A former sociologist and college administrator, I came late to the practice of art. In 1997, invited to a ‘primitive firing’ by Hal Riegger, raku artist, I was introduced to clay. Soon thereafter I began attending courses in hand building and the wheel with John Jensen at Armstrong State College, an arm of University of Georgia, Savannah, GA. Also I began attending workshops at Penland School of Arts, Penland, NC, Arrowmont School, Gatlinburg, TN, and Odyssey Center for the Arts, Asheville, NC.
Rather than a traditional path of academic study, I chose to pursue my interest by attending workshops in the United States and Europe. This has afforded me the opportunity to work with premiere artists in Functional Ware: Suze Lindsey, Ron Meyer, Chuck Hines (wood-firing), Steven Branfman and Harry Hearne (raku); Sculpture: Louise Radochonsky, Debra Fritts, Jeff Shapiro (wood-firing) Paul Luccessi, Nan Smith and Melissa Cadell; and, Drawing: Louise Radochonsky and Jeff Markovsky.
In Fall 2006 I began to paint. Although I have attended a workshop in acrylic painting directed by Sandra Branam, I am primarily self-taught, relying on weekly drawing sessions with live models and self-directed exploration.
From 2005 to 2008 my ceramic work was exhibited at Chroma Gallery, Savannah, GA. I have participated in several group shows and have had a one-person show, Pieces of a Kind (Spring 2005 at the Jewish Educational Alliance, Savannah, GA). My work has been awarded major prizes in shows at Armstrong State College and The Landings Art Association, Savannah, GA.
Reviews of my work and my development as a ceramic artist may be found in Savannah Morning News, March 2005 and in R. Lee Brown, “earth, fire and water, Clay Works by C. Robert Friedman,” in Fusion, March-April 2005.
My work may be found in private collections in the United States (e.g., Savannah, GA; New York, NY; Hendersonville, NC) and Israel (e.g., Tel Aviv and G’vat Chaim, Ichud).
