Brad Johnson is a studio Potter living and working in Havertown PA. He received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and his MFA from Pennsylvania State University. His studios are located on in a beautiful urban landscape, he draws/ incises imagery inspired by his home and studio surroundings, his domestic and work environments, creating visual narratives of his life.
Johnson’s work is greatly influenced by historical pots of Greece and Asia, he is particularly drawn to those that had simple and volumes form, decorated with a series of overlaid or isolated glaze patterns. Full and graceful pots have become blank canvases for johnson to decorate, by literally drawing on their surfaces with a sharp tool, leaving an incised line. This series of pieces are salt fired, combining a black slip with his white porcelain body. The forms are entirely surfaced in black and carved through, revealing the white of the clay body, the surfaces drawn upon, then stained with black slip again. The excess slip is removed, remaining only in the recessed areas.