Journal

I made this.

2013-04-08T15:08:17Z

mug foursome

My work has really started to change this year and I’ve been looking at it next to the previous years’ work and trying to ask some questions and find some answers. Here is what I’ve come up with.

I used to cover every inch of the clay with surface decoration so you couldn’t even tell it was red earthenware hiding underneath. I used to try and make perfect slip transfers to retain the original quality of the print. I built using slabs and various tools so my hands hardly ever touched the clay for fear of smearing the printed surface. Fear, hiding, perfection. Hmmm… doesn’t sound very fun, does it?

This year I have begun to loosen up with my work. I still print and transfer onto the surface but now it’s okay if the print smears. I actually like seeing the red clay showing through the surface. I alter the surface so that it becomes more my own. I pinch the clay after it’s printed leaving behind the impression of my hands and sometimes even (gasp!) red fingerprints.

I have been thinking about what it means to leave my fingerprints and the impressions of my hands on a piece of pottery or sculpture. I think it’s a huge step up to claim my place. I am here. This is my work. Yes, I made this. No, it’s not perfect and that will just have to be okay.

It’s a hell of a lot more fun too.

Creative Block Part 2 (Everything's going to be alright)

2013-02-11T18:59:16Z

(read Part 1 posted below this one)

For those of you who don’t know me, I feel obligated to give you some background information about myself. I am incredibly hard on myself. It’s one of my greatest skills. If there were a career for beating myself up, I would be a millionaire. If there were a trade magazine for high expectations, I’d be on the cover. You get the idea. So, this may be part of the reason for my paralyzing creative block over the last few months.

Yesterday I had two brief interactions that changed my life. The first was with my new guitar teacher at our first beginner lesson. We were working on playing the G major scale. I was slowly plucking through the notes and my instructor was playing this amazing solo over my notes. I accidentally played a note out of order on the scale and I said, “Oh, that wasn’t right.” My instructor said, “Julie, it’s the G major scale. There is no right or wrong, you can play any note on that scale at anytime and it will sound good no matter what the order. That is what music is about, improvising”

Um….What? No right or wrong? After years of reading music for piano and oboe lessons and four years in the high school marching band, I have become rigid about two things: playing the notes on the page in the order that they occur and staying on the beat. If I’m in an exercise class and the instructor gets off beat and the whole class just follows along, I cannot just go along with that. It isn’t right! So, I look like the one who’s off beat because I’m still doing it the right way. I guess I’d rather look stupid than be wrong. But what if there is no wrong or right? What if there really is a scale and within that scale there are a huge range of things that you can play that still sound good? And even if you play a note that isn’t on that scale, it’s still okay because then it’s probably Jazz! This could be a metaphor to access for the rest of my life!

The second interaction was with a 20 year old undergraduate who came up behind me and looked at my computer.

Him: “Did you just make a repeat pattern out of corncobs?”

Me: “Yes, I did.”

Him: “That is awesome!”

Me: “Thanks but I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet.”

Him: “Who cares! It is awesome!”

Huh. Maybe I need to recognize the awesomeness of something before I analyze it and figure out how to make it the greatest thing ever made (unachievable). What about just sitting with something for a while and recognizing it for what it is before picking it apart?

These two interactions lead me to tell you how I’m moving past my lack of motivation and creative block. Oh, sure, I spent some time wallowing, or “taking time off for self-reflection” as I like to call it. Netflix and Pinterest became my best friends for a while, but that proved to be unhealthy judging from some of my pin board titles. So here is what I am doing:

Getting involved in non-art activities that also stimulate my brain and involve fine motor skills. Guitar lessons! Anyone want to start a bowling team?!
Shaking up my art practice with projects that don’t include clay. I am currently working on a fabric project and am sitting in on a printmaking class learning how to make natural inks and printing on paper. Fun!
Learning how to use Adobe Illustrator. Using a completely different part of my brain. Not so fun, but boy am I happy to be in the studio after time behind the computer!
Issuing a plea to the women in my life. I need to get out of my isolating studio and have some human interaction please. Just because the fearless leader of my women’s entrepreneur group moved to Houston doesn’t mean we still can’t meet on our own!
Getting in the studio no matter what. Getting out of my brain and just using my hands to make stuff.

Lastly, and most importantly, taking the damn pressure off of myself. The reality is that I’m never going to create the greatest thing ever created. But that wasn’t why I made art when I was a child. I drew dogs because I loved drawing and I loved dogs. I loved it when my pictures made people happy. They made me happy then too. So today after I practice the G major scale on my guitar, I’m not going to worry about sales or what the academics might think, I’m going to make something that makes me happy. Something like a repeat pattern with corncobs.

-Julie

Creative Block Part 1

2013-02-04T14:58:21Z

Today I hate my job.

I know, I’m not supposed to say that because I am a person trying to make a living working as an artist. I’m supposed to be passionate about my art-making every minute of every day because I owe it to you. I owe it to my parents who took me to private art lessons in grade school and probably worried endlessly about me after I graduated from college with an art degree. I owe it to those self-taught artists who didn’t go to college to get an art degree. I owe it to my college professors who gave me that amazing art award way back in 1994. I owe it to all of the people who, after finding out what I do for a living, tell me about how they used to love art in high school and how they weren’t able to pursue it and how very lucky I am. I owe it to myself because average talent and a strong passion to make art is about all I possessed coming into this world.

You are allowed to occasionally hate your job working for the state government or serving people in a restaurant or plugging statistics into a computer program so why can’t I occasionally hate my job making art? The truth is that I have had a creative block for several months now. Throw in a lack of motivation and temporary loss of my confidence and you have someone who dreads going into the studio on a daily basis. Several times I have seriously considered just giving up and getting a “regular job” so that I can feel like a valued member of society.

Although you tell me I am lucky to be able to pursue my passion, I suspect there are a few of you who are quoting The Big Lebowski and saying, “Get a job Sir!” Some people actually say, “Well, it must be nice…” in that not so nice tone. The truth is, most of the time, it is nice. Sure I don’t have a steady paycheck but I get to make stuff! Not receiving a steady paycheck doesn’t feel so bad when you love what you do, but what happens when the passion takes a leave of absence? I’m left with creative block that keeps me up nights and insurance agents who tell me that the software that calculates life insurance values doesn’t work with income numbers as low as mine, and that it’s just not worth it to insure my life. Or the other day when my husband and I went to get pre-approved for a home loan and the loan officer suggested that we leave my name off the loan because it just isn’t necessary.

Well, it is worth it and it is necessary to me. While I may not be curing cancer or solving world hunger issues or even making loads of money, I am going to keep heading into the studio and working until my passion returns from it’s extended vacation. I know that if I go out and get a “regular job” I will be completely unhappy in a few months because I haven’t done anything creative. I will keep plugging away for all of you and for myself. I will find my voice and continue to bring beauty into the world. And if it never comes back, well then I’ll figure out something else.

-Julie

Do we own our objects or do our objects own us?

2012-06-08T13:05:24Z

A few weeks ago I was talking to Michael Strand, a ceramic artist who lives in North Dakota. He said something that I’ve been thinking about ever since. He said there are two things that are important about an object, the aesthetics of the object and how the object was acquired. This made me think of this story.

I’m not sure when it started but I can’t remember a time when my grandmother didn’t think she was going to die. Every day, that very day. Ever since I was a child and we would visit my dad’s parents it was always the same conversation. Grandma Guyot: “You better tell me what you want. I’m not going to be around much longer and if I don’t know what you want, you won’t get anything.” Me: dead silence.

It was an uncomfortable concept especially when I was young. I believed that if I picked an object that I wanted from her house this sealed her fate and she would drop dead right then and there. This went on for years. Yes, there were other anxieties. She went around the house and unplugged every appliance during a storm. She wouldn’t drive a car because of an accident in the 1950’s. And most prominent were the borderline hoarding tendencies that, unfortunately I have inherited. It’s possible that this last anxiety was responsible for what happened next.

When I was in my mid twenties my mom and my sister and I visited my grandmother by ourselves without my dad. My grandmother asked the question again as she always had. This time, I decided I would answer her. There was this little tea set that sat on top of her kitchen cabinet. It was really high up there so I could never get a close look at it but I always thought it was beautiful. It was a teapot and a cream and sugar set that had an Asian scene painted on it. So I spoke the words, “Well, I guess I’d like to have that tea set.”

Grandma Guyot said, “That’s something you give somebody you LOVE not just to give away.” Oh yes she did. Needless to say I left in tears while my sister hauled boxes of china out to her car. My mom said we were never going back there without my dad again. But we did. After my dad passed away and my grandma went into the nursing home I would make the three-hour drive a few times a year to visit her. Sometimes I would break her out of the home and take her back to her house. I didn’t do it because I wanted anything or because we had a close relationship, I did it because it was the right thing to do.

After Grandma passed away my uncle and I were at her house and he asked me if there was anything I wanted. I marched into the kitchen and pointed and we got the tea set down. I felt like I had won. My husband calls it the Spite Tea Set. He’s right. I have no idea of the significance of it or how my grandmother acquired it. After I cleaned 40 years of grease off I realized it is actually pretty hideous. The painting is crude and doesn’t line up properly and there is a little clay shaving inside the teapot that is permanently glazed and fired there. It’s poorly crafted and it now sits inside a cabinet where I can’t even see it. It has bad juju.

So I think its time to get rid of it. I think I’ll box it up and take it to Goodwill today. Except there is this…That really is something you should give someone you love, not just to give away. I mean, it was my Grandma’s. Maybe I’ll take it in next week.

Hey Mr. Kotter....

2012-04-09T01:13:52Z

view from the dining hallI just returned from spending a week at Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. I had the opportunity to be a visiting artist during Kathy King’s Spring Concentration. While I was only there for a week, Kathy’s students were lucky enough to be staying for eight weeks in this inspirational place. During their concentration, the students will be hearing lectures, seeing slides and watching demos that focus on the history of ceramics. They will also be touring artists’ studios and visiting area galleries which feature ceramic art.

The opportunity to be immersed in this studio environment up on a mountain while having all your meals prepared for you is pretty incredible and I was feeling a bit envious that I was not a student in this class. I have taken a workshop at Penland before and had such a great time that I literally cried when I pulled into my driveway at the end of the two-week workshop. It was a fantastic experience.

the pines dining hall
While I enjoyed my time last week demonstrating and participating in discussions about professional practices, after it was over, I felt a big sad. I thought how different my experience as a student and my experience as an instructor had been. Yes, it was a great opportunity. Yes, all my meals were prepared for me too. Yes, the students were fun and I had a great time working with them. But I wanted inspiration too. I wanted an opportunity for my studio practice to grow.

And so on the last night I returned to my room a little sorry to pack up my stuff. I put in a David Sedaris book on tape. I got out my journal and a funny thing happened. Ideas just started flowing and I started sketching. I stopped listening to David and filled up five pages with ideas for new work. Where had this inspiration come from? I had been teaching all week. How did this happen?

There is just something about being in a place where everyone “gets” what you do. How often do I get a chance to take a break from my life, from the news, from my meetings, my dog, my house and studio and just “be”? Student or teacher, I was still immersed in art and craft. I was surrounded by makers and people who support makers. I ate, I danced, I walked up some serious hills, I saw some amazing ceramic art, I talked with great people and I drank a lot of Gingeraid. I connected. In short, I was inspired. Teacher or student, it really makes no difference. We are the same.

view from upper clay studio

Marketing 101 Julie Style

2012-01-20T18:24:48Z

my new Justin Rothshank mug!

Someone recently told me that I am really good at marketing and promoting my work. This is nice to hear since I’ve never really considered myself to be good at this. I can promote the hell out of someone else but when it comes to my own work it is a bit more challenging. I was raised in the Midwest in a culture where it is considered impolite to talk about yourself and when you do, it is called “bragging”. So when I started my business 2 ½ years ago I had to re-program my thoughts about shameless self-promotion, the first being there is no shame in it at all.

Here are the most important things that I have learned

1. Be authentic.

Know who you are and what you stand for. When I was growing up I was always the girl who mediated arguments between friends and gave advice when asked, (and I was asked a lot). If a friend liked a boy, I was sent over to negotiate their “going steady” since I was the quiet girl who had good judgment. In high school I hung around with a group of 10 girls and I was the one who said, “For the record, I really don’t think we should do this.” I was the voice of reason.

In short, I am the glue. When my friends started Lucy & Leo’s Cupcakery and they found the perfect location but were concerned about the rent for a start-up business, I introduced them to my friends at Textures Handmade Market who were looking to move their established business to a new location. They have now been in business for the past 2 ½ years while sharing a space and rent together and becoming super successful. Glue.

2. Build relationships.

So, how does this character trait of being the glue help me in my own marketing and promoting? Well, my business coach, Elizabeth Barbour says we should think of networking as “relationship building”. In building relationships by being my authentic self, I am promoting my work without even trying. Luckily, I love meeting new people and I also love helping people out with whatever I can. If this comes back to me in the form of a sale, that’s great. If it doesn’t, who cares because I love to be the glue and being the glue leads me back to #1.

3. Surround yourself with good people.

I am choosing to spend my time with people who support me and have my best interests in mind. This doesn’t mean they tell me what I want to hear but they do listen to me and offer suggestions and really get excited about my successes and share in my disappointments. I am not interested in competition but I am interested in sharing and if this is you, I would like to go back to #2 and build a relationship with you.

4. Channeling my perfect customer.

If you are not a good human being, please don’t buy my work. I said it. I want my work to be out there in the world bringing beauty into your home and helping you to put healthy food into your body. (and if you occasionally eat a Five Guys burger, I’m right there with you) But my authentic self doesn’t want to deal with you if you are not spending your time putting good out there yourself. Because if you’re not a good person I cannot have you in my space and I certainly cannot build a relationship with you. (see #2 and #3)

My friend and potter Justin Rothshank fits all of these criteria. He recently told me that he gives away as many mugs as he sells. Does he do this as a marketing ploy? No, he loves giving gifts to his friends and people he meets. If someone sees one of his mugs in the world and likes it and buys it then that is great but his authentic motivation is the act of giving. Knowing Justin and building a relationship with him makes me want to promote him and his work and in turn I know that he will do the same for me. Because he is pretty freaking awesome! And I only surround myself with awesome people. And that lovely human being just sent me a Justin Rothshank Lincoln mug that I’ve been coveting for years! Which means one of my cups will soon be in the mail on it’s way to him.

And this folks, is how the world should work.

Feels like the first time (I attended Arrowmont)

2012-01-10T14:06:07Z

Ceramic Surface Forum I crew

Yesterday I had this feeling like I was running even though I was sitting still. There was a buzz around me and occasionally I felt like I might either burst into tears or spontaneously combust. It was a distant, familiar feeling that I couldn’t quite place until I figured out when I had felt it before. It was the same feeling I had upon my return from Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts 13 years ago after taking my first workshop.

The first time I discovered Arrowmont I was in a difficult period of my life. My father had passed away the year before, I was dating someone who was all wrong for me and I had a job that was sucking the life out of me. I came home from that first workshop in Tennessee and gave six months notice at my job so that they could find a replacement and I could formulate a plan. My goal was to re-focus my life on making art and I was willing to give up a salary and health insurance in order to make this happen.

My boyfriend’s parents were not thrilled. They said, “What are you going to do, go work at McDonalds?” Smiling, I said, “Well, yes if I have to.” So I left the boyfriend behind and got myself a job at a health club where I worked the front desk from 5-8 a.m. and then drove the half hour to substitute teach from 8:30-3:30. This allowed me my evenings and weekends for art making. I turned my living room into a studio and began selling my artwork at the local farmer’s market. These meager sales allowed me to save enough money to attend workshops at Arrowmont about every two years.

Fast-forward to January 2012 when I attended Arrowmont for the sixth time but this time I was invited along with several other ceramic artists, not as a student but as a peer for the first Ceramic Surface Forum. It was a full circle moment, working alongside people I have admired and respected in the field of ceramics for a number of years. At times I was paralyzed when I saw the talent in that studio but now that I’m home, I am buzzing again. Armed with inspiration, fresh ideas, new friends and a sense that I officially belong in my field.

Attending Arrowmont has truly been a life-altering experience for me, not only because I re-discovered my need to create, but because this need led me to quit my full time job all those years ago. Back when I was working at the health club I met a woman who befriended me and one day she said, “I think you should meet a friend of mine.” That friend of hers turned out to be my husband, the most wonderful man in the world who loves that I am passionate about making art.

Thanks Arrowmont for all that you bring to the world.

Julie

Take Out for the holidays.

2011-12-22T15:18:20Z

first cups for Take Out Project

No, I'm not suggesting you order a pizza for Christmas or have your holiday dinner delivered in little paper cartons. Just the opposite. In 2012 I will be launching Take Out Project, a way to build community through handmade ceramics. This project will be a way to ask people to slow down and be more conscious about what they put into their bodies and to think about the vessels that hold that nourishment as it sits on the table or is cradled in your hand. You can read more about the project and sign up for our newsletter here.

Several people will be participating in a small trial run of the Take Out Project over the holidays. In the next few days I will be delivering platters, cake stands and cups to people in the community to use at their holiday gatherings. I have created a Facebook page for the project so you can stay informed and see what we are doing in the community. Please LIKE our page and share with your friends. We will soon be putting together a fundraising campaign and we would love for you to be a part of our community project. If you would like to help by becoming a volunteer, please send me a message. We appreciate your support and hope you have a wonderful holiday season!!

Julie

Out With The Old

2011-11-29T00:07:56Z

bud vases with bees (available December 11th at Open Studio & Sale)

It’s that time of year again. The holidays are upon us already. I spent most of Thanksgiving weekend finishing up the last batch of work for my annual Open Studio & Sale. Everything has been bisque fired and I’m ready to glaze (then fire again) and decal (then fire again). Then the house has to be cleaned, the yard work done, poinsettias purchased, cookies baked, cider mulled, and sigh, we’re ready!

I can’t help but panic thinking that I don’t have enough work ready. I’m not sure where the year has gone and today I had to look back at the goals I set for myself for 2011 to see what has been accomplished.

1. Design new work. Well, this definitely took longer than I had anticipated and I’m still working out some bugs. Just today, I took two pieces out of the kiln that had major cracks so it’s back to the drawing board once again. All in all, I’m really happy with the direction my work has taken although each time I come up with an idea, it seems to add on time and labor and difficulty instead of making my life easier. I guess the goal wasn't to “design easier work”.

2. Apply and get into three large craft fairs. Done. In 2011 I traveled to Chicago, Austin and Atlanta and met lots of great people, got some good feedback and sold lots of pots. I also ate a ton of good food but that’s just a bonus.

3. Get my online shop up and running. This was accomplished but next year the shop needs much more of my attention and shop maintenance needs to be added to this goal.

Add these business goals to my personal goals and I’d say it’s been a busy year. So I’m not going to feel guilty about not having enough product at this year’s Open Studio & Sale. I am going to bask in the glory of sharing my home and studio with my best customers. I am going to be excited to tell my local community what I have in store for next year: starting a ceramics lending program that builds community, expanding one line of work into a separate business, and potentially hiring a part-time employee in addition to my intern. Look out 2012!

So many cups, so few coffee breaks.

2011-10-31T19:43:54Z

I often hear people say, “This is a really nice cup, I just don’t know what I would do with it.” Really? Well, call me crazy, but what I would do is buy it, take it home and drink out of it.

Yes, you could use it as a pencil jar. You could put your make-up brushes in it. But why do we need to come up with another use for a cup? I think we are so used to buying things in multiples or sets that we just can’t fathom owning a one-of-a-kind cup and actually drinking out of it.

Personally, I LOVE taking my afternoon break with my Birdie Boone mug (my new favorite) and some hot tea. It is a lovely ritual and even though I am alone since I work from home, why not treat myself to a moment with something that tastes good, nourishes my body and feels good in my hand. Plus, I just love looking at that cup and trying to figure it out (but that’s probably just the ceramic artist in me).

When you are at your office you don’t need a whole set of cups to drink your coffee. Just one beautiful handmade cup will do. And I guarantee it will make you feel better about your workday when you wrap your hand around it. No one else will have the same cup. I promise it will make you feel special.

In case you’re in the market for a new cup, there are two cup shows opening online this week. They are both fantastic. Cup: The Intimate Object VII will go live Monday, October 31^st at Midnight at Charlie Cummings Gallery. Interpreting the Cup: Process, Influence and Intent, curated by my friend Jason Bige Burnett, is opening at Crimson Laurel Gallery November 5^th and runs through December 31^st. I will tell you that both of these shows will sell fast so go immediately and look at all the fabulous cups that are being made by some really talented ceramic artists. I have my eye on a Gwendolyn Yoppolo, or a Deborah Schwartzkoph or ……hmmm...it'll be really hard to decide.

birdie boone mug with kari radasch plate and cookies by my friend beccasee more of Kari Radasch's work here.