Colorado native Logan Wannamaker is a ceramics artist, father, and avid outdoorsman based in Taos, New Mexico.

Wannamaker moved from Colorado to Taos in 2006 to help create a ceramics community. This included a summer workshop program, two residencies, ongoing classes, and a variety of firing possibilities. In 2014 he handed over Taos Clay in order to pursue making pots full time. Taos Clay helped him draw in ceramic artists from all over the world and has been the majority of his education and background in ceramics. It takes a community to fire many of the kilns he's built around Taos, and Taos Clay has been a vital part of keeping the ceramics community aware of the trends of contemporary ceramics. 

Wannamaker shows his work out of his own gallery located on the road to the ski valley in Taos, and in hotels, galleries, boutiques and restaurants throughout the United States.

In our temporary existence, objects that help us relish life take on the greatest importance. I want the collector of my artwork to cherish his or her piece because it helps them slow down and absorb life. I am also positive that the collector of my artwork will develop an appreciation for the process of ceramic design. In no other medium is the artist up against so many variables. The pots I exhibit and sell are the product of countless hours in the studio formulating specific clay, slip and glaze ratios, as well as, meticulously crafting assorted minerals into a permanent object. Everything that goes into the finished product has been compressed, glazed and manipulated for a desired effect.

However, my objective is for no pot to look entirely the same. The clay's decision to take on a specific identity in the process of creation is something in which I try not to interfere. This is what makes ceramics meditative and gives each piece its unique appearance. The rhythm of the wheel as it turns and the constant attention to the looseness of the
pot's walls, give way to a thoughtless state that I believe helps give each pot its character. Each piece is like a mile marker of my creativity and opens doors to new ideas and an engrossing feeling to create more. I respond to the clay differently each time I sit down. It is awareness; a sense of being that enlivens me to create while simultaneously reflecting.

The pottery I create embodies the southwest landscape in its color, texture and material. I use flashing slips and the atmosphere of the kiln in order to integrate the viewer with the connection between the pot and its composition. Each piece of art is made entirely of the earth’s materials. I want the collector of my work to have a deeper sense of this connection by identifying the color and feel of the surrounding landscape with the color and tones on my pottery. The flashing effect enhances the natural patterns predominant in the weathering of an old barn door or the sedimentation of a large slab of sandstone. I feel functional use of my work deepens the compositional awareness of the artwork and helps the user better develop his or her connection to the earth. Texture is of equal importance in my pottery. The majority of the textures on the objects I create also mimic the landscape. I am influenced by the jagged edges of the slick rock canyons, the evolution of sedimentation that makes a cliff band individualistic to its environment, or the rays of sun as they set underneath a handful of weathering clouds. In all of my work, I also try to capture the perfect amount of gesture, balance, and flow. I want each piece to speak to the viewer and remind them of anonymous characters. Often pieces are tilted off center, given a bouncy undulation, or given feet or an Adam’s apple in order to make them feel alive. The patina of metal that sometimes makes up the handle or bands the work together further embodies my persistence to accompany the viewer in a type of
metamorphosis from pot to natural landscape. I envision the work I create to be like subtle glances while driving a dusty stretch of a New Mexican highway.