Larry Pelter grew up in Newman Grove, a farming community on the banks of the Shell Creek in north central Nebraska. He has had a diverse upbringing--- experiencing, at times, life as a sheepherder, cowboy, railroad gandy dancer, truck driver, anti-submarine warfare specialist, electrical engineer and Zen practitioner. Throughout his life, he has maintained a passion for the arts, having studied classical and blues guitar, painting, drawing, and ceramic art with a variety of teachers. He is currently a ceramic arts student of Michael Strand, University Place Art Center.

Artist’s Statement:

Time and again I return to art and clay as a way to regain my center and express myself authentically to the world. From my earliest childhood, I’ve used art, and clay in particular, to create images and objects that represent my perception and understanding of the world. I’m a storyteller by nature, there’s usually a story or an acting out inherent in my work.

My earliest connections with clay began when I was 4 or 5 years old with modeling clay being my favorite play thing. I spent hours of my childhood actualizing my imaginings in clay figures and using them to act out my stories. The desktop in my room was always a quagmire of colored clays and figures in various stages of action or creation. When I couldn’t use clay, I drew my stories.

Oddly enough, I never pursued art training formally, beyond a short flirtation with an art instruction correspondence course in my mid-teens and several night classes in my late thirties. Other sirens called...

These days, I have come to that point in my life where I can no longer deny or put off the need to do art. It compels me to do its bidding now or to forever be silent. And, I am responding with all my heart and being. I have put my hands back into the clay and intend to leave them there until they become clay themselves.

In my work, I try to express how I feel about something or to I try to make a connection with what I perceive to be a universal truth. I like to make connections between nature and humanity’s intimacy with it. I am fascinated with natural forms and with the ancient symbols that humankind has created to express its relationship with the earth and the universe. I like the challenge and exploration of marrying natural forms and ancient symbols in ways that resonate in our modern world. And, I like to play.