ARTIST STATEMENT

Dave and Boni Deal are a husband and wife team who have collaborated in clay for over 30 years working fulltime at their rustic home studio in the Cascade mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The Deals have worked almost solely in raku since the 1970s. Shown in nationally recognized galleries, their work is known for large classical forms and intricate surface designs. A unique aspect of their pottery is the nature-oriented environment of the Deal’s home and shop with no electricity, water from the creek, and a much-used kick-wheel. Native plants, geology, and wildlife – God’s creations – are reflected in the themes and materials used in their claywork, like heron urns, leaf-imprint pots, and landscape triptychs.

EXHIBITS, AWARDS & HONORS, COLLECTIONS, PUBLICATONS, AND GALLERIES

SOLO SHOWS: from 1982 to present at galleries including The Real Mother Goose, Portland, OR; White Bird Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR; Earthworks Gallery, Lincoln City, OR; Earthenworks Gallery, Port Townsend, WA and LaConnor, WA; Blue Heron Gallery, Vashon Island, WA; Columbia Arts Center Gallery, Hood River, OR; The Dalles Art Museum, The Dalles, OR; Portland Community College, Rock Creek Campus, Beaverton, OR; Valley Art Association, Forest Grove, OR; FireWorks Gallery, Seattle, WA; Northwest Craft Center, Seattle, WA; Interior Reflections, Mercer Island, WA; The Pearl Gallery, Manning, OR; Clark College Index Gallery, Vancouver, WA; Columbia Arts Center, Vancouver, WA; Marshall House Gallery, Vancouver, WA (For complete list see FULL RESUME)

GROUP SHOWS: from 1974 to present at above galleries and more, including Gallery Odori Museum, Sapporo, Japan, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, Portland, OR; Hokkaido Pottery Society, Art Park Museum, Sapporo, Japan; 2nd Story Gallery, The Camas Public Library, Camas, WA; The Arts at Marks Garage, Honolulu, Hawai'i; Archer Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, WA; River Run Gallery, Ketchum, Idaho; Sunbird Gallery, Bend, OR; Memorial Union Gallery, Oregon State University, Eugene, OR; Georgie’s Ceramics Clatsop Community College, Astoria, OR; Gallery , Portland, OR; The Riciardi Gallery, Astoria, OR; Lower Columbia River Community College, Longview, WA; Valley Arts Association, Forest Grove, OR; Campbell Hall, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR; Chemeketa Community College, Salem, OR; OPUS II, New York, NY; Washington State Capitol Museum, Olympia, WA; Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, OR; Graystone Gallery, Portland, OR; Childhood’s End Gallery, Olympia, WA; The Clay Pot, Brooklyn, NY; The Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD; Clay Pot, Brooklyn, NY; The Image Gallery, Portland, OR; The Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA; Hoffman Gallery at Oregon College of Arts & Crafts, Portland, OR; The Metropolitan Arts Commission, Portland, OR; Sylvia Ullman American Crafts Gallery, Cleveland, OH; Westminster United Presbyterian Church, Beaverton; The Lawrence Gallery, Sheridan, OR; Salem Art Association, Salem, OR; and The Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR. (For complete list see FULL RESUME)

AWARDS & HONORS

2006 to present year: Guest Artists, Clay Art Center, Tacoma, WA, Summer Raku Celebration

2008 Oregon Potters Association, Bennet Welsh Award “Batik Raku Platter,” Showcase 08, Portland, OR

2004 Guest Artists, Hawai'i Craftsmen's Raku Ho’olaule’a, on Oahu in Hawai’i, including:
• Slide Presentation at The Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawai'i
• "Wet Clay Demonstration" at Fort Shafter Army Base, Hawai'i
• Guest Artists for weekend Raku Ho'olauale'a Festival at Kualoa Regional Park, Hawai'i

1988 Pacific NW Arts & Crafts Fair, Bellevue, WA, Michol Hutton Memorial Award

1988 Ceramic Showcase 1988, Oregon Potters Association Members’ Choice Best of Show Award

1986 Pacific NW Arts & Crafts Fair, Bellevue, WA, Award Winner

1985 Ceramic Showcase 1985, Portland, OR, Oregon Potters Association Jurors ’ Award

PUBLIC & INSTITUTIONAL INSTALLATIONS

2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 “Water-blue Leafprint” raku pieces, The Vancouver Clinic, lobbies in the four clinics in Vancouver, WA

2003 “Columbia Gorge Triptych, ” The Camas Public Library, Camas, WA

2000 “Heron Wall Platter,” Kaiser Permanente Art Collection, 19185 SW 90th Ave.,Tualatin, OR

1988 “Heron Urn,” Portland Opera Association Lobby , Portland, OR

1988 “Cord-Wrap Vessel,” Salem Transit Mall, Salem, OR

1988 “Triangular Cord-Wrap,” Oregon Potters Association Permanent Collection , Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery, Portland, OR

1987 “Maple Leaf-Print Vessel,” Keicho Ltd. Corporate Collection , Tokyo, Japan

1985 “Fern Vessel,” Oregon Potters Association, Permanent Collection, Contemporary Crafts Museum & Gallery , Portland, OR

1985 “Raku Urns,” Vancouver City Hall , Vancouver, WA

PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA

2011: Ceramics Today, hardcover, by Jeffrey Snyder, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. p.54–55 & front cover.

2011: 500 Raku: Bold Explorations of a Dynamic Ceramics Technique, Lark Crafts. p.110 & back cover.

2006 to present: Oregon Art Beat, TV segment on OPBS. Online at opb.org & yellowleaf.org/raku

2005 Clay Times magazine, July-August issue, article written by Boni: "Hawaiian-style Raku" 2005 Jul/Aug:14-18

1999 Raku Pottery, Robert Piepenburg, 3rd Ed., photos: Dave–firing, Boni –brushwork, leafprint pot.

1998 Wheel-Thrown Ceramics, Don Davis, photo: Egret Ewer ” page 91.

1998 The Ceramic Design Book, Val Cushing, full page photo “Egret Wall Plate, ” page 19.

1991 Raku Pottery, Robert Piepenburg, 2nd Edition, photos on pages 104 –5.

February 1989, Ceramics Monthly magazine, pages 71 –73.

October/November 1989; American Crafts magazine, page 78.

1985 and 1986, “Northwest Artists Illustrated,” 1/2-hr. television program featuring the Deals’ raku on Oregon Public Broadcasting and Washington Public Broadcasting.

1971–present, many local newspaper articles, particularly in The Columbian, Vancouver, WA; The Oregonian, Portland, OR; and The Camas-Washougal Post Record, Camas, WA.

EDUCATION & WORK EXPERIENCE

Dave—Clark College, Vancouver, WA, A.A. in Art and Ceramics, 1972

Boni—Clark College, Vancouver, WA, A.A. in Art, 1989; Portland State University, Portland, OR, B.A. with honors, in Graphic Design, 1993

Dave has been employed full-time as a studio potter since 1972. The Deals periodically give workshops for colleges and art centers, and serve as guest artists at raku events. Both also attend workshops and events by other ceramic artists to augment education and skills.

CURRENT GALLERIES & VENUES

The Real Mother Goose , Portland, OR

The White Bird Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR

Childhoods End Gallery, Olympia, WA; Columbia Art Gallery, Hood River, OR

Earthworks Gallery, Lincoln City, OR

Ballard & Call, Camas, WA

Oregon Potters Association's annual “Ceramic Showcase” at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR, usually in early May.