Monroe County, Alabama
Pottery
Duncan Black has had muddy hands for over 50 years throwing pots and sculpting clay with, and under the direction of, some of the South's leading potters. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and after naval service, was an advertising and public relations executive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Montgomery, Alabama. He later attended the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico to learn silver-smithing and studied glassblowing and casting at the New Orleans School of Glass.
Originally inspired by the Appalachian tradition of face jugs, he has adapted the concept to sculpt one-of-a-kind clay figures and functional vessels using the quirks, tics, and humorous expressions of perfect strangers and long-time acquaintances. There are also influences of the Mexican folk potters he knew and collected over twenty years as an expatriate in that country. These are reflected in the exaggerated personalities of the folks and fantasy sea creatures that he sculpts today.
His faces are original works in semi-porcelain clay that are bisque-fired and hand-painted with acrylic stains and sealed with a high-gloss medium. The vessels are high-fired with traditional glazes.
He ricochets between an overstuffed studio barn in the black belt of Alabama and a Florida bayou cottage. His work is displayed in the Studio Gallery in Grayton Beach, Florida, the Pink Pelican Gallery in Orange Beach, Alabama, and at Blackbelt Treasures in Camden, Alabama.