Michael received his BFA in Ceramics from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He studied with Michael Simon at Penland School of Crafts before becoming a full time potter, first working with Mark Sharpiro and Sam Taylor in Massachusetts and then after a full residency at Penland, Michael set up his own studio in North Carolina where he continues to work today. Michael is co founder of Cousins in Clay and directing member of the Spruce Pine Potters Market.

Kline’s work has been included in many exhibitions around the country and teaches workshops throughout the nation. His work was showcased on the PBS program Craft in America and in numerous publications and books. Michael was one of the earliest writers who embraced the blog format and his writing has also been featured in Studio Potter and other traditional print publications.

Michael works with stoneware and his clean surfaces provide the canvas for the brushwork and stamped inlay for which he has become renowned. Always a student of historical pots, his work references the traditional pots of the Catawba Valley in North Carolina, the “sanggam” style of Korean inlay and the brushwork of Japanese calligraphy.

His fluid brushstrokes create a beautiful botanical garden of leaves and vines, these dark patterns against the white glaze also create a striking contrast of dark and light that is the yin to his current passion, the Korean inlay technique called sanggam. This body of work makes up a third of Kline’s current studio practice. Each piece is thrown and trimmed, then each piece is debossed with stamps, many of which Micheal makes himself. After the piece is stamped, a slip is used to fill in each stamp and then when dried the excess is scraped away leaving the image in contrast to the dark clay body. Firing primarily with soda, his work is enhanced by the subtle markings and variation that the path of the soda leaves behind.

We are so excited to have Michael join us this year at SXPF.
To see more of his work visit klinepottery.com