statement
I deeply enjoy the interplay between form and function, and I strive to make work that exists resolutely somewhere in the middle.
As my work is intended for everyday use, I seek to design compositions that will fit naturally into the homes and lives of many. I primarily draw inspiration from florae native to both the state of Tennessee and specifically to the State Forest that bordered my childhood home. I carve, sketch, and paint from memory, and so I regularly cultivate my wellspring of visual references by long days spent hiking out amongst those same forest trails that so captivated me in my youth.
I am ultimately looking for harmony in my work, a balance of purpose and beauty, as a means to offer a genuine, meaningful experience in the midst of the everyday—a chance to elevate a mundane routine to that of a beautiful, intentional, and enjoyable act through the use of the handmade.
biography
Candace Gooch-Ward grew up on her family’s fourth-generation farm in rural West Tennessee, bordering the lush woodlands of Natchez Trace State Forest. During her childhood, she spent long hours “adventuring” through rolling pastures and enchanting woods, instilling a deep appreciation in her for the beauty and wonder of the natural world.
Candace went on to receive her BFA in Ceramics Studio Art from Union University in 2015, and she spent every undergraduate summer working as an educational assistant at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
In 2015 Candace accepted a position as Pottery Instructor at the Mudslingers Pottery Studio, an Annex of the Dixie Carter Performing Arts and Academic Enrichment Center in Huntingdon, Tennessee, where she has the opportunity to offer community classes to learners of all ages, as well as week-long camps for school-age children.
Since 2018 Candace has had the privilege to serve as both a teaching artist and a volunteer for DAART, Disability Arts Access in Rural Tennessee. DAART focuses on teaching adult participants with intellectual and developmental disabilities skills in self-advocacy, confidence, and self-expression through the arts. The program also works to train local teaching artists and arts professionals to work with individuals with disabilities, in order to ensure that those in the local community can create and support opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The program is made possible through the partnership of Friends Life Community in Nashville and the Dixie PAC in Huntingdon.
In 2021 Candace joined the Governing Board of Tennessee Craft as a member at-large. While she enjoys participating as a vendor during their biannual craft fairs, Candace is eager to use this new position within the organization as an opportunity to serve the wider craft community in a much greater capacity.
Candace currently operates her own pottery studio out of her home in Jackson, Tennessee. In her studio, she works in small-batch production of her personal work as well as to serve the surrounding communities with commissions and custom orders.
In her free time, Candace enjoys hiking, reading, traveling, and cooking, as well as spending time with her husband, Jeffery, and adventuring with their Blue Heeler, Zeppelin.
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