Buddy Rhodes
Potter. Concrete pioneer. Maker.
Seven decades of working with materials.
About
I was directionless in high school until I put my hands in clay. That changed everything. I studied ceramics at Alfred University's College of Ceramics in upstate New York, one of the top programs in the country. I learned to make my own clay bodies, to understand materials from the ground up.
I became a potter. I opened Scarecrow Pottery near Ithaca, NY in the early 1970s, making cups, bowls, teapots, honey jars. Objects people could hold and use every day.
In 1979, I moved to San Francisco. At the Art Institute, I began experimenting with Portland cement, different sands, and aggregates. I wanted to make bigger work, architectural scale, without needing kilns. Concrete became that material.
I spent the next three decades pioneering decorative concrete. Now I'm back to ceramics.
Early Years
Clay & Fire
Alfred University. Scarecrow Pottery. The Finger Lakes. I spent the early 1970s learning the craft of functional pottery: throwing on the wheel, mixing clay bodies, firing kilns. The income was modest, but the work was deeply satisfying.
In 1979, I left New York for San Francisco. At the Art Institute, I was exposed to installation art, conceptual work, and the broader contemporary art scene. It was there I started experimenting with cement, searching for what I called a “self-hardening clay.”
1982–2012
Concrete
Drawing on my ceramics training, I developed what became known as the “press technique.” Packing concrete by hand against molds, the same way I'd worked with clay. The mix was very plastic, very claylike. It could be pushed up on the inside of a mold and would stick there.
I incorporated Buddy Rhodes Studio in 1982 in San Francisco. Countertops, sinks, tubs, tiles, sphere planters, benches, fireplaces. Each piece reflected the earthy, handmade quality of pottery, but at architectural scale.
In 2004, I launched Buddy Rhodes Concrete Products: specialized mixes, pigments, sealers, and a training program for contractors and artisans nationwide. I sold the brand in 2012. They still manufacture the product line at buddyrhodes.com.
May 1999
The Concrete Producer magazine. The cover story helped establish decorative concrete as a legitimate material for high-end residential and commercial work.
Selected Work
Now
Back to Ceramics
After fifty years of working with materials (clay, glass, concrete), I'm back where I started. Making ceramics again. Functional pieces, sculptural work, and everything in between.
Contact
I have a wide range of my work available for sale. Contact me for pricing and details.