Bringing life to the abstract: Artist wants his pieces to look organic, as if formed by nature

photo Shadow May spent a year creating the 10-13 pieces that are part of his solo show at the AVA Gallery.

If You GoWhat: "Ephemeral Forms: Works by Shadow May."When: Through Nov. 25.Where: AVA Gallery, 30 Frazier Ave.Admission: Free.Gallery hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.Phone: 265-4282.

When Shadow May started creating the pottery pieces that make up his "Ephemeral Forms" exhibition, he had no idea what the pieces would look when finished. In fact, he wanted them to appear abstract to the point of being organic, as if they'd been formed at random in nature.

"I build them so you question whether a human made them or not," he says.

photo Shadow May spent a year creating the 10-13 pieces that are part of his solo show at the AVA Gallery.

About 18 months ago, May began building his own stainless-steel bases for the pieces, on display this month at the Association for Visual Arts Gallery. He likes the juxtaposed look of the metallic surface with his abstract, lightly glazed clay pieces, but he also likes that, by adding a small pin to the bases, he can then display the pottery almost anyway he chooses.

"With a clay base, you have to create a cradle and the piece has a top or a bottom or it will break. With the stainless and the pin, I can exalt my piece better," he says. "It is a more interesting look. It becomes more like displaying an artifact than a piece of art."

photo Shadow May strives to create pieces that appear to have been created randomly in nature.

May earned the right to have the solo exhibition by winning Best In Show in last winter's Juried Members Exhibition at AVA, a nonprofit organization with 500 members.

Having a year to create the pieces allowed May to experiment, but it also came with some extra tension. He says he threw away more pieces than he kept, trying to get just what he wanted.

"It has been challenging," he says. "This is my backyard - well, not literally - but even though I'm not from here, this is where I live. It holds me to a higher standard. I want to represent. We have so many very good artists here."

May earned his bachelor degree in English and art history from the University of Alaska and completed a ceramics work-study at Penland School of Crafts in Bakersville, N.C. He opened his pottery studio in Chattanooga in 2000 and has shown his work throughout the Southeast.

The pieces in the show range in size from 12 inches tall to about 3 feet in height. The only thing that references each piece to the others, May says, "is that I can never duplicate them. I was working instinctively with no references. They are very abstract. You see whatever you see in them."

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.

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