Biography
Peggy Quinn opened her clay studio in East Springfield Pennsylvania in the fall of 2020. During the long covid winter she worked on perfecting her pottery forms and glazing techniques. By springtime she was ready to start her business, Peggy Quinn Clay Studio and her business web page, peggyquinnclaystudio.com. She creates both functional pottery and decorative works in clay. Her work is primarily wheel thrown, often with hand modeled additions and handles that add an imaginative and very personal touch.
Much of Peggy’s pottery is heavily influenced by simple elegant pottery from the Song Dynasty in China..... “In general, the shapes of Song Dynasty (pottery) are simple and sedate... Likewise, the glazes tend to be monochromatic and subtle, a fluid, integral part of the form of the vessel they cover, with a depth of color and texture that invites the spectator to both touch and contemplate.” Song Dynasty Ceramics-China Online Museum....Peggy Quinn interprets Song dynasty aesthetic by creating simple elegant straightforward forms decorated with a quiet elegance that tend to enhance the forms themselves.
Nevertheless, Peggy Quinn has an exuberant side as well. Some of her pieces can be be bright and playful. Her more playful works can be described as a “fun and funky” type of aesthetic. Recently her work has included brightly colored “sgraffito” colored clay slip designs with fun-loving cat motifs.
Her work is consistently well crafted and of exceptional quality. All her glazes, slips and underglazes are formulated in house using the potter’s raw materials instead of purchasing commercially made finishes. Because of Peggy’s glaze chemistry expertise, she has better control of her artistic and functional vision for her completed work.
Peggy Quinn’s ceramic journey began at Edinboro University with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts with a concentration in Ceramics. She then went on to hold many jobs in the ceramic field including production potter for two companies in California and Clay and Glaze Specialist for a Ceramic Manufacturing plant also in California. She further developed her love of Chinese and Japanese pottery and aesthetics at Davis University in California where she studied Asian Art History in the Masters program.
While her ceramic business is new in Pennsylvania, she worked for years as an acrylic painter in Fort Collins Colorado. A few years ago she decided to return to her love of clay. She showed her paintings and pottery in local galleries in the Northern Colorado area. She had also applied for membership to “The Northern Colorado Potters Guild” and was accepted as a member. Since her move to the Erie PA area, she is currently working on establishing herself in the Northwest Pennsylvania area in the ceramic field. She is presently a member of the “Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen” and her web page has been successful.