Thank you to everyone who came to the opening reception for my show, "Origins". It was wonderful to see so many friends and reconnect with familiar faces! Origins is open through December 31, 2014 at the Pearson Lakes Art Center.
Read moreOrigins - By Bennett Roti
It has been a while since I've updated my site, a lot has changed in my life and there is a lot to look forward to! At the end of this month I will be having a solo show at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, IA. The show will run from October 30th 2014 - December 31st 2014. There is an opening night reception on October 30th 2014 from 5-7pm. It is open to the public and I will be present for the opening. Looking forward to seeing so many friendly faces. If you're in the area on the 30th please stop by and enjoy some art. Click here for more information
Read moreBentley Gallery: Don Reitz
Don Reitz is recognized as one of the most important and influential ceramic artists of the last century. He has cultivated a decades-long exploration of wood and salt firing of his pieces to preserve the unique energy and spontaneity of his mark-making.
Read moreReitzagama – Update Unloading!
After almost 3 years of being at the Reitz Ranch I have finally fired every kiln Don has! The Reitzagama was the last piece to my kiln firing puzzle and it went great! The X-Mural was about 50% of the 375 cubic foot anagama kiln.
Read moreFlorida Heat at St. Petersburg, FL
I have been fortunate enough to attend Florida Heat once again! This is my second time going with Don and I cant wait for next year.
The St. Petersburg Clay Company, Morean Arts Center, and Highwater Clays, are located into the Historic Seaboard Coastline Freight Depot also known as "The Train Station". Florida Heat is put on by the Train Station of St. Petersburg, FL. Florida Heat is a 2 week firing symposium, where artists come together to fire several different atmospheric kilns, like an Anagama woodkiln, a train kiln, soda kiln and a salt kiln.
Read moreX-Mural
It's been quite a while since I've updated the blog, but for good reason. I've been incredibly busy over the last few months working with Don and I thought it would be a good time to get caught up with my blog. Back in January Don had a vision to execute a wall piece for his show in April that was 12 feet tall by 8 feet, we built the frame and pounded 1000lbs of clay into it.
Read moreArmy of One: Army of None
A couple of weeks ago I was in the local Made In Clarkdale show. The Made In Clarkdale Art Show(MIC) 2012 runs for 10 days beginning the first weekend of December featuring the original art of over 50+ artists with a variety of mediums including sculpture, visual art, photography, and wearable art in all price ranges. I met several wonderful people, and had a really great opportunity to see old friends and meet new ones as well! We had a wonderful turnout this year, and achieved our goal in sales to put on the show for next year. I focused mainly on getting two new pieces I have been working on titled "Army of One: Army of None" which were a hit. I received several wonderful comments and had some very engaging conversations.
Read moreRebuilding the Train Kiln
This week Mat and Aubrey Rude came out from Iowa to help us work on rebuilding the Train Kiln stack. We also spent some time this weekend working on getting a website together, check out Mat's Website. The Made In Clarkdale show comes down this weekend and I'll be sure to add photos ASAP.
Read moreHexaptych
I put together a quick YouTube video for Don's Birthday (November 7th). I showed it to Don and he asked me put it online and share it with others. I'm putting the photos that go along with the video of the process for the hexaptych. The piece came out of the woodkiln this week and I will upload photos of the finished piece this week. Check back to see the finished photos.
Read moreWedding Gifts
This weekend I'm getting married to my fiance Kami Ricklefs, in Spirit Lake, Iowa. We get hitched on Saturday September 29th and I couldn't be more excited. Since I have 3 groomsmen I had to come up with a gift idea to give them for being apart of our wedding. I decided to make them a whiskey/shooter set. Originally it started as a sake set which had the 4 cups and the tokkuri (a pouring vessel), however since I've never heard of any of the guys talk about drinking sake, I decided the whiskey set would be more appropriate. Below I've attached some photos of the sets for each guy.
Read moreBlack work
I've decided to make some shifts in my clay bodies over the last few months. I'm really starting to enjoy working with a black "palette" vs the standard white porcelain that I'm so used to using. We've been really busy firing kilns out at the ranch and I was able to fire another salt kiln with Don last weekend, and I'm really happy with the results. Below are a few pieces from the past few firings.
Read moreRobert Roti
My grandfather passed away Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, at Northshire Residence in Spencer. In honor of his service and his legacy I crated a dog tag helmet using his original dog tags from WWII. Grandpa Roti was an amazing man and the piece is very personal to me. It's made of a low fire earthenware clay and low fire underglazes. I plan on making more work with dog tags in the future.
Read moreNew Work
I'm working on updating my portfolio and wanted to share some images of my new work and the work that is in progress. Check out the newest works below or check my ceramic portfolio.
Read moreMonsoons
The monsoons are finally here! We've been waiting for what seemed like forever. But they finally have arrived. I was working on the ranch on Wednesday when the wind started to pick up and it started to rain. I quickly drove into town but stopped along the way to take photos with my phone. Now that is has rained we should be able to start firing again!
Read morePitch Article
It's been a while since I've updated the site, however that does not mean things are still not happening. I been to Canada and back, fired kilns, had visits from great friends and family. While all this is going on, Don's show is still in full swing attracting a great audience in Kansas City, MO. If you haven't seen the show maybe this article will get you in there. The article is written by Tracy Abeln who writes for The Pitch. The Pitch is a local alternative paper in Kansas City and has the second highest circulation in the city. Check it out!
Read moreTomagama - UPDATED Unloading
I helped a friend out last week fire an anagama kiln on his property in Chino Valley. Tom Alward, Jonathan Cross and a few others got together to fire for 5 days with a reduction cool at the end of the firing. We were firing during a county wide fire ban in Arizona, but we called the Fire Marshall first. They came out and took a look at the kiln and gave us the green light to start the kiln. I took several photos of the loading and the firing. I'll post pictures of the unloading next week! Be sure to check back soon.
Read moreStudio Triptych
I got to work in the studio today with Don. Don worked on painting a new triptych that is 15"x 30" x 1". I was also able to help work on some new jars which completed photos will be posted as soon as they are finished. While Don was painting I stood by and took some great shots of him from start to finish. Don starts by applying a "Base Coat" to give it a background color and then proceeds to apply the main imagery. These panels will be woodfired for about three days and will be fired to cone 13 (~2500 degrees Fahrenheit ).Check out the photos below:
Read moreRetrospective Video
Here's a quick promo video of the Retrospective in Kansas City produced by Ken Wagner from St. Petersburg, FL. Check it out below! (Best viewed in full screen)
Read moreAntiwar Artists Gallery
I was just asked to be included in this Online Gallery. I've got some work up on there with far more to come.
Antiwar Artists Galleries
Antiwar Artists is a collection of international artists who depict the effects of war and other injustices on people and other living things. These galleries contain artwork that may offend some people, because war itself is offensive to the artists included here. Antiwar Artists.com is a collaborative effort to communicate for peace through art.The galleries also include environmental and other socially conscious artwork and photos.New artists are always welcome to join us. We are having a new online Exhibit in August. Check back soon for more information on the exhibit!
Read moreDon Reitz Retrospective
This weekend Don, Kathleen, Larry and I traveled to Kansas City, MO for Don's opening of his retrospective show at the Belger Arts Center! It was an absolutely amazing show, so much wonderful work in one room. The opening was a wild success with hundreds of people stopping throughout the evening to see the show and see Don. Don's family Brent (son), Donna (daughter) and Nancy (sister) were all there and our Florida family was able to fly out to see the show and be with us. My parents were able to make it in the day after the show which was really nice to see the both of them.
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