In 1979 she became the Director of Ceramics for the State University of New York at Albany’s College of Continuing Studies. Three years later she founded The Albany Ceramic Institute, a school that offered classes in ceramics as well as housing the Frances Simches Ceramic Gallery. The gallery was one of Albany’s first galleries dedicated to ceramics. In 1984 she moved on to become the Director of Ceramics for an evening division program in ceramics between Hudson Valley Community College and the Art Center in Troy, New York. There, she remained for twelve years, and developed a strong mutli- faceted ceramic program. During that period she also was a founding member of The Hudson River Clay Factory, a potters’ cooperative in Troy. From 1984 to 2005 Jayne taught Ceramics and Sculpture in a public high school in New York, until her retirement in 2005. Jayne presents workshops and lectures to museums, colleges, and art centers. She has had several articles published in Ceramics Monthly magazine, and continues to write articles about ceramic history and the promotion of ceramic artists. In 2008, her work was featured on the front cover of the book, "Electric Firing:Creative Techniques", produced by the american Ceramic society. An article on her was also included in the book. She recently completed the book, "CERAMICS-THE STUDIO WHERE EVERYONE WANTS TO BE, A POTTER'S GUIDE IN SETTING UP CERAMIC PROGRAMS AND STUDIO DESIGN".
Jayne has shown her wall sculptures, vessels, and pottery at numerous galleries, including the Design a la Carte, Annapolis, MD; Kent Island Federation of Art, Kent Island, MD; Farmington Valley Arts Center, CT; Lynn Kottler’s Gallery, NYC; Krasdale Foods, Corporate Headquarters, NY; Brookfield Craft Center, CT; Peter’s Valley Arts Center, NJ; Rome Art Center, NY; The Hyde Collection, NY and the Center Galleries, NY. She has exhibited her production pottery at the American Craft Enterprise, NY, Frederick Craft Fair, MD and the Pacific Design Center, CA.
Jayne has received several awards. She was awarded grants from the NY State Council on the Arts in Ceramic History research, the Studio Potter Foundation’s National Award for Excellence in Ceramic Education and for two years was an Artist In Residence with the NY Foundation For The Arts.
Jayne directed a special project between the NY State Museum in Albany and the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. The project involved teaching a group of Albany inner city children about the Holocaust.
They each painted a ceramic tile portraying their concept of the Holocaust. Some of these tiles are installed on the permanent wall at the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC for the exhibit "Remember The Children-Wall Of Remembrance".
Jayne continues to produce and sell her artwork. In 2005, Jayne moved to Maryland, where she has built her permanent studio. There she continues producing, teaching and writing about ceramics.
I have been working in clay for over three decades, producing environmental art, wall sculptures, large-scale vessels and functional pottery. Over the years I have responded to the many social issues of the day, employing my art as a fierce response to political situations. Juxtaposed to this extremely vocal disclosure, I have delved into the more instinctive components of my inner being. Sensitivity to the land and the seas has nurtured my work through the imagry of organic elements such as seashells, coral, rocks and flowers. I work in varied types of ceramics including, porcelain, stoneware, terracotta, raku and primitive firing techniques.
Although I create intimate sculptural objects, I maintain my love for the potter's craft. I produce objects for daily use and take great pleasure in the knowledge that people use my work for eating as well as adorning their environment.
These contradictory elements emanate from the duality of my being, and my work is the expression of this self. My art has been a major direction in my life, embracing me with the mysterious and the profound.
Jayne E. Shatz, artist, educator, and ceramic historian, was first introduced to ceramics as an undergraduate student at the State University of New York at Albany, where she studied with Frances Simches. Jayne has a PhD in Prehistoric Ceramics, a Masters in Art in Pottery and Sculpture and a BA in Art History. Over the past 30 years Jayne has built a reputation as an artist, educator and writer. She began her ceramic career in the early 1970’s as one of the partners of the Kilnhaus Potters, a pottery cooperative in Slingerlands, New York. In 1976 she left Kilnhaus and began a long career establishing ceramic schools, pottery cooperatives and college programs in New York.
