ABOUT

Charles Berk began working with clay while attending Miami University (Ohio).  He learned how to “throw” uniform cylinders on a kick wheel under the tutelage of Professor Peter Dahoda and progressed over the next two years to become his studio assistant.  During this period, Charles also studied ceramics at the Cleveland Institute of Art with Professor Joseph Zeller where he learned to throw large stoneware vessels.  Beginning in 1973 and while attending law school at the George Washington University, Charles pursued graduate level studies in ceramics at GWU under the sponsorship of Professor Turker Ozdogun. 

Following his admission to the Virginia and District of Columbia Bar Associations, Charles became a resident studio artist at the Arlington Arts Center in Arlington, Virginia.  At the AAC, he began working in porcelain with a focus on carved surface designs. Subsequently, he attended the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina where he advanced his understanding of high fire carved porcelain under the instruction of Cliff Lee.

Upon his return to Arlington and at the suggestion of Cliff Lee, Charles became an active member of the Lee Arts Center where he created intricately carved porcelain vessels using blue and green celadon glazes to emphasize the underlying designs.

Today, Charles maintains his own studio in Arlington. He continues to work in porcelain greatly influenced by Japanese, Chinese and Korean ceramics. Most recently he has expanded his portfolio to explore through clay mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionism and the work of the Washington Color School.