Artist explores an altered point of view in Athens show

"Surface Geographies: An Altered Point of View," a collection of pottery by Johnson City, Tenn., artist Nancy Fischman, is on view at The Arts Center in Athens, Tenn. Her most recent works use aerial landscape patterns and electron micro-photographs of plant material as inspiration.
"Surface Geographies: An Altered Point of View," a collection of pottery by Johnson City, Tenn., artist Nancy Fischman, is on view at The Arts Center in Athens, Tenn. Her most recent works use aerial landscape patterns and electron micro-photographs of plant material as inspiration.
photo "Surface Geographies: An Altered Point of View," a collection of pottery by Johnson City, Tenn., artist Nancy Fischman, is on view at The Arts Center in Athens, Tenn. Her most recent works use aerial landscape patterns and electron micro-photographs of plant material as inspiration.

The title of Nancy Fischman's current show in Athens, Tenn., offers a clue into the artist's eclectic background: "Surface Geographies: An Altered Point of View."

This collection of pottery by the Johnson City, Tenn., resident will remain on view at The Arts Center through Aug. 25.

Geography, rather than art, was Fischman's college focus. She has an undergraduate degree in geography from Clark University in Massachusetts and earned a master's degree in the same field from East Tennessee State University.

It was while she was studying for her master's degree that she took pottery classes with Jonesborough, Tenn., potter Gary Gearhart. At age 60, she signed up for a class at ETSU with Don Davis and began to create pottery in earnest.

Study of several contemporary artists led her to Peter Voulkos and his dramatic clay constructions. She says she was especially intrigued by his use of distorted wheel-thrown work, which he altered and added onto.

She began experimenting with slab constructions, creating a series of bottle forms. With the use of molds to form the bases, she moved to building sculptural bowl forms that are also functional. She uses a variety of firing atmospheres for her stoneware pieces, various means to create surface patterns and multiple glazes to add surface interest.

Fischman says she takes inspiration from rock formations and stone circles, European tile roofs and golden rays swimming just under the surface of the ocean. Her most recent work uses aerial landscape patterns and electron micro-photographs of plant material as inspiration.

"I look for edges and lines connecting one surface to another," she says in a news release. "I find interest in natural and man-made architectural forms, the way surfaces meet and intersect through planes and edges. My forms are constrained, yet loose - with nonsymmetrical shapes and unrefined rims."

Fischman has exhibited in several group and individual shows. Cindy Saadeh Fine Art in Kingsport, Tenn., and the Museum Store at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol, Va., carry her work.

If you go

› What: “Surface Geographies: An Altered Point of View” by Nancy Fischman.› When: Through Aug. 25.› Where: The Arts Center, 320 N. White St., Athens, Tenn.› Admission: Free.› Phone: 423-745-8781.

Here are five more things to know about the artist.

1. She's a New York City native. She was raised near the city, close enough to visit museums, go to concerts, see plays and take piano lessons. She says she especially enjoyed visiting the ancient civilization museum collections with reconstructed ancient pottery and more contemporary crafts exhibits. She and her husband, David Close, moved to Johnson City in 1978 and raised two daughters there.

2. Her career path has taken many turns. She has worked as a long-range planner for the city of Kingsport; as development director for The Road Company, a not-for-profit professional theater company; and as managing editor of Now & Then magazine, published by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at ETSU. These days she is a freelance graphic designer, most recently for the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra and the Johnson City Area Arts Council.

3. She is active in the community. She has coached youth soccer and served on the board of directors for the Johnson City Area Arts Council. She is a member of the Northeast Chapter of Tennessee Craft, Shady Oaks Garden Club and the B'nai Sholom Congregation.

4. She's helping the next generation of artists. Fischman recently purchased a building in downtown Johnson City, which, after renovation, will become artist studios with a teaching space and a gallery.

"The goal," she says, "is to create an arts incubator, where recent college graduates who have studied art can have access to low-cost studio space where they can explore art as a career and have access to speakers who will further their education in art as a business."

5. She has run for political office. Fischman ran as the Democratic candidate for District 7 of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2012, earning 34 percent of the vote. After watching the legislature take votes on "frivolous issues" in its past session, she decided it was time to run again. This time, she drew 32 percent of the vote in the reliably Republican district.

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