About Rupert Deese
Rupert Deese (born Rupert Julian Deese and known as Rummy) (July 16, 1924 – July 12, 2010) was an American ceramic artist. He is known for innovative design and decoration of high fired ceramics. Deese wrote "It is my hope in making these vessels that as the perception of their beauty diminishes over time, they will sustain themselves by pleasant usefulness." == Biography == Rupert Deese was born in Agana, Guam, where his father served as a Marine Corps officer. After graduation from high school in 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, serving stateside as a B-17 mechanic. Deese graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950 from Pomona College. After graduation, he starting working as a ceramist in Claremont, California, sharing a studio with ceramist Harrison McIntosh. Their working relationship lasted for more than 60 years. Deese and Helen Smith (September 15, 1925 – June 4, 2010) married in 1951 and reared four children. In the mid-fifties, supported by a grant from local art patrons Robert and Catherine Garrison, Deese entered Claremont Graduate School, studying ceramics with Richard Petterson and sculpture with Albert Stewart. He also benefited from the community of artists living in Claremont, most notably architect Millard Sheets and Jean and Arthur Ames, who provided encouragement and support in the early years of his career, and from a close-knit circle of young artists including woodworker Sam Maloof and painters Melvin Woods, Jim Hueter, Jim Fuller, and Karl Benjamin.
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