The contemporary pottery of Melvin
C. Cornshucker of Cherokee descent is being featured in the Litchfield Hills at the Institute for
American Indian Studies located on 38 Curtis Rd. in Washington CT through the
month of March. Cornshucker is an award winning Cherokee potter, who
works in stoneware, porcelain and raku clay.
Mel's work can be found in
collections across the United States, Europe, and Africa, and he has been
invited to exhibit at museums in Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas,
California, Kansas and now Connecticut. Mel also participates in annual juried
shows and exhibitions including the Santa Fe Indian Market in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, the Eiteljorg Indian Market in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Pueblo Grande
Museum Indian Art Show in Phoenix, Arizona, the Contemporary Indian Art Show at
Cahokia, Illinois, and many other notable venues.
His work is widely sought in
international collections as well as in the United States. His work has
been exhibited and sold all over the world from Santa Fe, Arizona to South
Africa.
Mel's work is noted for being
unique, functional, and aesthetic art pieces that are decorated primarily with
Native American motifs. His signature designs are influenced by the generations
of jewelers and weavers in his family. Mel strives to make his stoneware,
porcelain and raku clay pieces visually pleasing and functional. It is his
desire to create pieces that communicate the Native American spirit both past
and present.
Mel, born in Oklahoma but raised in
Missouri, comes from an artistic family. His father was a silversmith, his
grandfather a rug weaver and his aunts are basket weavers. While attending law
school at Southwest Baptist University, he became interested in a ceramics
class. After completing the class, he left school to pursue his new passion of
pottery making. Within a few years, he became a master potter. Mel owns and
operates a studio in Tulsa,
Oklahoma where he sells his work and
teaches the art of pottery.
This Exhibition is in the "Four
Directions" Gift Shop of the Institute for American Indian Studies and
runs through March 31, 2014. There is no charge for this exhibition. The
museum is open Monday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm Sunday 12 Noon to 5
pm and the last admission 4:30 pm. For more information http://www.iaismuseum.org. For information on the Litchfield Hills www.litchfieldhills.com
