Artist Q&A: The "Oldlywed Game" with Simon Levin Simon Levin sits down with clay couple Erin Furimsky and Tyler Lotz! Simon Levin

In this special Valentine's Day themed Artist Q&A, Simon Levin sits down with clay couple Erin Furimsky and Tyler Lotz. In this video, excerpted from the latest Talking Clay 5: Perspectives on a Passion, Erin and Tyler played a hilarious Talking Clay version of the Newlywed Game (though we’re calling ours the “Oldlywed Game” since Erin and Tyler aren’t exactly newlyweds). 

They discuss everything from clay heroes to biggest fears. We had a ton of laughs during the filming and think you will too! –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

PS. Like what you see? Download the whole conversation from the Ceramic Arts Network Shop, or subscribe to CLAYflicks to see this and all the other videos in the Ceramic Arts Network Collection!

This is excerpted from the Talking Clay, a CLAYflicks exclusive series. CLAYflicks subscribers can view the full-length video by clicking here!

About the Artists

Simon Levin

Simon Levin fell in love with the movement of flame through a wood-kiln in 1993. Its sensuous quality is something I seek to capture in my work with soft forms, full curves and flame paths etched into the surface. This quest led me to an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. In 2013, Simon was a Fulbright Senior Scholar in Taiwan exploring the potential of local materials. Recently he was a visiting artist, lecturer, and kiln builder at The China Academy of the Arts in Hangzhou. Currently, Simon is in the process of moving his pottery to Pawnee, Illinois. To learn more about Simon and see images of his work, please visit https://simonlevin.com/.

Erin Furimsky

Erin Furimsky is a studio artist in Normal, Illinois, whose work focuses on the relationship of sculptural form with highly ornamented surfaces. She holds a BFA from The Pennsylvania State University (1997) and an MFA from The Ohio State University (2002). Her work is exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2006, she was selected as an emerging artist by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. She has participated in numerous artist residencies, presented at national workshops, as well as serving as a visiting professor at Illinois State University and Heartland Community College. To learn more and see more images of Erin’s work, visit www.erinfurimsky.com.

Tyler Lotz

Tyler Lotz’s sculptures and vessels have been shown in solo and group exhibitions at venues including the Elmhurst Art Museum – Elmhurst, Illinois,  Harvey/Meadows Gallery - Aspen, Co, Dubhe Carreño Gallery - Chicago IL,  Cervini Haas Gallery/Gallery Materia - Scottsdale, AZ, Cross-Mackenzie Gallery - Washington DC,  Franklin Parrasch Gallery - NYC,  Santa Fe Clay – NM,  The Clay Studio – Philadelphia, PA, and SOFA Chicago. His work has been presented abroad at The First World Ceramic Biennale Korea and 2010 Vallauris Biennale Internationale in Vallauris, France. Tyler’s work has been acquired by collections including the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, in Missouri, and the Icheon World Ceramic Center in Korea. Publications including Ceramics Monthly, American Craft, Studio Potter and the Clay In Art International Yearbook have featured his work.  He has been an artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation and the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana, as well as the Watershed Center for Ceramics in Newcastle, Maine.  In 2010, he was one of 12 international artists invited to make and exhibit work in Walbrzych, Poland as a member of the XXXIV International Ceramics Symposium “Porcelain Another Way.” Having received his BFA from Penn State and his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, Tyler is currently a Professor teaching at Illinois State University. To learn more and see more images of Tyler's work, visit https://www.tylerlotz.com/.