Artist statement…

Don Penny studied Ceramics Engineering at Georgia Tech and holds art and marketing degrees from Georgia State University and the Masters in Constructive Design from Florida State University. Mr. Penny is South Georgia’s first stoneware potter and is well-known through his functional ceramics and his large-scale wall relief sculptures in numerous museum, private and corporate collections. He is a former craftsman-trustee of the prestigious American Crafts Council and the recipient of several NEA and state grants. After thirty-three years of college teaching in Florida, Georgia, Europe and Africa, Mr. Penny retired as Professor Emeritus of Art from Valdosta State University, and now produces functional and sculptural ceramics full time at his modern new studio on the Little River near Hahira, Georgia.

Mr. Penny’s work is included in a number of private and public collections including Middle Tennessee State University, Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences, High Museum of Art, Emory University, Valdosta State University, Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, Bascom-Louise Art Center, and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. His work is sold in a number of galleries in Georgia: Classic Art & Frame Co. in Valdosta and Tifton, Georgia Originals in Watkinsville, and Signature Shop in Atlanta. Other galleries include Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville and Summit One Gallery in Highlands, North Carolina.