Brian Grow: Educator and Maker

October 21, 2024

 

Brian Grow and The Art League of Alexandria, VA

Brian Grow is a DC area potter whose long journey in teaching and creating led him to an organization that fits perfectly with his artistic vision.  The Director of Ceramics at The Art League, in Alexandria, VA, Grow says that the vitality and variety of artmaking at this august, long-standing institution matches his own thought processes.  “The rotating schedule of classes,” he explains, “not only in pottery, but in all the disciplines, makes for stimulating conversations in the hallways among instructors, artists, and students.”

Grow came to The Art League in 2018 as an instructor.  A graduate of the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, he studied with the late Robert Winokur, Nick Kripal, and Berry Mathews and earned a B.F.A. in Ceramics and Education.  “Right after graduating,” he says, “I made the circuit teaching at various art centers in and around Philadelphia, teaching mostly adults.”  He developed his skills as a kiln technician while working a Del Val Pottery Supply, a Standard Clay Distributor in Philadelphia.  For over two decades, Grow taught art to young people, at Chestnut Hill Academy, a private boy’s school, and in the public school system in Northern Virginia.

Grow developed his own philosophy of teaching during these years in the educational system.  “I had a lot of exposure to different ways to solve the same problem,” he says.  “Teaching is so important because it helps the student find an angle to solve a problem.  I am not a purist – I don’t believe there is a right way or a wrong way.  I try to get people to push the envelope as much as they can, to let go of their preconceptions.”  He speaks of the presence of clay and how it demands the presence of the maker.  “When I look at a piece, I want to see the mark of the hand – a little bit of the person who made it.”         

     

Grow says he is an expressive maker who reinforces the importance of the hand as the tool through which the artist communicates his idea.  He quips, “I have an aversion to round things.” He eschews functional production pottery in favor of figural and sculptural work, in vessels and tiles.  He incorporates mixed media.  “I’m a little ADD [attention deficit disorder] and my brain is all over the place,” he explains.  He is intrigued by oceanography and mapping and integrates these images into his creative ideas.

I am compelled to realize vessels that interact, speak with, and to the world. Their material is unhidden, evidenced, raw and unapologetic. They are tactile and call to the senses of the user. They are heavy without weight.  

– Artist Statement, Brian Grow      

     

At The Art League, Grow teaches mostly adults.  He says, “I get to work with people who want to be here.  It’s optional.  No one must come.  There are no grades, no degrees.”  His classes have a relaxed atmosphere.  “The desire to create is present in everyone who comes in,” he explains.  “I try to get people to take risks and laugh along the way.”  

As the Director of the Ceramics program, Grow oversees all operations in the Ceramics program’s home in Old Town Alexandria, a hub of artistic activity that fuels creative energy with virtually every discipline within reach.  At The Art League, over 9,000 class seats are filled each year.  The Ceramics Department has 18 instructors, teaching 130 workshops to nearly 1,000 students in the last year alone.  Grow manages personnel, class scheduling, and the maintenance of the extensive collection of equipment.

Lately, Grow has been busy with an upcoming big change at The Art League.  The Art League organization has acquired a nearby old printer’s warehouse, and a move is imminent.  The new facility, measuring 50x300 feet is a huge space with no supporting pillars.  Construction is nearly complete on the build-out.  Two large ceramics classrooms stand on either side of the central kiln room.  Additional spaces will be designated for sculpture, welding, digital media, and painting, maintaining the interdisciplinary buzz that marks making at The Art League.  This Classroom Relocation Project is seeking to meet the challenge of high costs in a developing neighborhood and to continue to serve the community that has flourished from The Art League programs for so many years. For Brian Grow, the move represents a new opportunity to continue his life’s work of teaching, creating, and developing ideas.

Learn more at Instagram: @b.d.grow, at  www.brian-grow.com, and at www.theartleague.org