Gail Pendergrass

Gail Pendergrass has been working professionally in pottery since 1977. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Graphic Design and Secondary Education from Portland State University in 1969. She continued her study of clay at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts from 1975 to 1982.

For most of the first 25 years Gail made functinal stoneware. About 18 years ago she began her work in Raku. the art of raku allowed her to explore the design background she had studied. Her raku tea pots have been shown nationally and she has been invited to show at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for their two tea pot shows.

Gail has been very active in the art community. A board member of Creative Arts Community for 6 years, she is now an Honorary Board member and has been an instructor at the "Arts at Menucha" workshop. She also has been an active member of the OPA (Oregon Potters Association) for the 23 years it has existed. Serving on the Board of Directors, and the Steering Committee, which runs Ceramic Showcase, she has been the Building co-chair for 12 years. Also on the Board of Essance of Fire, a co-operative Clay gallery, she has been a participating member 4 of the 5 years it existed. Gail is also a 18 year member of Local 14 ( Lake Oswego Arts & Craft League). Now more recently, Gail is one of the founding Board Members of Art in the Pearl, a fine arts and crafts festival produced its first year by a group of 15 artists. Art in the Pearl was born out of the need for an outdoor art festival in Portland at the end of the summer. The location chosen for the festival was a city park ( North Park Blocks) that was situated in a beautiful environment and already surrounded by art. Now in its 12th year, the festival has become one of Portland's premiere events and is rated very highly among national art publications.

Gail sells her works at large shows and at her studio. She travels the West from Seattle to San Francisco, from Portland to UT.

In the last 12 years she has been producing a line of very simple highly colored functional porcelain work – and now a line of garden work.

She currently lives with her big dog on a 1/2 acre in NE Portland where she has her studio.