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Gregory Vineyard
Address:
Asheville, NC
Asheville,
NC
28715
United States
All artists have many paths. Life as a visual artist supported Greg Vineyard's blue-sky creative skills throughout his graphic design and art direction career; conversely, that conceptual mode now augments his art and clay journey as he creates works relating to meditation and reflection, as well as projects addressing communication, relationships, spirituality, psychological issues and social politics. Greg specializes in ceramic meditation/keepsake bowls and other spiritually-focused items, custom tile designs and conceptual works utilizing mostly clay. His other loves in art are illustration and assemblage using both saved and found objects. 
Bachelor of Fine Arts. 
While I prefer to let functionality be a serendipitous event underlying IDEATION in ceramics, it's also nice to discover that people use the meditation/keepsake bowls for everything from meditation to decorative display to meals to holding paperclips at the office. In any incarnation or use, an enjoyed piece of art or craft promotes ideas like pause & reflect, heal, peace, love, appreciate, relax -- amongst many, many others. My work is now spread far and wide, from all over the United States to Italy to India, but also it's just simply in my own kitchen - I believe nourishing ourselves is also a spiritual activity and I'd rather do that with a special ceramic piece of my own or from one of my many ceramic friends. 
The meditation/keepsake bowls and toasting vessels in various sizes range from $20.00 to $100.00, tax inclusive, plus shipping cost. The smaller sizes are ideal to hold in your cupped hands, and the larger ones are useful for group meditation exercises.
Each funky, colorful, out-of-round meditation/keepsake bowl is a one-of-a-kind creation, and a unique fit for you and your hands or for your environment. This is a reflection of my letting the piece just be what it is as it is formed, and also due to variations of color and texture of both the clay and glazes. I use high-fire stoneware because I like the unpredictability of final results in the kiln. This set of three exemplifies the concept of "wabi-sabi", that there is an inherent beauty to everything, even in items that at a glance might appear "ugly" or that don't fit current societal concepts of what beauty is supposed to be. While the original intent is to aid contemplation/meditation with colors and textures and shapes, the bowls are also nice decorative objects. I have meditative moments with them throughout the day. These three, "The Uglina Sisters", were my juried entry into the annual American Ceramics Society, Southern California Chapter annual members show in 2004.
My art direction sketches and logo designs have always had an illustrative style, and I found tile carving to be a new way for me to "sketch". When I am carving a tile, I feel spiritually realigned back to the artist I was supposed to be, and I feel a connection to my stonemason and craftperson ancestors, not to mention my paternal lineage - both my father and grandfather have/had craft skills I didn't feel I inherited a lick of until I started working with clay. Whatever the medium, I encourage people to try anything they feel pulled toward. An interest in learning new skills combined with a detachment from subjective critiques is handy, tuck that thought in your back pocket and go enjoy! And signing up for a class of some sort somewhere is a great way to meet new people with similar interests.
I create work in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, and "Classic Vineyards" are often designed to be slightly (or sometimes severely!) out-of-round to fit in one's cupped hands, and have texture on the outside so that even in the dark or if one's eyes are closed or if one is sight-impaired that a tactile experience is still possible. This one is less out-of-round, but has lots of texture, and resides and inspires in Asheville, NC. Ceramics, like all art, is a spiritual process for the creator as well as the recipient. Connecting to spirit through art heals me.
Some favorite sites. I mention these because either I know them personally, and/or they have touched my life, and/or saved my life, and/or inspire me to try to do more in the universe: