Flagstaff-based artist Donald V. Bendel’s extensive impact on the ceramics community has reached from Australia to Japan, and his creative influence has created a ripple effect across the United States. His legacy is embodied by thousands of former students around the world.
The Flagstaff Arts Council will host the exhibition Legacy: Don Bendel in an effort to visually illustrate his impact, and his work will be accompanied by a small invitational of art work by former Bendel students. His selected works of ceramic art will be featured at the Coconino Center for the Arts exhibition, opening with a reception Friday, June 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibition will continue through Saturday, Aug. 25.
Bendel is a familiar figure in Flagstaff, where he is revered as an artist, longtime educator and mentor. He began teaching at Northern Arizona University in 1970, where he built a strong ceramics program. He became a regents’ professor in 1997 and actively taught at NAU and Coconino Community College for over 30 years. During that time, he hosted the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts at NAU in 1973, which resulted in international workshops, conferences and exhibitions around the world.
In 1985, Bendel met the late Yukio Yamamoto, a master Japanese potter who was an expert on Japanese style kilns. Together, they designed and built the only Tozan kiln outside of Japan with both anagama and noborigama elements, which has continued to serve students, professors and artists in Northern Arizona. Bendel was also awarded the first Viola Award for Lifetime Contribution to the Arts in 2009.
Bendel integrates his personal style into many of his pieces, from clay musical instruments to hubcaps that portray the wonders of space through the eyes of a local artist. These works celebrates Bendel’s impact on not just the Flagstaff artistic community, but also the thousands of students he taught.
In an effort to illustrate this visually, Legacy: Don Bendel will be accompanied by a small invitational of art work by former Bendel students. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Established in 1999, the Flagstaff Arts Council provides opportunities for management development to local art and cultural organizations.
