Stan Edmondson has been working in clay his entire life. He has known or personally assisted key figures in Southern California ceramics like John Mason, Michael and Magdalena Frimkess, Jun Kaneko, and Peter Voulkos. His sprawling studio, with its kilns and sculpture garden, is embedded in a historic Pasadena neighborhood.

This is the arena where Edmondson’s artistic will collaborates with the elements of earth and fire in what he calls a dance, in which the clay leads. Often working large in scale, he says, “When I think I am in control of the process, I’m reminded of the order of things. Sometimes the clay chooses not to dance, and other times I try to stay out of the way as much as possible. It often calls for a whack with a 2x4, a splash of glaze, a dive into uncertainty, and a prayer to the unknown.”

Regularly staying up all night long with a fiery kiln, he recognizes that he is part of an elemental process that has occupied humankind for millennia. "Alchemy for Idiots" will include wall reliefs, sculptures, vessels, plates, and other ceramic forms, all installed on various levels of cinder blocks and paving stones.