Three potters/ceramists who participated in Manises Ceramics Festival reunite for a creative collaboration in Paducah
Paducah, KY, March 27, 2023—Paducah Arts Alliance’s (PAA) is pleased to announce that two ceramic artists will participate in the Artist in Residence Program beginning in April. This dual residency is the result of a creative exchange that began in July 2022 when Paducah potter/educator Mitch Kimball attended the centuries-old Ceramics Festival in Manises, Spain, a mutual UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art, to work with local artists on a ceramic wall installation project.
Jaime Romero, ceramic instructor and amateur chef/food enthusiast from Manises will be in Paducah March 29 through April 16. Doug Schultz, a ceramics instructor from California who also attended the 2022 Ceramics Festival, will be in residence April 3 through 9. PAA and the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCVB) have collaborated for this timely commemoration of Paducah’s 10-year Anniversary as a UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art.
“The stay in Paducah will be a totally enriching experience both on a human and professional level, as well as a great opportunity to share, meet potters with common interests, and expand our own vision and perspective on ceramic art,” said Romero.
Romero began his training in a ceramist’s workshop in Valencia, Spain, in 1989. He studied wood-fired ceramic kilns, building several draft models, such as inverted draft, upper draft, and cross draft kilns. He obtained the titles of Higher Ceramic Technician and Higher Technician in Flooring and Ceramic Coating at the Higher School of Ceramics in Manises. Romero’s works have been in several collective exhibitions with the National Association of Ceramic Professionals.
Shultz graduated from San Francisco State in 1992 with an MFA in Ceramic Sculpture. He received a BS in Chemistry from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York, which enabled him to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly known as Zaire), to teach people how to raise fish. He worked at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art prior to teaching ceramics in Atherton, California. After teaching for 24 years, a sabbatical took him to Oaxaca, Mexico, and Manises, Spain.
“Since my sabbatical, I have been returning to Manises every summer to work with the friends that I have made there,” said Schultz. “Last summer I participated in Manises’ UNESCO celebration and met Mitch Kimball which has led me here to Kentucky to learn more about woodfire kilns.”
Artists participating in PAA’s residency program are required to engage in a project with the community. An amateur chef, Romero will be preparing paella (a classic Spanish dish featuring saffron rice and meat/fish) with West Kentucky Community & Technical College (WKCTC) culinary faculty and students, who will be studying international cuisine, on Thursday, April 6 from 10-11 am. He will also prepare paella at a limited-seating tapas meal commemorating Paducah’s 10th Anniversary as a UNESCO Creative City with celebrity Chef Sara Bradley at the Freight House on April 12. The meal includes a special edition ceramic plate created by Kimball for this occasion. Romero and Shultz will join Kimball for the kiln firing of the special edition plates throughout the day on Wednesday, April 5.
Romero’s residency is in partnership with A.I.R. Studio Paducah in Lowertown, a studio/living space designed by Maryland artist Alonzo Davis, who coordinates a year-round artist-in-residence program for creatives.
For the WKCTC event, contact Tammy Thompson, Public Relations Coordinator, at tammy.thompson@kctcs.edu or (270) 534-3215. For the Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau, contact Liz Hammonds at liz@paducah.travel or (270) 227-2733. To view the kiln firing or meet the artists, contact Mitch Kimball at mitch@mitchkimball.com or (252) 412-4684.
Please contact Rosemarie Steele at rosemarie.steele@comcast.net or (270) 331-5588 to arrange an interview with Jaime Romero and an interpreter.
About Paducah Arts Alliance – The Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA) was established in 2008 with the purpose of providing cross-cultural educational experiences between the Paducah-area arts community and visiting national/international visual/performing artists. Since January 2009, PAA has hosted more than 50 visiting American and international artists from 16 states and 9 countries. Over the past decade, resident artists have conducted more than 65 events, which include workshops, lectures, exhibitions, performances and installations. The Paducah Arts Alliance is a 501c3 organization. For more information on the Paducah Arts Alliance, please visit paducahartsalliance.com.
