Travis Hinton was raised in Sioux Falls, SD.   He attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Art Education in 1999. After his graduation from USD, Travis was accepted into the master's degree program in ceramics at the University of Kansas.  He received his MFA in Ceramics in 2003.  After graduation he began teaching at the Lawrence, KS Art Center and was a visiting artist at Emporia University.  In 2004 he moved back to Sioux Falls and continued his teaching profession with the Sioux Falls School District.  In addition to his teaching career he has been working as a studio potter, exhibiting his work at studio tours, galleries, and museums across the United States. 

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Artist Statement: 

My current body of work consists of vessels and wall pieces providing layers of information and unique surfaces. These surfaces contain various two-dimensional techniques including masking areas with paper and tape resists, my own interpretative drawings and layered glazes. The vessels are thrown to achieve traditional recognizable ceramic forms and cut and altered in order expressive to create unique ceramics forms. The application of the glazes in combination with the drawings, stencils can be deliberate and precise while the melting of the materials can become rapid, sharp movements resembling the visual strength and purity of a dripping graffiti or faded advertising or imagery painted on a building or wall. 

Many of the surfaces have contrasting textures leaving a piece looking dry and aged too luscious and wet. Pieces can be fired multiple times at different temperatures and sanded or sandblasted to further achieve aged and weathered surfaces. I strive to create works that vary in function and purpose from the daily usage of a cup to an ornamental vase. Each telling a story with its individual composition, I intend to communicate a sense of wonder, discovery, and balance through form and surface treatment.