This handsome small pot was crafted by Vermont studio potter Stanley Ballard (1917-1960). It measures 3.5" high by 4" in diameter. It has a simple ball form, and is glazed in a thick golden wheat rutile glaze over brown, a very nice drip glaze combination, and very different than some of his more commonly seen monochromatic mid-century work. This vessel is date 1944, and it is signed 'S. Ballard' on the base in his hand. This handsome pot is in studio original condition, with several studio glaze slivers from grinding the base glaze, and a glaze skip near the base. There is not much in print about Ballard's work, but a quick online search reveals that Stanley Ballard and Glidden Parker were classmates at Alfred from 1937-1939. Ballard graduated from Alfred University’s Ceramic Program in 1939, having studied under several influential ceramics instructors, the likes of Marion Fosdick, Charles Harder, Clarence Merritt, and C. Katherine Nelson. Ballard’s first studio was in Burlington’s Old North End, eventually expanding to a larger studio in the early 1950s. Ballard produced an extensive body of work that has attracted national attention from collectors of mid-century pottery. Sadly, Ballard’s career ended with his death in February 1960 at age 43. His art was featured in an issue of Vermont Life in the Summer 1953.