Luke Metz spent his youth in New York City and Long Island, New York. Here as well as in his travels abroad, he was exposed to some of the greatest art in the world – he loved and was fascinated by art. At Columbia University Luke took many art history classes and some sculpture classes. Upon graduating he moved west. Denver, Colorado and then Wisconsin were his home for almost 40 years. During this time he was involved with many diverse jobs such as teaching secondary school, repairing Xerox machines, and computer programming and computer systems analysis (to name a few). These were left-brain undertakings which were easy for his logical mind. He kept his mind active by exploring and learning different jobs, and by engaging in and training others in extreme sports.

For Luke deciding to “retire” was not a decision to retire from being active but to free himself from a perceived need to earn an income. Retiring freed him from the need to define success in a materialistic manner. This gave him the opportunity to explore his right-brain. Self-expression and discovery seemed like a natural direction for him and art seemed like the perfect vehicle. He loves working with his hands and pottery felt like an excellent choice.

Luke has found it very exciting to move from a structured path to an exploratory one. Turning to art later in his life mirrors his father’s path in his life. Luke’s father retired from being a partner in a Wall Street firm and then decided to create stone sculpture which culminated in a one-person show in New York City. This was an inspiration for Luke.

Luke has had a very full life of diverse experiences to bring to his self-expression. He has been doing pottery and ceramic art for about 8 years and rather than pursuing a single artistic theme, he continues to explore and experiment. Adventure is his abiding theme both in life and in his art.

“Art for me is both self-expression and self-exploration. The works of various ceramic artists, nature, and whimsy have provided inspiration for me. Starting my pieces on the pottery wheel is my preferred approach – often much shaping, construction, and texturing is done after the initial form is thrown. I get passionate about experimenting with layering glazes, playing with textures, altering forms, and trying different types of ceramic firing. I love bringing the highest level of craftsmanship that I can to my work. For me, contrast and the unexpected are an important part of my self-expression. I want people to explore my work: to view it from different sides/angles, to follow the motion of the piece, to investigate the textures and gestural marks, and to be surprised and perhaps even laugh.”

LukeMetzCeramics.com
www.facebook.com/PotsByLuke
LukeMetzCeramics@gmail.com