Pulling weeds
Planting raspberries
Eating lunch outside
Making collage birthday cards
Sweeping the deck
Pulling more weeds
I had the weekend to myself and the sun was able to join me. It was glorious. I had no plans, except I knew I wanted to go out and take some photos, eat good food and work in the garden. As simple as my weekend was, I feel the most energized I’ve felt in months. Spending time outdoors was regenerative.
It’s almost the end of March and I’m just starting to feel the inspiration coming back after a long drought of creative energy in the studio. This past holiday push (and specifically the self-promotion of it all) really took a lot out of me and making less money than previous years made me feel inadequate and disappointed in myself. It’s taken longer to bounce back than what I’m accustomed to—typically my lulls only last a few weeks, not three months. But this year had a different start and I couldn’t rush the process or “fake it ‘til I make it”. The good news is I’m slowly recovering and the seasonal shift has a lot to do with it.
Weather is such a fascinating topic to me. Such a basic way to communicate with strangers and also such a powerful, always changing machine that we collectively relate to, yet never control. Not only does it impact my productivity, but temperature and humidity greatly effect clay and how I work with it. I often joke that I should charge more for the pieces I make during winter. If my studio is 52 degrees, so is the clay. My studio has endured minor flooding 3 times this rainy season and it still feels like a swamp. With so much rain in California, this recent bout of sunshine has allowed it to dry out a bit and I can sense it coming back into a workable, inspiring space. I’m always in tune with the weather because I need to manage the raw material. I don’t have a fancy damp room that regulates temperature. What I do have is a closet in my garage that isn’t entirely closed off from outside elements. Too wet, and the work never dries and throws my rhythm off. Too dry, a fast change in barometric pressure or a heatwave could quickly result in warping and cracking.
Aside from the boost of the arrival of spring, the sunshine hitting my face and getting my hands in dirt all weekend, creating work for Cup Club and the Collector’s Club has been the one thing in the studio that has kept my creative juices afloat. I created the quarterly subscription, not just as a new way to make money, but to push myself in creating fresh designs throughout the year. It’s a membership-supported project that keeps me engaged with my thoughts on functionality and playfulness. It’s created a place to regularly experiment while also getting paid to do so. It’s a dream job and am so grateful I get the opportunity to make this type of work! I learn so much from it and the process always informs new collections.
Iterative design comes in a multitude of ways for me. Sometimes ideas will pop into my head while I’m on the potter’s wheel making something else. Other times, I will enforce a day of making only new shapes, which is a lot harder than it sounds. I love having a day in the studio where I’ll attempt to make 20 very different pieces and usually 1 or 2 of those are keepers. The rest of the prototypes are typically sold at my summer Seconds Sale. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep for an hour or so. During that time I thought of three new ideas to pursue for the subscription and can’t wait to try my hand at them. I don’t often sketch out ideas, I usually am thinking with my hands. But occasionally, if I have a random idea while not near clay, I’ll quickly draw a basic cup silhouette to not forget. Most often, an idea doesn’t pan out, but the thought process has been initiated and something better usually comes from it.
For example, I wanted to play around with faceting for the first iteration. It’s not something I’m familiar with, but I had been thinking about it for months. I spent a day making about two dozen shapes and sizes that I would carve out. I played with height, width and different techniques. I then glazed and fired all those pieces and after 4 weeks had a clear favorite. How it feels in your hand is so important and I make many edits after that first test run. So that’s the beginning of how I make work for Cup Club. Once I’ve settled on the proportion and method, I select a clay body and glaze. It takes weeks to nail that day down but once finalized, it’ll take one day to make all of the pieces.
Tweaking one thing is an approach I lean on. I’ll keep the proportion of another cup I like, but might alter the handle. Or the clay. Or perhaps a new foot or lip is the main focus. Sometimes the function dictates the discovery, and if there’s a subtle hint of play that highlights a feature, even better.
The first edition out of Cup Club was mailed last week and now it’s time to start the process all over again. These pieces are truly one-of-a-kind and I get a lot of pleasure knowing I won’t be recreating these. It satisfies my artist brain. While I do like making repetitive work, not everything should be like that. Now it’s time to make round 2! I have no idea what I will be making, I’m 98% excited and 2% terrified that I won’t be able to deliver. Either way, experimentation begins!
I love that you shared the process for design to finished product! I loved how the base will leave a nice geometry while the cup holds softly.