we have health coverage.  She makes the big bucks.  Siri is our oldest daughter and graduated from art school in Boston in 2008.  She plans a move to Detroit soon and has an interest in urban farming.  Jais, our son, is currently enrolled in an art school in Chicago and hopefully graduates soon.  Leah, our youngest, starts at the U of M in Minneapolis in the School of Design.

Congratulations to Bill Gossman on his great accomplishments and on being named the SMAHC Prairie Star of 2010.  The award will be officially presented to him at the 36th SMAHC Annual Celebration on October 30, 2010 at the Crow River Golf Club in Hutchinson.  Please come and help honor this distinguished artist.