I knew it was love: our first day in the rental house I started noticing the work of several Clayfolk colleagues, most notably this hand-built mug by one of my favorite artists, Jan Stackhouse. I have my coffee in it every morning. When we have to leave the rental, I will mostly mourn this mug.
Therefore, I considered it serendipity when I actually ran into Jan and her husband, Neal Thompson, at a used bookstore a week ago. Neal is also one of my favorites-- he throws these amazing, HUGE vases and pots-- and he and Jan, well, they both have such groovy sense of color.
I mean, how can you not be inspired by people who are comfortable wearing lime-green-purple-yellow-rimmed reading glasses?
And generously invite you over for oat scones, killer coffee, and a tour of their studio?
My visit with Jan and Neal reminded me that no artist creates alone, that it is so wonderful to see what other people are thinking about, working on, and inspired by...
Recently, in addition to ceramics, Neal has also been making metal pieces, like this stand from found objects or old pieces of farming equipment.
Or this bird bath which was a collaboration with Jan.
Here is another one of Neal's stands. I kept eyeing this stand as I ate a scone and made gentle conversation. I was so interested in it, I was distracted by it. That is one of his pitchers on top.
This is a piece of Jan's. Very wonderful. Jan is all about color and texture and (as if you can't tell) a master of the stamp. In the studio downstairs, she has Indian block print stamps, stamps found at garage sales, and stamps she has created herself. Example: those little "Venus of Willendorf" lookin' ladies.
Jan's mugs are formed by hand, glazed by hand, and some fired THREE times-- so people are truly getting a work of art along with their morning cup of coffee.
Two little known facts I found interesting. One: Jan and Neal ship their clay from North Carolina, because that's the clay they were working with when they first started doing ceramics a mere ten years ago. (Neal is from North Carolina.) Also, this clay is strong. (Hence, Jan picking up a greenware mug by the handle. Even though I winced and thought she was crazy, and assumed the handle surely fall off, it didn't.) Neal said that when he queried another local potter and clay expert Phil Fishwick about the North Carolina clay's strength and quality, Phil said, "Of course, it's stronger, it's older."
Which makes you really start to ponder geology.
The other fact I discovered was that Neal has actually rigged his kilns so they are high. That's why he's able to fire those tall vases! Neal is also a master of the airbrush. This is his spray booth.
I could go on and on. But let me just end with "a good time was had by all" and a challenge to those of you who are feeling stuck: go visit someone's "studio" and question them about their lives and process. For me, still in agony with my back and not doing much ceramics lately, this tour of Jan and Neal's place was just what I needed.
