Pittsfield Middle High School has received a grant through New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Globe Manufacturing of Pittsfield, New Hampshire to support an artist residency this spring.
Potter Kit Cornell of Exeter, New Hampshire will spend 5 days at PMHS working with students on pottery skills.
Ms. Cornell is a professional potter making functional pieces in both stoneware and porcelain from her studio in Exeter. Her work is appreciated and shown both here and abroad. Her forms are simple and her glazes complex, resulting from study of many cultures and traditions.
Her interests include using local resources, exploring clay as historical record, and ensuring the relevance of art in daily life. Art gives life meaning. Kit’s commitment to art education in general and clay education in particular may be seen in the sharing of her studio with apprentices and students, traveling to far corners of the state to teach, and presenting at workshops and conferences. Imaginations may be kindled, respect for the planet strengthened, processes taught, and skills relevant to many areas of life acquired by working in clay.
Organizational affiliations include the League of NH Craftsmen, New Hampshire Potters Guild, Exeter Art Association, and the Seacoast Growers Association’s Portsmouth Farmer’s Market. She has most recently been working with students at the Spaulding Youth Center in Tilton. Joining Ms. Cornell at PMHS will be her studio assistant Zack Whitehouse, a masters of education graduate student from UNH.