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Steve Kostyshyn
After completing my BFA at Adrian College in 1976, and then working as a studio potter for fifteen years, I am finally able to create the mixed-media baskets I have always dreamed about. Unhampered by the limitations found with clay-only forms, texture, color, shape and size have become a satisfying reality. My baskets are made with a combination of three materials: clay, fiber (reed), and wood. The clay is a high fired stoneware with dipped, brushed, and poured glazes. The challenge here is to have a clear vision of the completed basket before starting the piece. Using traditional wheel-throwing and hand-building techniques, I finish the clay parts first. Once I have completed that I begin to shape and bend the green oak ribs for the larger baskets. On other pieces, I position and glue reed or dowel spokes in place. This stabilizes the form for weaving.
The final process is the weaving of the entire spoked area. I select the natural and dyed reed and weave plaited and twilled patterns. I will often choose palm, vine rattan, red osier, willow, or birch bark as accents to add a more natural feel and texture to my baskets.
Fascinated by exploring new and exciting shapes, I have been continually inspired to work with the vessel as form. Breaking from the clay-only vessel and exploring the endless possibilities afforded by basketry as an art form has allowed me to explore shapes and textures that were unattainable to me in the past.
Awards
Publications
Shows
Exhibitions
Organizations
Personal Highlights
Stephen Kostyshyn (Kos-ti-shun) has been a full-time professional potter since receiving his BFA from Adrian College in 1976. He apprenticed with Brumm’s Studios and Todd Warner Studios in Charlevoix, Michigan. Steve worked with porcelain from 1981 to 1993; then with Majolica-influenced stoneware from 1993 to 1997. He also made one-of-a-kind decorator pieces.
More recently Steve has been working on Mixed-Media Basket Vessels. Combining clay, fiber, and wood. This exciting new direction has opened a door to explore texture, color, form and size not possible with clay only pieces.
In his rare spare time, Steve plays guitar, builds web sites, and loves to tinker on the farm where he lives and works.
The final process is the weaving of the entire spoked area. I select the natural and dyed reed and weave plaited and twilled patterns. I will often choose palm, vine rattan, red osier, willow, or birch bark as accents to add a more natural feel and texture to my baskets.
Fascinated by exploring new and exciting shapes, I have been continually inspired to work with the vessel as form. Breaking from the clay-only vessel and exploring the endless possibilities afforded by basketry as an art form has allowed me to explore shapes and textures that were unattainable to me in the past.
Awards
- Merit Award, Winter Park Art Festival, Winter Park, Fla., 2010
- Best Of Show 3-D, Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, Mo., 2007
- First Place Award, Art In The Park, Petoskey, Mich., 2006
- Merit Award, Winter Sidewalk Art Festival, Winter Park, Fla., 2006
- Award Of Excellence, Petoskey Art In The Park, Petoskey, Mich., 2004
- Merit Award, Winter Park Art Festival, Winter Park, Fla., 2004
- Lakefront Festival of Arts, Milwaukee, Wisc., 2001
- Merit Award, Gasparilla Art Festival, Tampa, Fla., 1999
- Merit Award, Art & Apples Festival, Rochester, Mich., 1999
Publications
- Lark Books, Edited by Susan Mowery Kieffer, Baskets: 500 Baskets, Lark Books, 2006
- Lark Books, Edited by Susan Mowery Kieffer, Baskets: FIBERARTS Design Book 7, Lark Books, 2004
- Leier, Peters, Wallace, Baskets: Tradition & Beyond, Guild Publishing, 2000
- Sudduth, Billie Ruth. Baskets: A Book for Makers and Collectors. Hand Book Press, 1999
- “Artwatch” “TRAVERSE”, The Magazine, Nov 1998
- “New Works” “FIBERARTS”, Summer 1999
- “Regional Profile” “The Crafts Report”, July 1999
Shows
- Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Winter Park Art Festival, Winter Park, FL
- Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA
- Lakefront Festival of Arts, Milwaukee, WI
- Kansas City Plaza Art Festival, Kansas City, MO
- Charlevoix Waterfront Art Fair, Charlevoix, MI
- Washington Craft Show, Washington, DC
- Smithsonian Craft Show, Washington, DC
Exhibitions
- "Art and Design Entwined" April 6 -May 9, 2008. The Jordan River Art Center, East Jordan, Mich.
- "Creating Spaces With Art", Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, Mich., 2004
- "Little Masters," Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, Mich., 2003
- "North West Potters & Sculptors Guild Fall Exhibit," Parallel Arts Gallery, Northport, Mich., 2003
- "Contemporary Baskets 2002," del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, Calif., August 2002
- "New Baskets," Fiber Art Center, Amhesrt, Mass., Sept. 25 - Nov. 23, 2002
- "Contemporary Baskets 2001," del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, Calif., August 2001
- "Invitational Art Exhibition," Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, Mich., June 2001
- "Fiber Invitational 2000," Katie Gingrass Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisc., March 2000
Organizations
- American Craft Council
- Michigan Guild, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Personal Highlights
Stephen Kostyshyn (Kos-ti-shun) has been a full-time professional potter since receiving his BFA from Adrian College in 1976. He apprenticed with Brumm’s Studios and Todd Warner Studios in Charlevoix, Michigan. Steve worked with porcelain from 1981 to 1993; then with Majolica-influenced stoneware from 1993 to 1997. He also made one-of-a-kind decorator pieces.
More recently Steve has been working on Mixed-Media Basket Vessels. Combining clay, fiber, and wood. This exciting new direction has opened a door to explore texture, color, form and size not possible with clay only pieces.
In his rare spare time, Steve plays guitar, builds web sites, and loves to tinker on the farm where he lives and works.
Click here to return to Steve Kostyshyn's photos