Jack Troy
The sky is the limit for Jack Troy’s passion for ceramics and art. He has taught over 185 workshops, written 2 books about clay, a book of original poems, published over 60 articles and book reviews, and won awards, all while producing a constant stream of pottery in his Pennsylvania studio. Jack Troy began his teaching career at Juniata College in 1967 as director of the Writing Program and member of the English department teaching courses in American literature. He began teaching ceramics in 1968, and from 1971-2006 was a part-time faculty member of Juniata’s art department.
The sky is the limit for Jack Troy’s passion for ceramics and art. He has taught over 185 workshops, written 2 books about clay, a book of original poems, published over 60 articles and book reviews, and won awards, all while producing a constant stream of pottery in his Pennsylvania studio. Jack Troy began his teaching career at Juniata College in 1967 as director of the Writing Program and member of the English department teaching courses in American literature. He began teaching ceramics in 1968, and from 1971-2006 was a part-time faculty member of Juniata’s art department.
Troy told his students, “We all have the capacity to express ourselves in original ways. An investigation into historical pots is a way to encounter ideas that will help extend our present knowledge of potting so that we can make informed choices about our work, and put life into the clay we use.” And so for 39 years he challenged his students with a variety of assignments and questions.
As a potter, teacher, and writer Jack Troy has influenced and engaged a large group of professional potters and students through his devotion to making and teaching about clay objects. Jack Troy expresses, "I feel extremely fortunate to have discovered a field of work that offers ample opportunities for enticing and stimulating our curiosity about materials and processes so we can use them to expressive and aesthetic ends." He continues, “That quotation is something I can tell you. What I write is my way of showing you what I mean.”
