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Potter's journey to Allen Creek Gallery

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Matthias James, left, and Burlington metal sculpture Brady Lueck move a dinosaur sculpture from a trailer to a sculpture garden behind Allen Creek Gallery.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Matthias James puts out some glasswork by Scott Simmons of Paoli, WI, at Allen Creek Gallery of Evansville.

EVANSVILLE — People often offer cliché comments to Matthias James, an award-winning potter.

“It must be a dream come true,” they say of being a potter.

Nope. He sees it as a journey.

Or, “It must be a labor of love.”

“I said to this one woman when she asked me that, ‘Well no, right now it’s just a lot of labor,’” he said with a laugh.

“I’ve never felt any of those things, but I have felt it’s been a journey,” he said. “It’s fun to be part of that journey.”

And the grand opening today of his new gallery in downtown Evansville is the latest feature on his journey.

The Allen Creek Gallery—Home of Matthias James Pottery, 137 E. Main St., opens with a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. The gallery plays host to James’ annual sale all weekend and also features work from artists in a variety of media.

It has been two years since James bought the former beauty parlor building—where he used to get his hair cut. Since then, the building has been gutted, raised above the flood plain and renovated.

The gallery is his first; previously he worked and showed his art out of his home on the west side of town.

The building is the first one people see as they enter downtown, and the flowing waters of Allen Creek outside the gallery provided the name, James said. His goal is to have work from the “best of the Midwest” artists, including painters, jewelry makers, ceramists, glass blowers, metal sculptors and a master carpenter. Outdoors, a deck and sculpture garden overlook the creek.

James will offer demonstrations on “throwing,” the pot-making process and hold receptions for other artists. In a couple of years, he plans to move his kiln to the gallery as well as add more gallery space.

James creates functional and nonfunctional pieces from bowls and dinnerware sets to big lidded jars, large platters and other decorative items.

He’s also known for the nearly 400 bowls he makes for the annual chili cook-off. Each person in attendance gets to pick one of James’ handmade bowls.

“It has gotten more popular every year,” he said.

His journey becoming a potter was “somewhat accidental and somewhat divine,” he said. While majoring in creative writing at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minn., James took ceramic and art classes to have some hands-on work. Soon he was a teacher’s assistant for a professor in the ceramics department, helping students, loading the kiln and doing his own work.

“I pretty much became a full-time potter right there,” he said.

His professor encouraged him to apply for an art show, which he did.

“The rest is history,” he said.

James and his family can be found at art shows mostly around Wisconsin nearly every other weekend from May to November. The gallery opening hopefully will cut down the number of shows the family attends, he said.

He and his wife, Lisa, moved from Minnesota to Evansville 13 years ago. They have two kids, Elijah, 9, and Cassiah, 6, who enjoy making their own clay creations.

James said he’s excited about other renovations downtown and wants to collaborate with other retail shops in marketing the area.

“It’s not about me,” he said of the gallery. “It’s about my family, it’s about the community, and just being a part of that whole thing.”