Michael E. Rutkowsky — CV

Educational Experience

1968-72    B.S.B.A. Economics, University of Central Florida

1972-75    Photography and Ceramics, University of Central Florida

1975-76    Ceramics, University of South Florida

1976-79    M.F.A. Ceramics and Sculpture, Graduate teaching assistantship

University of South Carolina

1976-79   SuperMud conferences, Penn State University

2004        Majolica, Painting Pots” workshop taught by Stanley Mace Andersen

Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC



Professional Experience

1979         Established Pond Branch Pottery near Leesville, SC. Four years 

wood firing stoneware then converting to propane gas.

1985         Began the move to Green Mountain, NC. 

1989         Juried into Southern Highlands Craft Guild

1996         Art Education delegation to Mongolia, China, and Thailand

1999         Moved to present studio near Burnsville,NC.

2000        Taught workshop “Beyond Centering” at John C. Campbell Folk School.

2001         Recipient of Regional Artist Project Grant administered by

Asheville Area Arts Council

2002       “Beyond Centering” taught again at John C. Campbell Folk School.

2007-08    Wood-firing partner to Norman Schulman, Penland, NC

2009       “Hand and Wheel Ceramics” classes taught at Yancey Center

for Ceramic Arts

2010          Founder and Co-owner of OOAK Gallery, Micaville, NC



Awards of Recognition

1973        Osceola Arts Festival, Kissimmee, FL. Honorable Mention

1974        Titusville Spring Arts Show,Titusville, FL. First Place Photographics

1975        Mount Dora Arts Festival, Mount Dora, FL. Merit Award

1975        Space Coast Art Festival, Cocoa Beach, FL. Merit Award  

                 Pocono Art and Craft Festival, Strousburg, PA. First Place

1976        Mount Dora Arts Festival, Mount Dora, FL. Merit Award

          Pocono Art and Craft Festival, Strousburg, PA. Merit Award

1977        Pocono Art and Craft Festival, Strousburg, Pa. First Place

1979        Jacksonville Arts Festival, Jacksonville, FL. Second Place, Body of Work

1981        Las Olas Art Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Award of Merit

Sandhills Art Festival, Columbia, SC. Honorable Mention

1984        Fine Arts SC State Fair, Columbis, SC. Best Ceramic Sculpture Award

                  Halifax Arts Festival, Ormond Beach, FL. Award of Merit



Selected Exhibitions

1978-80    SC Crafts Fair, Charleston, SC

1979         M.F.A. Thesis Show, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC

Ceramics Southeast, University of Georgia, Athens, GA

1980         Biennial Exhibition of Piedmont Crafts, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC

1980         Festival of the Masters, Lake Buena Vista, FL 

                 Boxes, Mint Museum Department of Art, Charlotte, NC

                  SC Arts Commission Annual Exhibition,Clemson University, SC

1981         Southeastern Craft Invitational, Columbia Museum of Art

                  Jubilee '50, League of NH Craftsmen, Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, NH

                  Sumter Gallery of Art, Invitational with Christine Kierstead, Sumter, SC

                  Oriental Influence in Contemporary Crafts, Craftsmans Gallery, Scarsdale, NY 

1981-84    SC Crafts Guild Travelling Exhibition, SC

1981-85    Ringling Museum Art and Crafts Festival, Sarasota, FL

1982         Biennial Exhibition of Piedmont Crafts, Mint Museum

                 Dinnerware for International Council of the Museum of Modern Art,

                 Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC

1984         Ceramics Southeast, Florida Gulf Coast Art Center, Bellair,FL

                 Currents '84, Middle Tennessee State University, Mufreesboro, TN

                 Sixth Annual C & S Bank Exhibition, Florence Museum, Florence, SC

                  Invitational Art Exhibition, Museum of York County, Rock Hill, SC 

1985         Functional Ceramics Invitational, Columbia Museum of Art

1990-18    Exhibitor Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands, Asheville, NC

1992         North Carolina Clay, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

1993         Handmade: Year of American Craft in South Carolina, 

SC State Museum, Columbia, SC

1994        Functional Ceramics, Wayne Center for the Arts, Wooster, Ohio

                 Collector’s Choice, Green Hill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC

1995        Spotlight '95, ACC/SE, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL

                 Collector’s Choice, Green Hill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC

                 Super Bowls Contemporary Ceramics, ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AZ

1997        Ceramic Invitational, The Asheville School, Asheville, NC

                 Fifth Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Market House Craft 

Center, PA

                 Collector’s Choice, Green Hill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC

1998        Sixth Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Market House Craft 

Center, PA

1998         200 Teapots, Green Hill Center for NC Art, Greensboro,NC

2001       Lights, an invitational exhibition, Art Store Inc. Charleston, WV

2003       Gallery ETV 2003 Juried Competition, Honorable Mention, Columbia,SC

2009       30 Years of Pottery and Photography, Toe River Arts Council, Burnsville, 

NC

2011-17      Exhibitor at Spruce Pine Potters Market Invitational, Spruce Pine, NC

2013-15      Exhibitor at Potters Market Invitational, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC

2016          Best of Show, Toe River Arts Juried Exhibition



Selected Collections

University of South Carolina

Columbia Museum of Art

SC State Art Collection

Corsaw Collection of Functional American Ceramics

Museum of York County

Asheville Art Museum

Gregg Museum of Art and Design, NCSU

Asheville Museum of Art

Southern Highland Craft Guild

Private collections Internationally




Publications

Ceramics Monthly

American Craft

Wheel-Thrown Ceramics by Don Davis

Functional Pottery Form and Aesthetic in Pots of Purpose by Robin Hopper