Jim Kraft

Jim Kraft has been creating ceramic pieces out of earthenware for over thirty years.

Each collection of work he creates builds upon what has come before and certain elements from one series are often incorporated into the next series based on those elements. Kraft’s contemporary lattice-worked vessels resonate with Northwest basketry. In contrast to solid vessels of containment, the openness suggests an inside-outside exchange. The grid patterns hint at enclosures — water wells, gates and fences — at attempts to protect a core that cannot hide. The general aim of Kraft’s work is to extract the great potential from the elements involved in ceramic art and bring those elements into mind, heart and hands exploring this mystery of man and material. The work is manifested principally in the vessel form. Kraft believes the vessel is probably the purest sculptural form, but his attraction to it is visceral and spiritual, not conceptual or academic.”

Jim Kraft received his BA in Ceramics from Northern Michigan University in Marquette in 1973. He earned his BFA in Ceramics in 1979 from the University of Washington. He has been the recipient of two grants from the Ford Foundation and his work is included in public and private collections throughout the US.