Bing Gleitsman Fine Porcelain Artware

Personal:
Bing has had a life long interest in art and has experimented and studied in many mediums, including pen and ink, oils, acrylics, metal sculpture and clay. But it was clay that offered him the greatest opportunities to express himself and his mutual interest in the human face and human psychology.

Education:
While working towards his B.A. in psychology at the University of California at Irvine, Bing began working in the ceramic lab at this school. He received formal training with renowned sculptor, John Mason, who was head of this department. Bing developed and perfected his throwing skills working as a production potter in various production pottery houses in the L.A. area in the early 1970s, while earning his M.A. in psychology with a thesis on human facial expressions.

Employment:
Bing set up his own studio, first in Huntington Beach California, then in 1979 in Capitola, Ca, and at last on his ranch in Corralitos, Ca in 1984. Bing continues to develop and add new colors to his plate and new techniques of applying the colorful oxides to the white glaze surface of his fine porcelain vessels, masks, wall hangings, cover jars, and freestanding sculptures. He plays with the human face and subtle expressions and reactions to expressions with his individually sculpted clay faces. He also experiments with the maximum physical limits of his medium. All of Bing�s work is first wheelthrown, then hand sculpted, then handpainted and fired high fire cone 10, 2400�.

Interests & Activities:
Today Bing lives with his wife, Pam, who handles the business, and his 6 children on their 75 acre ranch where they raise organic produce and organic apple orchards. His studio sits on the property overlooking the magnificent views of Monterey Bay and the coastal redwood mountains. His spare time is spent mountain biking the back woods adjacent to his home and surfing the ocean waves of Santa Cruz and Florida while between art shows.

Partial Lists of Galleries:
Tiki, Laguna Beach, CA
Glass Garage, Beverly Hills, CA
American Matrix, N.Y., N.Y.
Heller-Yeger Gallery, Carmel, CA
Stairways, Rockland, MD
Pum St. Lmt, Chevy Chase, MD
Minitaur Gallery, Las Vagas, NV

Collectors Include:
Mrs. Jesse Jackson
And
Queen of Arabia (King Fahad�s 1st Wife)

The human face is a powerful image for evoking an emotional response. I have had a long time fascination with the human face, and wrote my master's thesis on response to subtle expressions on a face as perceived by an observer back in 1975 to complete my degree in clinical psychology. I have combined this interest in subtle facial expression, and the response they can generate, with my love of art, especially clay sculpture. Today I use fine porcelain as a medium to express this philosophical interest in the human consciousness as well as my other philosophies of life.

My work is first wheel thrown, then sculpted and manipulated into forms: vessels, globes, bowls, cover jars and wall hangings. I try to stretch and pull the clay to its maximum physical limits, using gravity in some cases, hanging them upside down, to help me with this process. Then I press into the clay with my hands to form faces, some long and abstract, some realistic, some almost animal like, but all recognizably human. Porcelain's fine texture and clear whiteness helps to give my faces the illusion of reality while also appearing surreal. Some of the pieces are hand built into large wall hangings. To others I add impressions of fish, toys, small heads or other whimsical forms. The work is meant to be fun and amusing, and reflect the overall philosophy that we do not have all the answers.

After drying the pieces in a bisque firing, they are dipped in a white glaze. Now using the surface like a canvas I can paint bright colorful shapes and images using watercolor brushes, or airbrush soft shades of gray, maroon or greens. The colors I use are oxide stains, which I can buy commercially in the primary colors. I use these base colors to mix a wide variety of new shades and colors. The decorating is done using a wax resist technique, the final step which is to etch detail lines into the surface with a sharp metal tool. The painted sculpture is then fired in a gas kiln to cone 10, 2400 degrees, usually a twelve hour firing. Adjusting the oxygen levels during firing, and carefully monitoring the heat and flame, have much to do with the final resulting colors.

My work deals with our sharing emotional and conscious states through subtle facial expressions. I attempt to help expand human consciousness by creating artworks that stimulate out art experience.

The human face is a powerful image for evoking an emotional response. Bing Gleitsman�s work deals with our sharing emotional and conscious states through subtle facial expression. He uses fine porcelain as a medium to express this philosophical interest in the human consciousness.

The galleries of Bing's work are presented here in two sections.

Recent pieces available to the general public are viewed by selecting the Currents Gallery.

Selected designs of past and present can be surveyed by selecting the Exposition Gallery.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

You can view Bing Glietsman Fine Porcelain Artware at the below dates and locations.

Nov. 29-30 St. Augustine, Fl

Dec. 6-7 Gallery Open House, New Smyrna Beach, Fl.

February 22-23 Naples National Art Fair, Naples Florida

March 22-23 Audree Levy's Spring Invitational, Ann Arbor Michigan April 18 - 20 Sugarloaf, Novi Michigan

May 3 Westacres Artists Market, West Bloomfield, Michigan

May 10&11 Birmingham Fine Art Festival, Shain Park

May 17&19 East Lansing, Michigan Art Festival

June 7 Kalamazoo Art Fair, Kalamazoo, Michigan

June 14&15 Royal Oak Clay and Glass Art Show, Royal Oak, Michigan

June 27-29 Crosby Festival of the Arts, Toledo Botanical Gardens

July 12-13 Corn Hill Art Festival, Rochester, New York

July 16-19 Ann Arbor Summer Fair, Booth 38 on State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan

July 26 Traverse Bay Outdoor Art Fair, Traverse City, Michigan

August 9 Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair, Charlevoix, Michigan

September 6&7 Art & Apples Festival, Rochester, Michigan >

September 27&28 Fallasburg Fall Festival, Lowell, Michigan

October 3-5 St. James Court, Louisville, Kentucky

November 1&2 The Holiday Art Fair (HAF) Oakland Community College, Farmington Hills, Michigan

November 21-22 Studio Open House with Lynne Howes 701 Livernois, Ferndale, Michigan

December -7 Potters Market www.thepottersmarket.com Madison Hts. Michigan