Chris Staley
Early Life & Education
Chris Staley was born in 1954 in Boston, Massachusetts. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, completing his BFA in 1977. He then spent a year as a Special Student at the Kansas City Art Institute before enrolling in the MFA program at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where he completed his MFA in 1980.
Artistic Development
Following his graduate work, Staley began a teaching and studio career that has spanned decades — from early teaching roles at the Rhode Island School of Design and Wichita State University to his long-term appointment at Pennsylvania State University. His practice grew simultaneously: he worked with wheel-thrown and hand-built forms, gradually deepening his concern for how touch, gesture and use can be encoded in functional vessels.
Technique & Process
Staley employs a range of forming methods: throwing, altering, combining hand-built elements. His choice of high-fire clay bodies (stoneware, porcelain) allows his vessels to be used and appreciated over time. Surface treatments — from underglaze drawing, carved elements, transferred imagery or sculptural handles — enrich the object beyond mere utility. For Staley, the physical act of making and the eventual act of use are joined: the handle of a cup touching the hand becomes meaningful.
Key Themes & Influences
Among Staley’s central concerns are the primacy of touch in a visual-dominated world (“the hegemonic eye”), the role of time (making, firing, use), and the idea that functional vessels can mediate human presence and care. His teaching and writing reinforce these concerns: he challenges students to consider how making with the hand connects them to larger human histories and sensory experience.
Legacy & Impact
Staley’s work is included in major collections and exhibitions, including those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a teacher, his impact is felt through decades of students, writings and community involvement (e.g., boards of ceramic institutions). His integration of functional work, critical writing and pedagogy offers a model for artists who bridge studio practice and education.
Born: 1954, Boston, MA
Education: BFA Wittenberg University (1977) · MFA Alfred University (1980)
Position: Distinguished Professor & Head, Ceramics Area, Penn State
K Nown For: Functional vessels that foreground touch, time and use
Example of a thrown and altered vessel by Chris Staley (placeholder image; replace with licensed image) Surface detail showing graphic / glaze treatment in a Staley piece (placeholder image) Chris Staley working at the wheel or in his studio (placeholder image)
Early Life & Education
Chris Staley was born in 1954 in Boston, Massachusetts. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, completing his BFA in 1977. He then spent a year as a Special Student at the Kansas City Art Institute before enrolling in the MFA program at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where he completed his MFA in 1980.
Artistic Development
Following his graduate work, Staley began a teaching and studio career that has spanned decades — from early teaching roles at the Rhode Island School of Design and Wichita State University to his long-term appointment at Pennsylvania State University. His practice grew simultaneously: he worked with wheel-thrown and hand-built forms, gradually deepening his concern for how touch, gesture and use can be encoded in functional vessels.
Technique & Process
Staley employs a range of forming methods: throwing, altering, combining hand-built elements. His choice of high-fire clay bodies (stoneware, porcelain) allows his vessels to be used and appreciated over time. Surface treatments — from underglaze drawing, carved elements, transferred imagery or sculptural handles — enrich the object beyond mere utility. For Staley, the physical act of making and the eventual act of use are joined: the handle of a cup touching the hand becomes meaningful.
Key Themes & Influences
Among Staley’s central concerns are the primacy of touch in a visual-dominated world (“the hegemonic eye”), the role of time (making, firing, use), and the idea that functional vessels can mediate human presence and care. His teaching and writing reinforce these concerns: he challenges students to consider how making with the hand connects them to larger human histories and sensory experience.
Legacy & Impact
Staley’s work is included in major collections and exhibitions, including those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a teacher, his impact is felt through decades of students, writings and community involvement (e.g., boards of ceramic institutions). His integration of functional work, critical writing and pedagogy offers a model for artists who bridge studio practice and education.
For Artists & Educators
Studio Prompts:
- Throw a functional form then alter it (handle reposition, wall variation, carved gesture) and fire it. Reflect on how the alteration shifts meaning.
- Select a surface technique (underglaze drawing, transfer or carving) that records a tactile or temporal gesture. Apply it to a vessel that will be used daily for one week; document use and reflect on how the object engages your body.
- After daily use of a handmade vessel, photograph or sketch the object in its lived context and write about how use changed your perception of the form.
Classroom Discussion Prompts:
- How does the sense of touch (hand, handle, interior surface) shape our experience of a vessel differently from vision alone?
- In what ways can a functional ceramic object (cup, jar, teapot) operate as “art”? Does use diminish or enhance its artistic meaning?
- Why might a maker choose high-fire clay and functional forms in a contemporary art context? What values about durability, time, ritual and human connection are embedded in that choice?
Further Reading & Resources
- Chris Staley, “The Hegemonic Eye; Can The Hand Survive?”, NCECA Journal (2004).
- The Marks Project. “Christopher Staley” entry. — Biography, residencies, public collections.
- PSU News. “Staley’s work featured in Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition.” (Mar 11 2021).
- Artist website: chrisstaleyartist.com (Portfolio, Writings, Resume).
Chris Staley: The Pot as Gesture, Use & Human Presence
Born: 1954, Boston, MA
Education: BFA Wittenberg University (1977) · MFA Alfred University (1980)
Position: Distinguished Professor & Head, Ceramics Area, Penn State
K Nown For: Functional vessels that foreground touch, time and use
Example of a thrown and altered vessel by Chris Staley (placeholder image; replace with licensed image) Surface detail showing graphic / glaze treatment in a Staley piece (placeholder image) Chris Staley working at the wheel or in his studio (placeholder image)
Early Life & Education
Chris Staley was born in 1954 in Boston, Massachusetts. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, completing his BFA in 1977. He then spent a year as a Special Student at the Kansas City Art Institute before enrolling in the MFA program at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where he completed his MFA in 1980.
Artistic Development
Following his graduate work, Staley began a teaching and studio career that has spanned decades — from early teaching roles at the Rhode Island School of Design and Wichita State University to his long-term appointment at Pennsylvania State University. His practice grew simultaneously: he worked with wheel-thrown and hand-built forms, gradually deepening his concern for how touch, gesture and use can be encoded in functional vessels.
Technique & Process
Staley employs a range of forming methods: throwing, altering, combining hand-built elements. His choice of high-fire clay bodies (stoneware, porcelain) allows his vessels to be used and appreciated over time. Surface treatments — from underglaze drawing, carved elements, transferred imagery or sculptural handles — enrich the object beyond mere utility. For Staley, the physical act of making and the eventual act of use are joined: the handle of a cup touching the hand becomes meaningful.
Key Themes & Influences
Among Staley’s central concerns are the primacy of touch in a visual-dominated world (“the hegemonic eye”), the role of time (making, firing, use), and the idea that functional vessels can mediate human presence and care. His teaching and writing reinforce these concerns: he challenges students to consider how making with the hand connects them to larger human histories and sensory experience.
Legacy & Impact
Staley’s work is included in major collections and exhibitions, including those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As a teacher, his impact is felt through decades of students, writings and community involvement (e.g., boards of ceramic institutions). His integration of functional work, critical writing and pedagogy offers a model for artists who bridge studio practice and education.
For Artists & Educators
Studio Prompts:
- Throw a functional form then alter it (handle reposition, wall variation, carved gesture) and fire it. Reflect on how the alteration shifts meaning.
- Select a surface technique (underglaze drawing, transfer or carving) that records a tactile or temporal gesture. Apply it to a vessel that will be used daily for one week; document use and reflect on how the object engages your body.
- After daily use of a handmade vessel, photograph or sketch the object in its lived context and write about how use changed your perception of the form.
Classroom Discussion Prompts:
- How does the sense of touch (hand, handle, interior surface) shape our experience of a vessel differently from vision alone?
- In what ways can a functional ceramic object (cup, jar, teapot) operate as “art”? Does use diminish or enhance its artistic meaning?
- Why might a maker choose high-fire clay and functional forms in a contemporary art context? What values about durability, time, ritual and human connection are embedded in that choice?
Further Reading & Resources
- Chris Staley, “The Hegemonic Eye; Can The Hand Survive?”, NCECA Journal (2004).
- The Marks Project. “Christopher Staley” entry. — Biography, residencies, public collections.
- PSU News. “Staley’s work featured in Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibition.” (Mar 11 2021).
- Artist website: chrisstaleyartist.com (Portfolio, Writings, Resume).
