Les Powell

Growing up in Ocean City, Maryland in the late 1960's and 70's I spent a lot of time wandering the woodlands and marshes surrounding my home. These explorations led to an interest in the ways that earlier people lived in that same area, chiefly in the ways that they made the things that allowed them to survive and flourish in an environment that wasn't as gentle for them as it was for me. I read as much as I could about the native Americans and the early settlers of this country and often wished that I was born in a time when a person made their living with the creativity in their hands and strength in their back. Using the knowledge that I had learned I tried my hand at creating the arts that they practiced. It wasn't until I met a young woman in my high school art class that I found my true art form. She was a potter and taught me to use the wheel. Although the romance didn't work out, she started me on a path, that though I've occasionally stepped off, I have followed most of my life.

Odyssey Studios
828.216.1037
www.smokingturthlestudio.com

Artist Statement

I am for the most part a self-taught artist, this gives me a certain leeway in the way I create. With no pre-conceived rules to follow I'm free to decide,within the parameters of the material, the form that my pottery will take. I find a lot of my influences in the patterns of nature, the art of the American Southwest, and the carvings of the Northwest Tribes. Above all... it is the power in the smoke and fire that truly creates my work.