Simon van der Ven

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Round Dimpled Vase 0241

$875
Simon van der Ven
Round Dimpled Vase 0241
stoneware, 8"

Round Dimpled Vase

$875
Simon van der Ven
Round Dimpled Vase
porcelain, 8"

Round Vase with Dimpled Collar

$575
Simon van der Ven
Round Vase with Dimpled Collar
wood-fired stoneware with inclusions, 8"

Coral Vase 0201

$225
Simon van der Ven
Coral Vase 0201
wood-fired stoneware with inclusions, 8.25x3.5"

Shirt Vase 0325

$375
Simon van der Ven
Shirt Vase 0325
wood fired wild porcelain, 8"

Pocket Vase 0326

$425
Simon van der Ven
Pocket Vase 0326
wood-fired stoneware with inclusions and gold luster, 7.5"

From the Wrack Line - Walk the Line

$1,600
Simon van der Ven
From the Wrack Line - Walk the Line
acrylic and found object impressions on board, 15x10"

From the Wrack Line - Range

$800
Simon van der Ven
From the Wrack Line - Range
acrylic and found object impressions on board, 7.5x7.5"

Round Vase 0221

$425
Simon van der Ven
Round Vase 0221
wood-fired stoneware with Montana slip, 8.75x10"

Bio

Having received an undergraduate degree in printmaking with a minor in sculpture, Simon van der Ven worked as a goldsmith and carpenter/builder before becoming an award winning high school art teacher. Seventeen years in the classroom were interrupted only by a year-long sabbatical in the south of France, where van der Ven worked in Les Buffile clay studio and studied painting and critical theory at the Marchutz School. Later, while still teaching, van der Ven earned an MFA, concentrating his studies on ceramics and drawing.

Simon has been an adjunct instructor at the University of Maine Augusta, University College Rockland, and Unity College. He’s facilitated workshops at Haystack Mountain School of Craft, and has been a resident artist at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado and Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Maine.

Van der Ven’s work has won awards in several national juried competitions. It is held in both private and public collections including the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, the Canton Museum of Fine Arts, and Harrisburg Community College.

"I am drawn to organic forms and patterns, to natural phenomena that the human eye and spirit responds to as both fresh and timeless. Nest, egg, scale, branch, vein, river, bone and stone." In combination with organic forms and patterns, Simon utilizes the labor intensive technique of wood firing on some of his pieces to further emphasize his interest in the natural world and an organic look.

Today, van der Ven works as a full-time studio artist and part-time educator.