Paveen “Beer” Chunhaswasdikul
Gadsden, AL | Exhibiting Since 2022
Paveen Chunhaswasdikul, he goes by the name given to him by his father at birth “Beer” for short, was born in Thailand on May 23, 1967.
After graduating from high school in Thailand, he came to United States to study English at Gadsden State Community College (GSCC) in 1985.
After graduating from GSCC, he attended Jacksonville State University (JSU). Beer discovered pottery in the course of an art class taught by Steve Loucks at JSU. In 1993 Beer graduated from JSU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During his education at JSU, he discovered a love for designing and making pottery. After successful business ventures, he longed to return to his first love, pottery. In 2002 he set up a small studio, and he started to work with clay again on his own. Persuaded by friends and inspired by media coverage, now Beer is a full-time potter.
I used to be an auto mechanic, and love all mechanical things. I enjoy designing and making one of a kind artworks that I call metal ware. These unique pieces are inspired from old rusty metal cans, flame throwers, machines, and engines that I find at yard sales and flea markets and then transform them into clay teapots. They are mostly thrown on the potter’s wheel in sections, altered, and assembled with some slab made parts. I do not cast nor use a mold of any kind. I put all my heart and soul into every piece with extra attention to all the details like screw heads, welding marks, and various valve stems. They are constructed with special tools that I have made using personal techniques that I have developed specifically to create my art work. Although I thoroughly enjoy making my metal ware, the greatest pleasure comes from watching someone examine my art work with a large smile of approval.