Neighbor Featured Artist #7: Tim Frain

GREENEVILLE POTTER GIVES TRADITIONAL FORMS NEW LIFE

Among the earliest art forms practiced in the Appalachian Mountains was pottery. Because the region was isolated, the difficulty in transporting finished goods made it necessary for settlers to “make their own.” Since these earliest European settlers tended to be Scots-Irish and German, with strong cultural histories, handmade pieces from the very beginning combined “functional” with “beautiful”. Our artist “neighbor” for this column, Tim Frain, both follows and continues this tradition. A resident of Greene County for nearly 10 years, Tim’s work in a variety of artistic media is already familiar and sought after by collectors from all over the Mountain South.
In the case of Indiana native Time Frain, the phrase “proficient in a variety of media” is an understatement. “When Tim first connected with our gallery, and announced that he created in nine different art forms, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes,” says James-Ben Stockton, director of James-Ben: Studio & Gallery Art Center. “Usually that kind of statement describes someone who is a ‘jack of all trades and master of none’. On that assumption, Tim proved me wrong in a hurry.” Frain was in fact both extremely talented and technically proficient in functional and sculptural pottery, watercolor, drawing, paper-making, silk screen, etching, photography, oils, acrylics, and egg tempera. In the five years of his association with the gallery, he has added glass, silver work, and precious metals clay to his repertoire. The crowning touch on this overabundance of talent is that Tim Frain is self-taught in all his forms of creative expression. “Art has been the essential part of me since before I can remember,” he says. “I know I was painting in watercolor at four and that at around that age my uncle gave me my first art reference book.” The same uncle inspired his nephew by example as well, being the only real “artistic type” in a family noted for producing teachers. “He wasn’t their idea of respectable,” says Tim. “But he was a professional commercial artist. I remember that he did in-house graphics for signage with U.S. Steel.” A combination of innate talent, persistence, and curiosity led Tim to pursue a similar course, enabling him to make art the focus of his working life. “Making money was a series of diversions in order to make art. Eventually the ‘diversions’ took over. In my case, that took the form of framing artwork rather than producing it.” A trip to France in 1998 provided Tim with a change in perspective. “The frame shop was consuming all my energy,” he says. “But the view from Biarritz of the sun sinking into the ocean convinced me that it was time to get out of Wabash, Indiana.” In scouting out areas to relocate and re-establish his artistic self, Tim found fertile ground in Northeast Tennessee. “The area was beautiful and inviting and had a craft tradition that helped inspire me to set up my pottery studio,” he says. “Besides, I found out that buying property in France was a pain in the … well, you know.”
While he is still able to flex his creative muscles in the visual arts of painting and photography, it is his pottery that has brought Tim success and satisfaction. His talent and varied technical skills have had the effect of making his pottery uniquely appealing. In homage to the traditions of his adopted home, he has both studied the time-honored forms of Tennessee/North Carolina historic potteries and produced pieces in that style called ‘Appalachia Ware’. Adding his own artistic sense has allowed him to make the transition to pieces he now calls ‘Appalachian Impressions’. The aesthetics of his glazing have been influenced not just by the technical mastering of formulas and firing temperatures but by his own painting. “A landscape is not just something to be painted on paper or canvas,” he notes. “When you put one on a piece of functional pottery it creates something truly unique.” This concept has led Tim to create glazing colors and patterns for a variety of special circumstances, such as the ‘Satsuke’ pieces he did by commission for Greeneville’s former restaurant Azaleas. “Satsuke is the Japanese for ‘azalea’,” he says. “I created pieces for their sushi menu items that no other restaurant had.” Tim’s pottery is produced in high-fired stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, and raku. An interesting twist on the definition of ‘functional’ came with his creation of porcelain ‘Iris Awards’ given by Main Street: Greeneville to honor historic preservation. In the more traditional form of functional pottery, Tim’s considerable cooking skills add even more appeal to his pieces. “All my pottery intended for cooking and serving is personally tested in my kitchen before being made available to the public,” he says. “I call it ‘pottery designed with the menu in mind’.” This production standard has been particularly pleasing to gallery director James-Ben Stockton. “We’ve tried Tim’s pieces in our own kitchen and can vouch for their combination of functionality and presentation appeal. As a gallery, this has enabled us to build up a reliable clientele for Tim’s work. For lots of folks in the area, it just isn’t Christmas without a piece of Tim’s to give or receive.” An exclusive tradition at James-Ben: Studio & Gallery Art Center is the ‘Christmas Bonanza’ of Tim Frain pottery. “Customers only have to buy one piece of Tim’s ‘Red Moss’ or ‘Appalachian Impressions’ work at full price and then they can get any (and as many) discontinued, remaindered, or ‘things that went bump in the night’ pieces for 50% off,” says Stockton.
Although Northeast Tennessee has provided Tim Frain with the nurture and inspiration that it does for most artists, he has not settled into complacency. “One of the pleasures of working with Tim is that he’s always trying something new,” says Stockton. “He can produce ideas of his own or respond to something from me or a client. This has meant over the years that he’s willing to do commissions, something many artists are too insecure to attempt.” “The one thing that has been true throughout my life is that art is life,” says Tim. “Even though I’m most involved with producing functional pottery, my work is done because I like it. I think customers respond to that.” His wish list for future creativity includes more emphasis on sculpture. Typically, he does not distinguish between stone, wood, or metal but would like to spend time working with all three. It is also typical that elements of sculpture, like his painting, are already present in the pottery that is his livelihood. Participation in regional craft fairs and shows provides regular opportunities to travel, but Tim does enjoy the trips that are not the product of his creative work but that are intended to stimulate it. “I guess San Francisco is the place I’ve gone most often to unwind and recharge, “ he says. “And, of course, I can always be persuaded to go back to France.”
Tim Frain is a treasured asset of Northeast Tennessee. Although intensely private, his art work makes him accessible to those who want to encounter an eminently worthwhile artist ‘neighbor’. His work in a number of different media is available locally and unreservedly displayed at James-Ben: Studio & Gallery Art Center.