Colby Parsons

Chair, TWU Department of Visual Arts; Professor, Ceramics and Digital Craft

Colby Parsons, MFA, teaches ceramics courses and has been a member of the faculty since 1998. Between receiving his two degrees, Parsons worked as the potter for a small production pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio. His current work in clay is sculptural, often making use of found objects and other material in addition to clay. His current work and research interests explore the transformative potential at the intersection of physical material and digital media. His background in ceramics gives him an aesthetic based in raw materiality, however he is also fascinated with the potential of new media to add motion and various kinds of interactivity to what is usually a static form of expression.

Parsons has published articles in Studio Potter magazine and ArtDaily.org. He has presented his works at the Visual Arts Society of Texas at the Greater Denton Arts Council; Art in the Metroplex at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center; The University Gallery at Texas A&M University-Commerce; the 500X Exhibition at the 500X Gallery in Dallas, Texas; the University Art Gallery at Pittsburg State University in Kansas; the Living Arts Gallery in Tulsa, OK; Brookhaven College in the Studio Gallery; and the Lacoste Gallery in Concord, MA. In 2016, he was awarded Best in Show in the Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics.