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One important thing to know about Hobbs, though, is that he has never been content with the mastery of one form or style. He’s continually evolving new ways to express himself in clay. He says that it’s important artistically for him to push himself. “Whether it be forms, glazes, firing processes, textures, or uses, I find that challenging myself is rewarding,” Hobbs observes. His modern pieces feature artistic and sculptural styles.

Hobbs grew up in Cordele, Georgia, then came to Valdosta State University. It was during his sophomore year at VSU that he took his first pottery class. Originally intending to study architecture, he decided to pursue pottery. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts, he accepted an invitation to be a graduate assistant teaching ceramics at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. When he returned to Valdosta, he began teaching art in middle school and earned his Master of Fine Arts Education. He has also been an art instructor at VSU and Troy State University. Having taught thousands of students, including as artist-in-residence at The Turner Center for the Arts and at the Glynn Art Association, he still gets calls from would-be apprentices.

Officially retired, Hobbs might be working harder than ever. A teacher and a learner, Hobbs enjoys every aspect of pottery, even building his own kilns brick by brick. He has several at his home, from small to huge. On cool evenings, he can cast a giant glow as he fires raku pieces, which are removed while red-hot and deliberately cooled quickly in sawdust. Raku pottery tradition has its origins in 16th-century Japan. What began as ceremonial tea bowls has evolved over the centuries, and in Hobbs’s back yard, it continues dynamically. He speaks enthusiastically of the chemical processes involved in taking a glaze to a luster, tampering with the damper to control the heat. Not surprisingly, he laughs that he has an electric kiln he never uses, because – after all – electric kilns are so predictable. And predictable is not fun.

What Hobbs relishes are the “happy accidents” that come by experimenting with pottery’s elements of earth, fire, air, and water. No two works are exactly alike; it’s the unique qualities that make them beautiful. A partner in Artists on Ashley downtown, he has a wide variety of stoneware and raku on display there, as well as in numerous permanent collections. His pieces have been juried into prestigious exhibits all over the south and his list of awards is long. In the future, he plans to continue entering shows and placing his works in more galleries.

To learn more about Walter Hobbs – The Potter – visit Artists on Ashley and his Facebook page. | VM