Ceramic sculptor Gregory Story creates smiley wall balls and expands “Ridiculous” clay collection for 2024 to be shown at festival.
Ceramicist Gregory Story is the featured artist for the 55th Cottonwood Art Festival in Richardson on May 4-5. Story grew up in South Texas, went to Texas Christian University to study psychology and then obtained a ceramics degree at the University of Texas at Arlington. He moved his studio, Modern Clay, from Fort Worth to Chicago about 14 years ago.
“Cottonwood puts together a well-run show that really supports its artists,” Story said. “It’s in a beautiful park. The audience that comes to the show are sophisticated and interested in individuality and unique perspectives. These folks aren’t also buying art at craft stores, they’re coming to Cottonwood for the real thing.”
The signature smiley sculptures were created as a “welcome back” post-COVID, but Story has recently added the colorful assortment of ballcaps in orange, blue, black and red. The wall ball sculptures have engineered inserts to allow collectors to hang each piece on the wall for a free-floating visual. Story collaborates with a cabinet maker to produce the wooden dials that were inspired by the classic round French Cleat. Companies have commissioned collections of more than 200 installed within offices.
“What interests me more are the collections that clients have been building over the years, adding new pieces and expanding their installations gradually,” he said. “They bring me pictures and we work together. That’s what I really love about this work, the collaboration that develops organically.
“I think my first Cottonwood Art Festival was in 2007, the first year I started doing art fairs full-time. Mostly I remember being scared and lost, and then having a bunch of artists come together to help and support me. Some of those artists are among my best friends to this day. Now it’s like a reunion of old friends, both artists and collectors.”
This year, Story is expanding on a collection titled, “Ridiculous,” that includes familiar items like a vase or tissue box cover that remain functional, beautiful and as ridiculous as he can make them.
Official merchandise featuring the yellow smiley faces and other artwork by Gregory Story will be available to purchase at the festival or online, and includes a poster, T-shirts, tank tops and other souvenirs.
“It’s always fun seeing your work in unexpected places, like T-shirts on people and on billboards,” Story said. “This one is extra special to me because Cottonwood feels like home in so many ways.”
Cottonwood Art Festival is May 4-5, 2024 at Cottonwood Park, located at 1321 W. Belt Line Rd. in Richardson, Texas. Admission is free and the festival is open Saturday, May 4 from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, May 5 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The festival additionally includes live entertainment on the Imagery Courtyard Stage and Acoustic Stage, a craft beer garden, food trucks, ArtStop stations with activities for kids of all ages and more than 190 artist booths with artwork from around the world.
Cottonwood Art Festival accepts applications for the Spring and Fall opens and closes twice a year. Local bands are invited to submit an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) for consideration to play at the festival by contacting cottonwood@cor.gov.
