From Potter to Patient: My Journey with Wheel Throwing
Making the decision to step back from wheel throwing was pretty dang hard. It meant giving up a big part of my studio practice and rethinking our entire wholesale catalog.
It's been five years since I started my journey with wheel throwing. Over the years, I've created hundreds if not thosands of beautiful pieces that I never could have imagined. But last year, my passion for pottery hit a breaking point. My hands and wrists could no longer handle the pressure and stress of the craft. At the end of each day, I'd wrap my hands in ice or soak in a hot bath just to relieve the pain. As the year went on, I started to experience numbness in my fingers and a weak grip.
Making the decision to step back from wheel throwing was pretty dang hard. It meant giving up a big part of my studio practice and rethinking our entire wholesale catalog. But, my health had to come first. I couldn't continue down the path of pain and injury. So, I made the difficult but necessary decision to limit my time on the wheel and find new ways to express my creativity.
This change has been a challenge, but it's also been an opportunity for growth. I've had to get creative and find new ways to incorporate my love for pottery into my work. I've started experimenting with hand-building techniques and incorporating other materials into my pieces. It's been a journey of self-discovery, and I'm excited to see where it will take me.
My experience with wheel throwing has been both rewarding and challenging. It has taught me the importance of taking care of my body and finding balance in my studio practice. I may have had to step back from the wheel for now, but my passion for pottery will never fade.
Hand-built Ceramic Jars
Nicole's Pottery Tools & Equipment
Learn about the tools & equipment that we use in our small batch pottery studio in the catskills mountains
I get asked pretty often what equipment and tools I use in the studio so I thought it would be helpful to make a journal entry with all that information. I’ll continue to edit and add items along the way. Please don’t hesitate to ask me questions about this list.
Equipment:
Skutt KM 1227 Kiln - I bought this used. Check out my PURCHASING A USED KILN - WHAT TO ASK AND LOOK FOR
Wheel Throwing Tools:
Handbuilding Tools:
Filming Tools:
Morning Coffee & a Rustic Cherry Tart for Breakfast
The best mornings have coffee and dessert. We make a rustic cherry tart served on our handmade ceramic serving platter for breakfast.
When we moved out to the Catskill Mountains, we dreamt of quiet moments in nature feasting on delicious treats like this Rustic Cherry Tart served on one of our White Swirl Speckled Serving Platters. They are match made in heaven.
The spring and summer out here produce some of the most amazing fruits and this week we dove into cherries. Have you ever had a fresh cherry?!? For me, it’s like a dream that transports me back to childhood. There is nothing like a perfect cherry, so we set out to bake something that elevated the sweet and delicious fruit.
My mom recently came out to spend the weekend with us and boy, was it fun to show her around and get some time to cook together. My mom has always been a wonderful cook and baker. Normally, we’re baking Christmas cookies but it’s not quite the season for that so we opted for fresh Cherries that we picked up from local Farm, Barthel’s in Ellenville, NY.
Check out the delicious recipe created by Sheila at Life Love and Good Food
We sipped our morning coffee out of our handmade Flare Mugs and ate the tart for breakfast. It was such bliss!
Once you’re out of coffee, use our ceramic Coffeepot to display all of your happy flowers (I’ve been watching a lot of Boss Ross). This flower arrangement came from local Florist, Little Pebble Flower Farm.
Welcome to our Studio in the Mountains!
Welcome to our dream - a studio in the mountains. Check out what we’ve accomplished over the last few months and get some insight into what we’re working on next.
Nicole organizing our book collection
Living Green:
We’ve got big dreams planned for this space. One of our firsts was to run as fully green as we possibly could. Our first step towards that reality came earlier this year as we converted our property to run on green energy harnessed from solar power. Our next phase will be adding plumbing that will make the collection and use of rain water much easier than just leaving buckets outside.
Nicole power washing the floors to prepare for their epoxy finish
A look at our wheel throwing area
Opening:
We had hoped to open our doors this summer but our timeline got a little jumbled because of the restrictions and uncertainty of covid-19. In order to stay safe and help reduce the spread, we will be closed to the public for the time being.
I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to inviting the community to participate in classes, workshops and other experiences with us in the future. Until then it’ll just be me working around the clock to produce work, continue to build the dream and taking you on the journey.
After months of hard work and loads of elbow grease I am so excited to share with you our new studio and how we turned this old garage into a creative sanctuary.
Converting the space into a studio wasn’t as simple as flipping a switch but after a lot of research, failures and obviously way more successes we are finally on our way to seeing a more completed space. Keep reading to see our progress and get a little insight into what is next.
Our first official day with solar energy
Elbow Grease:
What I could manage on my own, I did, which included epoxying the floor, painting and adding baseboards to the walls. Some of the things I learned along the way - I’m really bad at taping & finishing drywall, I love a power washer and gosh, all of this so very tiring.
The walls & floor are finished
Next Steps:
It feels like we’ve done so much already but there are still lots of things to work on. We’re redoing the garage doors, building a wedging table, finding a better method to collect rain water, installing gutters, adding more shelves, figuring out how to heat this space. And those are just some of the bigger projects on the list. Who knows what else will be added to the list as we move forward…
The day after all of our things were moved upstate from Brooklyn
Goodbye to Brooklyn!
A good bye letter to our Brooklyn studio.
If all went according to plan in August of 2020 we would have celebrated our Brooklyn studio’s 3 year anniversary. Like many things in life, we were moved off course and are now on a different path. As I watched the progression of Covid-19 and how the government decided to handle things I remained relatively quiet. Each day held a new fact or restriction and the only way to describe it was like riding a rollercoaster (though, I’ve never actually ridden one and don’t intend to). As a small business owner and semi control freak, I had never expected to be confronted with such a scary and ominous situation like a pandemic.
Like many I didn’t believe Covid-19 to be more than a slightly crazier flu, until that is in mid March when NYC started its quarantine and as a result so did our studio. After some research we allowed for limited access to the space but even with this offering the studio sat pretty much empty - we were all scared. Things were changing so quickly and our daily plan soon became an hourly one with no actual end date in sight. As I crunched the numbers, applied for disaster relief (very little has been received) and spent hours in bed with swollen eyes from crying, I came face to face with the hard truth - I could no longer handle the financial, emotional or physical responsibility of running this space, especially when I lived 2 hours away. So, I decided after all my journaling that it was time to end our Brooklyn chapter.
Now, before we get into that, let’s rewind for a second with a little history lesson. This studio didn’t start as a business - it started as a safe place for my craft. Though, I don’t typically speak publicly about my personal history, I feel as our Brooklyn chapter comes to close I should be a little more candid about how it began. In 2017, I was barely crawling my way out of a very traumatic event. It was an event followed by incidences that shattered a lot of friendships, put me in a deep depression and fractured the way I viewed myself. My once home was no longer a safe place so I decided to move with my partner to a new apartment, which eventually brought me to this studio which was located right below. The studio which was intended solely for my craft, organically grew into a community space - first hosting friends, then classes and then providing memberships. It became for some a second home, therapy, a new career, an adventure, etc. And to be honest even though it took me some time to see it, the studio did all those things and more for me. It allowed me to start healing, made me a small business owner, made me a student, taught me boundaries and how to trust myself and others, taught me how to be patient and humble, and to accept all the things I can’t control.
In mid 2019 I set off on another adventure with my partner to Mountaindale, NY located in the lower Catskills to work on the next chapter of our dream. With that move I left the Brooklyn studio in the hands of others and took a step back. In retrospect these months away felt like a slow move away from the person trapped in a cycle of triggers stemming from trauma. As I walk in the woods I feel like my true self (not my old self as I don’t want to be and honestly can never be that person again). I am excited for my new studio to open and to provide a new space for learning, growing and experiencing pottery. Realizing things like this made the decision to close my Brooklyn chapter incredibly easy. Now, closing the studio to the community of folks who loved that space, that was a very difficult and sad one. In the end though, I may be closing my chapter but this Brooklyn studio, like me was saved by its members. It will live on under a new name (Centerpoint Ceramics Studio) and manager.
So as we all find our new paths, I want to thank the Universe for bringing this space to me when I needed it the most and allowing for it to grow with such beauty. Thank you to every person who passed through the studio for classes, open studio, a visit and to every member who added their flare & love to this community. Thank you to the folks who taught and teched at the studio (Alexis, Mathilde, Liam, Ellen, Jen).
Most of all - Thank you to my partner, my family, and my dear friends for being my support system. Off to Mountaindale we go!
Member Spotlight Interview: Jes Fisher
Meet the very talented Ceramist, Jes Fisher. We touch base with Jes to learn about her process, the things she’s interested in and what the future looks like.
Wild Bower Studio catches up with Studio Member, Jes Fisher as she hones her craft, launches her website and pursues her passion.
Could you tell us a bit about you and how you got to the place where you are now?
I’ve always been a hands-on person. Even as a kid I loved building and assembling anything I could get my hands on. I was known to take any opportunity I got to get muddy. It took me a bit longer to figure out that I should be focusing that energy into creativity. I moved to New York City a few years ago and it has been a very mind opening experience for me. I’d been floating around for the last few years of my life—unsure of what my passions were or the direction I wanted my life to move in. I live in Brooklyn and nanny part-time now. This has given me the schedule and flexibility to branch out, take classes, and try new things. It has been an incredible growing experience for me.
If I’m being honest, I never really considered the option of pursuing a creative field until very recently. Ceramics wasn’t even on my radar until last year. I did not grow up with a lot of money and I thought if I was going to go to college I needed to choose something responsible and respectable. Jokes on me since I ended up picking psychology. But in all seriousness, I always considered art to be a hobby—a thing you did on the side when you got a break from your real job. I didn't have any artistic or creative people in my life. The last five years I have gone through some big life and mindset changes. I’ve had the opportunity to try new things and surround myself with people who push me to be better and try more.
How long have you been working in ceramics? What lead you into working with ceramics? Is it the history, material, process, community or something else? Did you take classes or are you self taught?
I’ve been working with clay for about a year and a half. I took one class back in 2018, but I am mostly self-taught. When I began throwing I was dealing with a lot of anxiety and I was desperate for a way to occupy my mind. The repetition and control required was calming and centering. I was instantly addicted. A few years prior I had been going through intense therapy. For a good portion of my life I have struggled with severe anxiety and OCD. Coincidentally, one of the most effective techniques I was given to cope when I was feeling anxious was to sit down and imagine something spinning. I would focus on and control the speed, slowing down and speeding up, until I felt my heart rate slow and my breath return to a normal pattern. Wheel throwing has a similar quality with a hands-on application. Throwing has given me a physical outlet for the tension I feel inside, but I think the reason I am drawn back to it is because it gives me the opportunity to take parts of myself that I have always looked down on and create something beautiful from them.
What is your process usually like? Are there any rituals or philosophes that you follow? Do you have a specific shape or end goal in mind when starting a piece, or do you let it form as you work?
Does listening to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on repeat count as a ritual?
I mentioned before that I want all of my work to have intention. I spend a significant chunk of my time weighing each ball of clay, measuring each piece, and working toward making cohesive sets. Very rarely do I sit down with no plan at all. Much of my time is spent thinking through and sketching out ideas so by the time I get to the studio I’m eager to shift those ideas from my mind to my hands. I describe my work as clean and technically proficient because these characteristics are the result of me focusing the unease and tension I feel almost constantly and focusing them all into my hands. As a result, I feel the shapes and finishes in my work are the results of my internal centering being expressed physically.
What is it like to be a New York City-based artist? What makes this community unique?
If anyone had told me five years ago that I would move to New York and pursue any artistic venture I would have laughed at them. This life is nothing I ever would have imagined for myself and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. When I first got here I felt very out of place and listless. I was accustomed to having a large group of friends and a busy schedule. I had been searching for people who can relate to me. Studios have provided that. Working and learning in shared studios has been so beneficial for me. I have met so many amazing new people and had the opportunity to learn and expand and observe in a way I never would have otherwise.
New York has provided the space for me to learn, grow, and create as well as a diverse landscape in which I have been able to discover and express myself. I do struggle with how I should “brand” myself as an artist in New York. There is a lot of competition. I have been hesitant to step out and present my work, but I have been learning that honesty and transparency is very important. I am unsure of how I would like to be perceived by the world. I am still learning and growing, and I do not need to be perfect or have it all together at this point. I have been working to give myself the space and flexibility to grow.
Where do you see your practice moving towards? Are there any new techniques or forms you’d like to try in the future?
I would like to start throwing larger forms. I am not a big person, so I have had to practice and learn how to hold my body in the correct position to control larger amount for clay. I have been watching and admiring potters who can put multiple large pieces together and make massive forms. A lot of the ideas I have would require me to throw bigger. I still have so much to learn when it comes to throwing and hand building. I am intrigued by color and texture. I want to learn everything there is to learn. I have been reading a lot of firing and glaze mixing. That is probably the next move for me. I would also like to get to the point that I can see my work through from start to finish. I have plans to take a glaze mixing workshop in early January that I am very excited for. I have also experimented quite a bit with alternative firing methods. I’ve experimented with a few rounds of pit firing and would like to get into salt firing and raku.
On your website you characterize your style as sleek, tactile, functional with clean, sharp edges and a neutral color palette with an emphasis on the technical. How did you develop this style and what draws you to being technical?
I strive for my work to have intention. Personally, I find a lot of value in completing tasks as efficiently, thoroughly, and correctly as I possibly can. If I am going to put my name on something, I want to know that it was the best I had to offer. I have always been a detail-oriented human. I have historically been negative about and embarrassed by having OCD. Ceramics has helped me come into my own and not only accept the condition of my mind but thrive because of it. Throwing has given me a space to focus this energy into a productive practice. I have a tendency to pinpoint flaws or problems and find a way to fix them. I have always been big on puzzles and problem solving. I wouldn’t say I am drawn to being technical, rather it is just my natural state of being.
Another part of me that has a big effect on why I work the way I do is being a black woman. Finding my voice and my role is an issue I have been working through. Having melanin in America is difficult for many reasons, but a big contributor to me is that society, both historically and in general, has always pushed the black woman down. At times it has felt easier to be quiet and not make waves, but more recently I’ve been attempting to actively choose a different perspective. In a world that is constantly trying to put me down, I choose to rise above the pressures, expectations, and obstacles instead of avoiding or ignoring them. I have been pushing myself to be the best that I possibly can to be perceived as a hard-working bad bitch that can’t be ignored.
You recently launched your own online shop. Congrats! How does it feel? What made you decide to start selling your work?
I ran out of space in my apartment. If I kept bringing home more work my roommates might have evicted me. We were at mug and planter capacity. However, I also started selling my work because I finally felt I was producing pieces that I was comfortable putting my name on and sending out into the world. Stepping out and selling my work has been both exciting and terrifying but I am eager to do more.
Even though your online shop is pretty new, where would you like to see it go? Will you be participating in any markets, working in wholesale, etc?
At this point I am still getting a grasp on what kind of work I want to put out. I have been working toward having a more focused style—finding shapes and finishes I feel embody who I am as an artist. I would like to see my work progress toward mostly one-off pieces or sets. I like the idea of making pieces that will be more unique to the owner and the space they inhabit. Though I love to make pieces that match, I don't think I want to move toward wholesale at this point. I would still like to give myself space and flexibility to make anything I want. If anyone wants anything specific they should email me. I am always open to commissions.
Do you have any dream projects that you would love to make a reality?
At this point I have a lot of dreams for the future. I hope to one day be able to move away from making pieces that are mostly functional. I would like to move toward more decorative pieces—pieces we don't hold in our hands. Pieces that stand alone outside of function. Recently I have also been fantasizing about lighting designs with thrown porcelain. On a smaller more short-term scale, I would like to teach and get my work into shops and markets.
If people want to keep up-to-date on your adventures, where should they go?
To keep up with me I would recommend following @jmf.ceramics on instagram or heading over to my site at jmfceramics.com.
Thank you for reading our latest Studio Member Spotlight Interview with Jes Fisher.