Richard Bresnahan

Richard, the director of the Pottery Program at St. John’s University at Collegeville, MN, brings a reverence for the environment and for education to bear on his work as an artist and teacher. Trained in both the U.S. and Japan, he melds the pottery traditions of both countries in a process that encourages the use of indigenous clay and glaze ingredients and a commitment to responsible teaching. Having built the largest wood-fired kiln in the U.S., the Johanna Kiln, named in honor of influential teacher Johanna Becker, O.S.B., Richard has established an open studio policy, welcoming interns and visiting artists to campus. The studio also acts as a lab for St. John’s Environmental Studies majors, who track how the Pottery Program recycles kiln fuel, water and packaging.

Teapots with rattan handles are a signature form for Richard, who collaborates with sculptor Paul Krueger to create this work. Paul’s technique is derived from the tradition of Marlingspike knotting, an early American nautical invention.

Richard’s best, museum quality pieces, are routinely photographed in high resolution and documented to archive details on the fabrication, exhibition and publication history, and owners of each work. The studio seal and Richard’s signature appear on each of his pieces.

Richard and the Pottery Program have been the focus of a book, Matthew Welch’s Body of Clay, Soul of Fire, and a documentary, John Whitehead’s Clay, Wood, Fire, Spirit. The artist’s unique sensibility, combined with his exploration of local resources, yields work that resonates with beauty, authenticity and tradition.