David Stelchek

Pottery Instructor

My major introduction to clay was at Collin College, I'd taken several art classes before that but nothing focused on ceramics until that point. I worked part time as the lab assistant for Collin College's Ceramics department for a period while taking core classes and as many ceramic classes as I could. I went to University of North Texas for my undergrad where I received a BFA in Studio Arts with a focus in Ceramics in 2016. After that I spent some time at Utah State University in a post-baccalaureate position learning to use woodfired kilns and other atmospheric methods like Salt/Soda kilns. I'd say it's been a little over a decade since I really started making and collecting ceramics!

When people ask for an artist statement or what pottery means to me my first response is to jokingly say, "Ceramics is like a self-portrait to me, in that each work I make is hollow and empty on the inside and extremely fragile."