Frederick Carlton Ball

1911 Born Sutter Creek, California

1992 Died Tacoma, Washington

EDUCATION

1931-1936 MA Mural Painting, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1936 California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, California

1939-1950 Mills College, Oakland, California

1950-1951 University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

1951-1956 Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois

1956-1967 Professor of Art, University of Southern California

1968-1977 University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington

BIOGRAPHY 

Frederick Carlton Ball is known for thrown vessels that were glazed and decorated by his collaborators; first his wife Kathryn Uhl Ball and then Aaron Bohrod.

Ball inspired by the work of Diego Rivera, went to the University of Southern California to study mural painting. While there he studied pottery with Glen Lukens. It is believed he learned to throw on the wheel by watching Marguerite Wildenhain. He often worked in collaboration first with his wife, Kathryn Uhl Ball. In 1950 when Ball moved to Madison, Wisconsin to open the ceramics studio program, he met Aaron Bohrod, a painter with whom he would collaborate until Ball’s move to Washington state in 1968. As his career progressed he began making large-scale thrown pieces some of which are six feet tall. Ball is also known for his interest in jewelry. He often wrote articles about media and process that were published in numerous national magazines.