Walter Slowinski
Growing up on an old and small farm in Connecticut, Walter Slowinski had ample opportunity to wander the woods, climb trees and generally roam. It was an area where the human touch on the natural landscape was often gentle, thoughtful and pleasing. After moving to Minnesota at the age of ten Walter deepened his appreciation of the natural world during lengthy canoe trips in the northern lakes and rivers. He studied clarinet and chemistry at Oberlin Conservatory and College and was also involved in the pottery co-op there, where he was first introduced to the magic of wood-firing. He went on to become a physician, retiring from medical practice in 2010. Seldom studying art formally, he has often been the grateful recipient of the generosity of other potters willing to share their experience and enthusiasm. With his wife and two boys he moved to Brattleboro in 1998 where he built his studio and kiln. He fires it with wood and sells his work at his studio. Walter is among those who feel the importance of having objects of art also be objects of daily use. This current work celebrates the natural world, both through the organic, rich surfaces obtained through the wood firing salt-glaze process, and through the addition of found wooden branch handles.
