James Morris Cotter (1940-)

Yuba City, California

Marked: Incised JMC, as shown. Today, he signs with stamp of his full name.

Dimensions: Height 18 inches, stoneware.

Notes: Morris Cotter was born in Albany, California. His first interaction with clay was when he asked his high school teacher in Yuba City, California, if he could use the wheel that lay dormant in their classroom. From high school, he studied at University of Nevada Reno, where he spent a couple years before matriculating at CSU Chico, where he received his undergraduate degree in art followed by a teaching credential. He attended the CCAC for one year, where he was a student of Vernon Coykendall and Viola Frey. After serving in the Navy during Vietnam, he would accept a position at Yuba City High School, where he taught several art subjects for almost two decades. He currently teaches night classes at Yuba Community College. He has worked in several mediums in addition to pottery including painting, printmaking and sculpture in bronze, wood and stone. His work in pottery is primarily functional in content with an arsenal of powerful forms and glazes that make him an important artist of the Movement. He has exhibited on a limited basis with a one-man show at CSU Sacramento and Community Memorial Museum of Sutter County to just mention a couple locations. His work is held in the permanent collection of the City of Sacramento, as well as many private collections around the world.

Thank You: Historical information provided by Morris Cotter, via telephonic communication May 22, 2007.