“We’re masters of arranging things,” Doust quipped.
The two — serious collectors of contemporary ceramics for just the past decade — have cautiously allowed the Springfield Museum of Art to temporarily take ownership of their one-of-a-kind, yet delicate, home furnishings.
“Accidents happen,” Doust replied when asked if he was apprehensive about loaning his belongings.
The resulting exhibition, “Collective Minds: Selections From the Contemporary Ceramic Collection of Richard North and Patrick Doust,” is at once a major overview of the modern ceramics scene and a fascinating glimpse inside the brain of a collector.
“We don’t use art as an investment,” Doust said, “but we invest in artists.”
Featuring figural and functional work alike, the exhibition continues at the Springfield Center for the Arts at Wittenberg University, 107 Cliff Park Road, through Nov. 13.
“They do put soy sauce in this,” museum curator Charlotte Gordon explained as she pointed to a soy sauce jar made by potter Sequoia Miller.
“It’s a nice way to live.”
In the absence of their soy sauce jar at home in recent weeks, they’ve resorted to pouring it “straight out of the bottle,” Doust said.
As Gordon observed, “They interact with their collection.”
Try doing that with a painting.
But before assuming North and Doust must belong to that well-to-do “1 percent,” Doust is quick to dispel a popular myth about original art.
“You don’t have to be wealthy to collect art,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to buy art.”
Both retired — Doust worked in health care IT; North did psychological testing at Ohio State — they began working with a Columbus gallery to narrow their collecting focus to ceramics.
“Good art, you don’t get tired of,” Doust said.
“Your favorite piece is always the last piece you purchased.”
While they often buy the work of emerging artists, the first piece they acquired was by an undisputed master, Ohio’s own Jack Earl.
Back in 1969, Earl, whose studio is located at nearby Indian Lake, took part in “Objects: USA,” the Smithsonian Institution’s landmark exhibition of crafts.
His work can be found in the collections of the National Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and even the Springfield Museum of Art.
Earl will be the focus of a retrospective at the local museum next year.
“In the world of ceramics,” Doust said, “he’s like the Andrew Wyeth. It’s Americana, but he’s maintained an importance.”
The Earl piece that started their collection in 2001, the characteristically whimsical “Pretty Poo-Poo,” can be seen in this show.
And along those lines, North and Doust do, indeed, have pottery everywhere in their house — the bathroom included.
“Some of the artists,” Doust joked, “may not want to know.”
Contact this reporter at amcginn@coxohio.com.
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