Handmade Art You Can Use Everyday
This is the third in a series of blog posts titled, “A Potter’s Journey.” American Craft Council and I have been working together for the past year, devising the best way to share the story of how I developed a full-time pottery career. I hope you will enjoy reading these monthly blog posts as I share my experiences with a new audience.
“A Potter’s Journey: Conquering Art Major Anxiety”
This is the second in a series of blog posts titled, “A Potter’s Journey.” American Craft Council and I have been working together for the past year, devising the best way to share the story of how I developed a full-time pottery career. I hope you will enjoy reading these monthly blog posts as I share my experiences with a new audience.
“A Potter’s Journey: Art Experiences Outside the College Classroom”
512 miles down a single stretch of highway led me straight to Prairie Fire Pottery. After almost 2 weeks of clay work, learning about pottery business, and relaxing with friends and cats, I feel thankful for such an amazing experience.
“My work is highly influenced by the North Dakota land…I grew up here, my soul is imprinted in the land.” – Tama Smith, owner of Prairie Fire Pottery.
This image below shows how Tama draws inspiration for her glazing and colors directly from North Dakota landscapes. Her glaze studio is full of photography. 
Tama’s strongest voice comes out through her glazes: “In grad school, my teacher said, ‘Any potter can make cups and bowls. Your surfaces will set you apart.’ I don’t make much work in clay because I love glazing and firing the kiln.” I can’t wait to see how she uses my pots as canvases for her abstract landscapes.
Tama and I still found a way to collaborate in clay, as she learned my handle pulling technique and pulled over 100 handles for these tall, “car cup holder” mugs. Both our signatures are included on every pot, along with any other studio helpers that participate in the Praire Fire Pottery workshop. Check the Prairie Fire Pottery website in the near future to find these tall mugs, small dandelion vases, and square, casserole bakers that Tama will glaze in the coming months:
Visiting other potteries gave me perspective on the huge variety of ways that potters make a living. I bought a pot at Dakotah Clayworks in Hebron, ND at their self-serve gallery!
Stay tuned for more of my work showing up in American Craft Council and Ceramics Monthly, as I’ve been accepted to write in upcoming publications online and in print!
Lastly, my online store is finally back up and running, with mugs, cups and a few speciality pots, like collaborative pots with renowned painter Paige Dansinger. Paige is moving to a new gallery in Minneapolis! We have plans to perform collaborative art making and show work in her new space.
Tama Smith is the founder and owner of Prairie Fire Pottery in Beach, ND. Her production studio is 1 mile off Interstate 94, just before the Montana boarder. We met years ago, when I was traveling west to ski Red Lodge Mountain in Montana. During this year’s NCECA in Milwaukee, we randomly reconnected at a small, Armenian restaurant.
“Hey Joel! Great to see you! I’ve been following your blog. When are you going to come work at my studio?”
The conversation continued with a quick facebook message a week later…
“You should come work in my studio a bit…what say ye? Come make your work and fire in my kiln and we’ll sell it in the gallery. We have a bungalow where you could sleep, cook and shower.”
Last Tuesday, I drove 7 hours west for a 2 week stint to throw pots and learn about the thriving studio Tama has built in Beach, ND.
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Coincidentally, we use the exact same clay from Continental Clay!
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Tama’s crew consists of her husband, family, friends, visiting artists and production potters. Collectively, they operate a thriving gallery, production pottery studio and online store. “People thought we were crazy to set up in Beach, ND.” says Tama’s husband, Jerry: “Our philosophy was, ‘Go where they ain’t.’ I-94 is like a river. 3 million people drive past us each year, and we’ve become a magnet, drawing people in.”
The best part of this experience is being in a thriving studio at peak production, making 7-8,000 pots per year. The studio, storage and gallery shelves are jam packed with pots. Again, Jerry shares his experience of how decades of hard work has led to success: “It’s like feast or famine around here. We’re getting ready for the summer feast. In 1 month the gallery will be packed and we’ll need extra help just to keep up with sales.”
Most of my days are spent on the wheel, throwing hundreds of pots that Tama will glaze, fire and sell in the gallery. Our collaboration also reaches into wet clay work, where Tama trims and decorates some of my forms. Here are some process shots that show our collaboration, shots of the Prairie Fire Pottery gallery, studio and cats:
On April 5th, from 6:00-9:00pm, come see Joel’s collaborative painted stoneware on display at Paige Dansinger’s “Cherry Blossoms” gallery exhibition in the Minneapolis Skyway Mall.
Gallery Paige is located at 811 LaSalle Ave in Minneapolis. The space functions as both a gallery and studio for Dansinger. A world-renown painter and digital artist, Dansinger was included in the museum exhibit, Gutai: Spledid Playground, Card Box, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NYC. She has also performed her artwork during residencies at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts, the DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Boston and New York’s Brooklyn College.
For her current collaboration with Cherrico Pottery, Joel throws clay bowls, platters, and plates for Paige to paint on with glaze materials. He then brings the painted bisqueware to his studio in St. Joseph for firing, and returns the finished pieces to exhibit in Gallery Paige.
Collaborations like these bring Joel’s work in conversation with the larger contemporary art world. His work with Paige not only diversifies his art, but Paige’s paintings come alive on Joel’s 3D pottery surfaces, meant for display and as functional dinnerware. When it comes to the collaboration, Joel says he feels honored to create pottery as canvases for Paige’s iconic paintings.
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Check out the process shots below to see how these two artists come together to make beautiful works of art:
The finished pots will be exhibited April 5th at Gallery Paige in Minneapolis!