Pottery by Mitch & Michelle Deaderick

Mitch and Michelle Deaderick moved to Central Oregon in 1978l; drawn to the area for its natural beauty and supportive community. Making their home next to the beautiful mountains and surrounding area has provided endless artistic inspiration. Through the changes and growth of the area, the natural inspirations have remained.

Mitch and Michelle forged the beginning of their relationship by sharing a great love of art. This led them to collaborate with clay and fuse their styles to create the art you see today. They were married in 1982 and had three children together, some of their greatest creations.

Mitch found his connection to pottery while in high school. He grew up in Central California and credits his high school art teacher for his lifelong commitment to his craft. Mitch wanted to share his early exposure with others. Their belief in the importance of art drove them to volunteer in local schools and share their experience with the kids. They mentored advanced art students in ceramics from Sisters High School. This gave students real-life experience of what it takes to become a potter. It was also a way to share their joy of art with the next generation. The students helped with production, going to shows, sales and the business of being a traveling artist; teaching them how you are able to make a living as an artist and how they can use these skills to pursue their passions.

Mitch was influenced by the beautiful Asian pottery he saw in books and in museums he visited. Working on his own formula for a copper red glaze took years of working with glazes. Copper Red is one of the most difficult glazes for potters to create consistently. This changing and inconstancy is part of what makes handmade pottery so special. There are always variations and variables that are uncontrollable. Mitch has spent his life learning and growing as a potter. This has allowed him to create pieces that are not only pleasing to the eye but also thin, lightweight, useable and durable. The quality of his work created a strong relationship with resorts and shops around Oregon. Mitch and Michelle have been supplying the area with mugs, functional ware and pieces of art for over 40 years.

Mitch and Michelle enjoy creating new and inventive pieces of pottery. They began by adding Michelle’s beautiful hand-draw designs to vases, lanterns and other pieces. They continued to push their art after Michelle came home with a box and crystals and stones. They weren’t sure what to do with them at first but knew they wanted to experiment with how to incorporate them into their art. hoodavenueart.faso.com/page/7264/mitch-andmichelle-deaderick

They first began by using them as emerging crystals, giving them the look of crystals growing out of the vases. Some of the vases were over two feet tall, having large amethyst crystals emerging out as if exploding from the earth. The crystals are on display in a way not often seen. They wanted to highlight the crystals and honor the beauty of the natural world.

They expanded to using them as knobs for jars. They are now using other crystals that are charged with pure metal. The metals are made into a powder and then heated and electrified to expose the vapors to the crystals. Aqua aura is one of the crystals that is exposed to 24k gold and iron to take on a beautiful blue, which is said to have a calming and relaxing effect on the emotional body. Another one is golden aura quartz, adding titanium and iron said to enhance the brain and bring clarity — also to enhance one’s level of prosperity — facilitates the “Midas touch” because of its beautiful gold color.

The crystal and stone jars give Mitch and Michelle a chance to explore more of their artist’s mind. The jars are used for many things such as sugar bowls and salt containers that you touch every day. The beauty of the jars has also inspired people to use them as commemorative urns for loved ones and animals that have passed.

Incorporating crystals has been a beautiful way to show off and display the many treasures of the earth. Mitch and Michelle’s numerous expressions of ceramics can be found at Hood Avenue Art Gallery in Sisters. They are one of the featured artists for Sisters 4th Friday on May 26 from 4-7pm. There will be music with Melanie Dyer Trio, appetizers and many local artists’ art to enjoy.