Saying Goodbye
Visiting Instructor Brad McLemore will be leaving the Department of Art & Art History at the end of the semester. Chair Brian Kreydatus recently interviwed Brad about his time at William and Mary.
Interview with Brad McLemore
BK: What initially drew you art?
BM: I
enjoyed cooking since I was in my teens; and I always did a lot of drawing,
painting and crafts in school. I started looking with more interest at pottery
as something of handmade beauty that was for everyday use and particularly for
the service of food or drink. I took a pottery class from a studio potter in my
early 20's, took to it immediately and have never lost interest in exploring
the craft and the artistic possibilities.
BK: What are you working on currently?
BM: I
still make many pottery forms for utilitarian purpose; but I'm also making sculptural
forms abstracted from mechanical devices, considering the formal relationships
imbedded in tools and objects of industrial design. I'm interested in
expressing the tactile and stone-like characteristics particular to clay and
the ceramic process in vaguely purposeful objects, the particular utility of
which might be just beyond understanding.
BK: Tell us about your teaching experiences at William and
Mary.
BM: I
have always been generally impressed by the academic rigor and capabilities of
most of the students that I have encountered at W&M. The most gratifying
experience for me as an art teacher is having a student take the techniques
that I have demonstrated and the clues imbedded in the project objective,
commit the time to explore the boundaries of the material and their will, and
come back with a visually engaging solution that I did not predict. There have
always been students in each class to provide that commitment. I would also
like to give a shout out to the fantastically talented and clever theatre
students and faculty that welcomed me to participate with them in the
production of Damn Yankees-a scary
and life-affirming experience.
BK: What are your future plans?
BM: I
intend to work as a studio ceramic artist, while also pursuing further opportunities
to teach my craft. I have also considered that, like Williamsburg, most
communities could use more taco wagons, so I may look closer at that endeavor.
