Clay Place - 7/26/02 TRIBUNE-REVIEW

A casual glance would not reveal a connection between the work of Malcolm Davis and Jeff Oestreich, on view at The Clay Place Gallery in Shadyside. Davis' mugs, tea and rice bowls, covered in thick, fire-scorched glazes, are nothing at all like Oestreich's Art Deco-inspired pitchers, plates and vases.

But despite the differences between their respective works, the two potters do have a connection, says Elvira Peake, owner of the Clay Place.

"They're connected because they are good friends and because every year Jeff invites Malcolm to his studio for an annual sale," she says.

Every spring for the past five years, Davis has packed up his pots for the long drive from his mountaintop West Virginia studio to the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota, where Oestreich's 45-acre farm is one of six stops on an annual Pottery Studio Tour held there each May.

The annual event has strengthened their friendship despite the distance, so when Peake decided to show Davis' work again - he has been a crowd favorite at the gallery for many years - Davis asked whether Oestreich could show along with him. "What Malcolm wants, Malcolm gets," Peake says.

Davis' work stands out in the studio pottery field for its unique incorporation of Shino glazes. First developed by the Japanese in the late 16th century, Shino glaze is known for its thick, creamy white appearance, which is enhanced by distinctive red scorch marks that seem to rise to the surface.

So alluring is this glaze for potters that, for many, working with it is almost like practicing a religion. Not a far stretch for Davis, who is considered to be an American master of Shino and was once the ecumenical chaplain at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

"He found clay when he was 40 years old and has been a potter ever since," Peake says about Davis, who is now in his late 60s. "But he can still marry you," she adds with a chuckle.

In the gallery, nearly 90 pieces attest to Davis' mastery of Shino glaze. On humble porcelain bodies that take the shape of cups, bowls, vases - even sake pitchers - thick clear glaze gives way to spectacular black - or rust-colored flashes.

All of these markings are naturally formed from the wood that burns in the kiln when the pots are fired. Trapped forever in the glaze is the carbon from the wood as the temperature inside the kiln slowly reduces. These naturally formed surface embellishments enhance the utilitarian wares whose shapes are largely derived from the simple, rough forms of traditional Japanese folk pottery.

Like Davis' work, Oestreich's pieces are not without utility, though they are a bit more decorative.

A career potter, Oestreich began as an apprentice to the world-renowned English potter Bernard Leach (1887-1979) from 1969 through 1971. In 1974, he moved to the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and has been a full-time studio potter and pottery instructor ever since.

After a trip to the New Zealand town of Napier a decade ago, where much of the architecture is Art Deco in style, Oestreich's work began to take on an angular look. Subsequent trips to Napier, as well as extensive world travel, have further inspired his Art Deco-like forms, of which there are more than 60 examples in this show.

Although the creations began on the potter's wheel as round forms, Oestreich has cut, curved and altered the forms to get the desired look. Small indentations or incised patterns further enhance the decorative nature of the pieces. Although sometimes sparse, the distinctive placement of green and beige glazes commingles with natural surfaces that are derived from adding soda ash to the kiln during the firing.

"He introduces the soda ash into the kiln," Peake says. "The soda combines with the silica in the clay and gives the surface."

Several vases and two of what Oestreich calls "fish dishes" - elongated forms designed for the obvious purpose of serving fish - are the best examples of the Art Deco influence. Footed tea bowls also allude to his unique architectural take on traditional vessel forms.

Some pieces - the pitchers especially - almost are whimsical. Long spouts attached to curved bodies accentuate these distinctive vessels, which are, again, incised with small, precisely placed markings.

Although each of these potters' bodies of work are specifically focused, their connection to each other is clear: Both are made by very skilled potters who also happen to be very good friends.

Potters are more than artists, they're fast friends with a love of their craft