James Aarons Ceramic Artist Contact information: Natoma Ceramic Design PO Box 230 Mokelumne Hill, CA 95245 ph: 209-286-1174 Send email James Aarons began working with clay in 1974, when, as a teenager, he dedicated himself to the task of capturing a sense of form and balance in traditional ceramics. His work has since evolved from wheel thrown vessels and pots to contemporary tableware and artpieces that he creates in his private studio, Natoma Ceramic Design. Mr. Aarons began his artistic career as a dancer and earned a B.F.A. from North Carolina School for the Arts in 1984. That same year he began a 10 year professional performing career that has included dancing and choreographing original works, while simultaneously developing his craft as a ceramic artist. Among the more notable companies with whom he has danced are Nikolais Dance Theatre, Erick Hawkins Dance Company, and Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. This dual artistic career has inspired Mr. Aarons to create ceramics with a sense of movement and dynamism. "I have always found dancing and the making of pottery to be kindred-spirited art forms. Each has been a very physical experience for me and one has fed the other. In my years as a dancer I discovered the value that abstract gesture and form holds for me and I try to represent that value in my ceramic pieces." The results are wall pieces with brightly glazed patterns that seem to cause the eye to move through pathways across their surfaces, ceramic drawings that quietly vibrate with internal energy, and a collection of tabletop accessories that rock and tilt suggesting motion. His work is a balance of energy and visual design, a melding of movement and imagery. Mr. Aarons has exhibited his work nationally and has created commissions including a tableware design for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Museum Store. The squareplates.com Web site was designed by Mark Taylor, emptypictures. All images and designs © 2008 James Aarons, Natoma Ceramic Design