Marvin Bartel has shaped a ceramics program that has cultivated a long list of potters, artists and teachers around the world.
Marvin Bartel teaching a class in 1994.
Marvin Bartel, professor emeritus of art, has certainly left his mark on the Goshen College Art Department. When Bartel came to teach at Goshen College in 1970, the ceramics program rapidly grew as a focus for art majors and attracted students from other departments too. Bartel’s unique “try it and see” approach to teaching and learning and his students’ delight in the material and processes set the foundation for a program that remains popular to this day. One of the outgrowths of that perfect storm is that the Michiana area has become a hotbed for ceramic artists and an exceptional number of Goshen College alumni have made a life from working in clay. In the following pages you can see a sample of the exceptional work of many of those artists.
Goshen College is well suited to the training of a studio potter. Students can take entrepreneurship classes to learn the foundations for starting and running a small business. Marketing classes teach them how to promote their work, and the network of GC alumni spans the country.
In ceramics classes, students learn more than just throwing and hand-building techniques, how to fire in a variety of kilns and other studio processes. Throughout all art courses, students learn how to express their thoughts about their experiences of life. Fundamental to all of these is another set of understandings that Bartel championed – approaching decisions creatively.
That development of creativity is one of the most useful gifts that the Goshen ceramics program has provided to the many students who have taken beginning, and for many, the advanced classes. Those students have gone on to be studio potters and sculptors and painters and architects, but also engineers and nurses and teachers and accountants, all with the ability to bring together ideas from different sources to answer the truly challenging questions in our lives. Goshen students generally approach their world with ingenuity and determination, and the experience of getting their hands in clay and solving creative problems has been a strong contributor to that piece of the campus’ culture.
Thank you Marvin for your role in shaping this legacy of creativity!
– Merrill Krabill ’79, Goshen College professor of art
Bruce Bishop ’80, Goshen, Indiana. goshenclayguild.org/bruce-bishopPhil Yordy ’77, Conestoga River Pottery, St. Jacobs, OntarioTonya Yoder ’91, Crow Hill Pottery, Seattle, Washington. crowhillpottery.comRoyce Yoder ’76, Royce Yoder Pottery, Lederach, Pennsylvania. royceyoder.com – “My time at Goshen was spent making pots, playing soccer and establishing friendships that have lasted through the years. The work that I made during those years laid the foundation for my lifelong career as a craftsman.”Jesse Woodworth ’07, Denver, Colorado. jessewoodworth.comBrittni Wegman ’05, Art teacher, Tampa, Florida. britwegmann.com – “My time at GC continues to have a huge impact on the work I do daily with my young art students and in my own work as an artist. The creative problem solving skills I gained and the exposure to so many wonderful opportunities as a GC art student are a constant source of inspiration to try new and unusual things.”Pam Voth ’75, Voth Pottery, Wichita, KansasTom Unzicker ’93 & Jeff Unzicker ’96, Unzicker Bros. Pottery, Newton. Kansasunzickerpottery.comJane Snider ’79, Jane Snider Pottery, Ottawa, Ontario. janesniderpottery.blogspot.caBob Smoker ’77, Goshen, Indiana. goshenclayguild.org/bob-smoker-2Isaac Shue ’10, IS art, Harper, Kansas. isaacshueisart.com – “I often wonder where my artwork would be if I had not attended Goshen. The staff worked together to help mold me not only into an artist. They pushed, pulled and formed me and my work to where it is today.”Justin Rothshank ’00, Rothshank Artworks, Goshen, Indiana. rothshank.comTodd Pletcher ’05, Todd Pletcher Pottery, Goshen, Indiana. pletcherpottery.comMark Nafziger ’79, Brush Creek Pottery, Archbold, Ohio. facebook.com/marknafziger.bushcreekpottery – “When I arrived at Goshen College in 1975, my intent was to become a math teacher. Being a liberal arts school, one of the requirements was exposure to the arts. One class led to another, and before long I was ‘exposed’ and ‘infected’ by clay.”Joel Miller ’07, Joel Miller Art, Denver, Colorado. joelmillerart.com – “GC’s influence in the clay world is bigger than the size of the tiny college might suggest. When I joined the Boulder Potter’s Guild as a clay-making apprentice, I was surprised to find out that they were making a recipe developed by Marvin Bartel years ago!”Dennis Maust ’76, Dennis Maust Ceramics, Lititz, Pennsylvania. maustclay.wix.com/dennismaustceramics – “The experience of studying at Goshen was really an inspiring time and led me into the field of studio pottery. Based on my positive feeling about Goshen, I encouraged both of our children to attend.”Keith Lehman ’93, The Poplar Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia. poplarstudio.caDick Lehman ’76, Dick Lehman Clay Art, Goshen, Indiana. dicklehman.com – “I believe that a liberal arts education has helped me to work between several disciplines and has contributed to my success as a self-supporting artist.”Jerry Lapp ’68, Goshen, Indiana. goshenclayguild.org/jerry-lappLynn Lais ’78, Spruce Forest Artisan Village, Granstville, Maryland. spruceforest.org/lais.phpMerrill Krabill ’79, Goshen College Professor of Art. krabill.orgEric Good Kaufmann ’96, Goshen, Indiana. goshenclayguild.org/eric-kaufmannLane Kaufmann ’05, Michigan State University. lanekaufmannpottery.wordpress.comKeith Hershberger ’94, Keith Hershberger Ceramics, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. keithhershberger.net/ceramicsJane Graber ’76, Jane Graber Pottery, Nashville, Indiana. foundgoshen.com/jane-graber-potteryMadeline Gerig ’17, Madeline Gerig Pottery, Goshen, Indiana. madelinegerigpottery.com – “In all of my work, I seek to reflect the intimate process of creating with clay. Goshen College has given me opportunities and tools to bump into places, people and ideas that have shaped my personal narrative and affected my processes of creating.” David Gamber ’83, Moorestown, New Jersey. facebook.com/david.gamber.33Colin Dyck ’08, Mudslide Stoneware, Santa Fe, New Mexico. mudslidestoneware.comFred Driver ’75, Driver Pottery, Goshen, Indiana. freddriverpottery.com – “My art major from Goshen College has played a significant role in my life. I have been working in clay for the past 30+ years. I was one of the founding members of the Goshen Clay Artists’ Guild and have been its director for the past 10 years.”Patty Burns ’92, Goshen, Indiana. goshenclayguild.org/patty-burns
