Functional pottery with a New York State twist

September 17, 2025 Jane Shellenbarger

Growing up in New York State informs the work of Andy Foster ’25 MFA (ceramics), whose functional pottery honors the state’s centuries-old tradition of stoneware production.

A gallery installation view of pottery made by Andy Foster.

“As I align my personal experience and narrative, I imagine, through objects, a world where these vessels are continued,” Foster’s artist statement, in part, reads. “I seek to not only revere New York pottery, but extend it through a personal relationship with making.”

Foster’s vessels and platters made as a graduate student were exhibited during his thesis exhibition at RIT City Art Space in downtown Rochester, N.Y. During his final semester of study, Foster was also recognized by Ceramics Monthly as an Emerging Artist.

Foster was able to share his artistry with others through instructional opportunities at RIT. He served as a graduate assistant, supported students as a sculpture studio monitor, and led multiple hands-on workshops for ArtEx, an enrichment program that exposes RIT undergraduate students outside of creative disciplines to the arts.

He also leveraged his skills as a ceramic artist in a unique way, collaborating with Eli Groborchik ’24 (3D digital design), ’26 MFA (visual communication design). They combined their expertise in crafts and 3D visualization to support a permanent exhibit at the Rochester Museum and Science Center that highlights the innovation and resilience of indigenous cultures.

They assisted with making an interactive installation that enables museum visitors to design their own Hodinöšyö:nih pottery. Groborchik developed the digital projections while Foster slip-cast the blank pottery canvas where visitors’ selections appear.

Prior to RIT, Foster was active in the Rochester arts community as an artist-in-residence at Flower City Arts Center. After graduating, Foster accepted another artist-in-residence position, at Appalachian Center for Craft, a satellite campus of Tennessee Tech University’s School of Art, Craft & Design.

Foster's thesis work:

Photo by Elizabeth Lamark

Functional pottery with a New York State twist

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