F. Carlton Ball

American, (1911–1992)

Carlton Ball was a multidisciplinary artist who worked in painting, jewelry, and sculpture, but he was best known for his large wheel-thrown ceramic vessels, his two ceramics handbooks, and his frequent contributions to ceramics magazines in the 1950s. Ball was born in Sutter Creek, California, and attended the University of Southern California, where he earned his MFA with a concentration in mural painting, while studying handbuilt pottery under Glen Lukens. He learned wheel throwing by watching Marguerite Wildenhain at the 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. From 1939 to 1950 he taught at Mills College in Oakland, developing the ceramics program there into one the most active on the West Coast. Additionally, he oversaw the formation of the celebrated Mills Ceramics Guild, which promoted workshops, lectures, exhibitions, and created a remarkable permanent ceramics collection.

Ball taught for nearly fifty years at eight different colleges including the University of Southern California, the University of Puget Sound, and the California College of Arts and Crafts. His last position was at Tacoma Community College, before his death in 1992.