Charles Smith is a well-known Mobile, AL, potter who began his career in the early 1970s. He has exhibited all over the country, including the National Museum of American Art in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and the American Craft Museum in New York City. His most recent work uses bold colors such as black and tan.

Smith said he is always attentive to the technical aspects of clay and glazes, considering their limitations, and at the same time, employing the unimagined possibilities they hold. His forms are classic, and his glazes are sophisticated in color and application. The style is derived from realistic and Art Nouveau forms, mixed with and interspersed with abstract animal imagery.

While the size and shape of each piece is unique, it is – and always has been – the hand-carved surface that distinguished his work. Designs used today originated in design elements first explored in the late 1970’s. “They are the shapes and patterns of nature, and until Mother Nature finds it necessary to rediscover herself, I’ll remain content following her lead.”