Live with your Pottery

Guest Blog posting from Alex Forster: “Marketing Intern” and senior English major at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. View his Linkedin Page here.

Recently, Joel pulled a mug off the counter of the Local Blend. Its lip had chipped, and he didn’t want people drinking from it anymore. The mug was one of the earliest pieces Joel had offered the Blend three years ago. And over the course of a thousand washings, handlings, and refills, the mug had started to wear the scars of a wounded soldier. Its chapped foot was tattooed with the number sixteen marking ounces, its curves were scratched from being passed across countertops, and its insides were browned with coffee stains. Almost no part except its speckled yellow skin was in the original condition. But instead of throwing the mug away, Joel discovered beauty in its scars. Now it sits like a trophy on a shelf in his office -a proud token to the life of pottery.

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An early mug Joel brought to the Local Blend 3 years ago. Besides the chipped lip, the mug has a vertical hairline crack, chipped edges on the foot, and permanent coffee stains inside.
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16 marks the mug ounce size, drawn with permanent marker 3 years ago so a Local Blend employee knew what drink size to make.

Every pot tells a story. And like people, we can learn a lot about our pottery by looking at its history. One of Joel’s friends, a fellow potter named Matthew Mejia, recently shared these words of wisdom on Joel’s Facebook page. They come from the Pennsylvania potter Jack Troy. He writes, “My feeling is that we potters finish our work, but only others can complete it, through use. Pottery, therefore, is only finished once, but can be completed endlessly, by a succession of users, keeping it active in a variety of settings. When we say we are ‘moved’ by a pot, it may be the animating force of its creator refusing to be still.”

Joel tries to emulate this mindset in his pottery installations at places like the Local Blend. In one of our earliest conversations, he said to me, “Surround yourself with pottery.” When we bring pottery into our lives, we ourselves become artists. Like the mug at the Local Blend, our lives scar little memories into the artwork. A chip in the lip may remind us of a time when we tried to balance too many things at once. Coffee stains may remind us of long conversations with close friends, or perhaps, long nights and early mornings. Whatever the scars are, our pottery shares the story.

Even the best potters cannot create two completely identical pieces. Sure, a potter may make 100 or even 200 pieces of the same style, but each one has its own personality. Each pot reflects the mindset of the potter at one particular moment on the wheel. On the same shelf in Joel’s office, next to the mug from the Local Blend, sits a porcelain cup by the potter Steven Hill. Joel got this piece after Hill came to the Paramount Arts Center for a 2 day pottery workshop. What’s interesting about the cup is its imperfection. A little s-shaped scar on the inside of the cup shows that Hill speed dried it. A crack in the glaze near the foot says that Hill had to reattach the part after it fell off during glazing. Even marks in the glaze itself show that Hill may have been rushing to get the piece finished before the end of the conference. Every part of the cup feels hurried.

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The rough surface happened because Hill skipped the bisque firing, raw glazed the pot, then speed dried it.

Hill would probably regard this cup as “flawed,” and unlike Joel, I doubt he would exhibit it on his shelf of inspiring pieces. Many potters would never exhibit or sell a flawed pot, and most usually smash them. Joel, on the other hand, appreciates these flawed pieces for the stories they tell. For him, they hold life and personality -characteristics you can’t find in a machine made, or even a beautifully glazed, flawless pot.

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When Hill glazed this cup, he accidentally ripped off the foot, then dipped it in glaze and stuck it back on. The hairline crack reminds Joel of this event.

Many of us, myself included, may feel like we need an art degree to understand a Salvador Dali painting or a Clase Oldenburg sculpture. But with pottery I feel it’s different. With pottery, our lives become the galleries. We not only bring the beauty of the art into our lives, but our lives make the art more beautiful. Potter Dick Lehman sums it up perfectly. When it comes to appreciating our pottery he writes, “Fine dinnerware has the potential for helping us to find, even though in a small way, affection for life and beauty in living.” So, the next time life requires pottery, take a moment to study its living history.

Every little scar in our pottery shares a story. Some are pleasant, some are unpleasant, but they are all important. Joel appreciates the flaws in his pottery for the important lessons they teach him. Below are some examples of these lessons.

Paige Dansinger and Joel Cherrico Collaboration, Artist Pottery, Stoneware Mug, 20141

This crack comes from “dunting” – a stress crack that happens when making pottery, but opens during the firing. The pot probably got bumped in travel, since Joel often drives to and from Minneapolis to get Paige Dansinger’s paintings on his pots and exhibit them in Gallery Paige.

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Joel uses a wood ash glaze called Nuka, which gives his pots interesting and irregular qualities like surface pinholes. Nuka stains with coffee over time, allowing the pot’s character to evolve with the user. After getting banged around for 6 months in the Local Blend, this mug cracked and leaked. Employees wash the mugs up to 5 times per day, everyday, and sometimes a mug will hold up for over 2 years. Joel pulled this one from the Blend and quickly snapped a photo of the bleeding soldier.

Copper Red Pottery, Copper Red Vase, Gold Repair Pottery, S Crack, Joel Cherrico Pottery, 2013, Image1

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This is an “S” crack that sometimes happens with hump throwing. Joel filled it with epoxy and metal leaf. Look at the amazing color the “S” crack has next to the Copper Red glaze.

Finding a Balance in an Imbalanced Art World

Hannah Anderson worked as a “Pottery Marketing Intern” this semester. She is a senior Art major at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. In this post, she describes our semester long task of trying to define the role of pottery in the contemporary art world. 

Guest Posting by Hannah Anderson (view her Linkedin page here)

Throughout my internship with Joel, we had many discussions of “high art” vs. “low art” and where his pottery fit into the mix. High art, one could argue, is not functional for the consumer. Traditionally, the function for this type of art is to sit in a museum as a masterpiece, observed through this elevated status.  Low art is generally mass-produced, inexpensive, and far more available to the public. In my critical theory class, we discussed how museums have opinions on high and low art as well, and can influence how people view artwork by either appearing intimidating or more approachable.  

The terms “high” and “low” art should be reevaluated and adapted to today’s contemporary art world. Words that correlate with high art seem far too Renaissance or Baroque in feel, such as “master of art,” prestige, traditional, western, still-life, landscapes, portraits, and, my favorite, original.  This particular word poses the question: can high art even exist anymore?  I would argue that it certainly still exists, but not in the same light in which it was originally established.  High art and low art should be adaptable terms for each new generation of artists. Low art has synonyms such as: consumerism, production, affordable, advertised, ordinary, etc.  This is a challenge many artists face today, and it creates a huge imbalance in the art world. 

Joel poses the question, “why are we making and selling pots?” He gathers a lot of insight from potter Warren Mackenzie, whom also has a lot to say about art as a functional vessel vs. sitting in a gallery space. Warren is an 89 year old, world-renowned artist. He is most at ease with his work when he knows it is being used, handled everyday and looked at often. Pottery has the potential to be the most intimate of artwork, because it’s users have constant contact with it.  Clay is not expensive and is made from the earth, so when does it make the transition from low to high art?

Price plays a factor into what is high and low art.  Warren says “A 10 dollar pot, now that’s affordable.”  He says that if it breaks, then it is not a huge loss.  This is interesting coming from a renowned artist, because his philosophy conflicts with his position in the art world; his pots resell on Ebay.com for hundreds of dollars everyday. Mackenzie says, “Unfortunately, now I only sell through galleries.” His philosophy seems more focused on low art, but his standing is high.

Bernard Leach, A Potter's Book, 1940, Joel Cherrico Pottery
Bernard Leach, “A Potter’s Book” 1940 – Pottery mentor to Warren Mackenzie

I like to think that many artists in today’s art world present a mix of high and low art, and it is perhaps just difficult to find the balance.  Right now, an imbalance is evident in Joel’s artwork. His pottery is functional, consumer-friendly, priced lower than most professional potters, and is meant to bring a comfortable aesthetic to anyone’s home. His online store is in contrast with this idea, because we take a high art approach by using professional photography equipment to shoot pots in front of a gradated background. We then use these photos to try and join the contemporary art world.

I wonder, is the Local Blend pottery high or low art? At the Local Blend coffee shop, they use Joel’s pottery in mass, so anyone can eat and drink from his pottery everyday. This seems much closer to low art to me. We take the same pots and put them in front of a gradated background, making them high art in a different atmosphere.  Without a little low art, high art wouldn’t be possible, since the Blend is where most of Joel’s income is generated. Writing about this venue has also brought him some of his biggest successes in the art world, including 2 major magazine publications. Perhaps these everyday pots will someday be elevated to a high art status?

Low art is what’s paying the bills, yet in the future, Joel wants to support his livelihood with a balance between low and high art. This means more of his income needs to be generated from our work on the online store. One way we accomplished this was by branding his artwork in a more focused way, using one glaze: the Nuka Glaze with iron. Nuka with iron had a great deal of success for Joel throughout my internship, enough for him to narrow his focus toward solely that glaze. Currently the online store has less Nuka with Iron than Joel would like, and his future plans are to recreate his online store geared toward pottery of only that glaze type.  Over 50% of the online sales were Nuka with iron, and Joel sold pots with this glaze type to five different people both locally and nationally in one week. He has also completed 4 dinnerware sets in this glaze, 2 of which were sold through wedding registries. We see huge potential in this glaze combination.

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Nuka Glaze with Iron, Joel Cherrico Pottery, 2013 Nuka Glaze with Iron Stoneware Mug, Joel Cherrico Pottery, 2013

This branding was influenced by Ayumi Horie, who certainly has a recognized, established, successful brand for herself. Her style is easily recognizable on every pot. Her artwork sells at high prices online and is always sold out in less than a day. Moreover, Horie has earned her place in the art world through years of consistent craftsmanship, a huge resume, and skillfully writing about her craft in major publications.

Our experience with high art continued through Paige Dansinger– an internationally renowned painter and art historian who is collaborating with Joel. She makes high art in the form of painting on canvas, digital paintings on IPads, projections, performance, and most recently, painting with glazes on Joel’s pottery. During my internship, she opened a gallery in the Minneapolis Skyway Mall called Gallery Paige. Everyday, she exhibits and sells her artwork as high art. The collaborative work made by herself and Joel has huge potential to take off in the high art world.

BlogPostImage1  Handmade_Painted_Plates_Paige_Dansinger_and_Joel_Cherrico_Artist_Collaboration_SKU_317_Image_1__50351.1381113981.235.275Paige Dansinger Painting on Plates, Joel Cherrico Pottery, Handmade Ceramic Painted Plates

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To conclude, perhaps in today’s world, the balance needs to be found in the middle of the spectrum between high art and low art.  Are the best artists those who spend their time making both high and low art? One could argue that they can reach the most amount of people that way.  Because that in fact is what art is all about: reaching the most amount of people with a particular message. The meaning of art and its purpose to be seen can easily get lost when identifying it as either high or low.  As renowned potter Bernard Leach said, “To me the greatest thing is to live beauty in our daily life and to crowd every moment with things of beauty. It is then, and then only, that the art of the people as a whole is endowed with its richest significance.”

Pottery Business Trip: Stamped Mugs for Duluth Coffee Company, Artist Dinnerware for Gallery Paige

“When asked about his chief concern as an artist and potter, he modestly replied, ‘I honestly do not know. I respond to something inside me and I do not know what I am doing until I have done it. The moment of completion is sharing with others. The work is from myself but not for myself.’”

–       Jonathan L. Fairbanks, about Brother Thomas, October 2007, from “Remembering Brother Thomas Bezanson,” Pucker Gallery, Boston.

The moment of completion is an exciting part of the pottery process. My old college professor, Sam Johnson, used to say that unloading glaze kilns was like Christmas or Halloween. Either the pots turn out great and cause an adrenaline rush of excitement, or ugly, flawed glazes send you plunging into a pit of despair.

When good pots do come out of the kiln, the artistic process continues to the viewer or user of those pots. Brother Thomas created forms and surfaces with inherent beauty, and he knew that this beauty needed to be shared. His work is exhibited in museums and galleries across the world. Sharing artwork lets artists grow by collecting feedback from viewers. Potters generally do this in 2 ways: exhibition and sales.

I see a lot of common ground between good kiln openings, selling pots, and exhibiting art. They involve the culmination of hard work and reaping rewards. The experiences happen quickly and often bring good vibes that linger for hours. Last Friday, I shared three of these experiences in one, epic day. It’s also worth mentioning 381 miles of travel, which comes to $215 in tax deductions at $.565 per mile according to www.irs.gov.

8:00am Kiln Opening

I opened the Skutt kiln and pulled out about 70 mugs for Duluth Coffee Company, made with a hand carved stamp by Bruno Press. I spent an hour polishing the bottoms of 100 total mugs, packaged them in 5 clay boxes and loaded the car. After a morning of errands, I drove from St. Joseph to Duluth.

Process Shot 2, Duluth Coffee Co

2:00pm Duluth Coffee Company Drop-off

Eric Faust, owner and roaster, met me with an awesome cup of fresh roasted coffee and a check. This was an order for re-sale, and it could revolutionize how I make new bodies of work for coffee shops. Last year, Eric worked with a potter that sold about 400 stamped mugs through his shop. The potter moved out of state and Eric has been searching for a potter to rejuvenate this project. I was lucky enough to meet him months ago, when visiting friends in Duluth and scouting coffee shops. I was even luckier when he offered to buy the mugs wholesale- the first time this has happen in my 3.5 years as a full-time potter.

Eric generously let me retain artistic freedom. Too often I have received requests for stamps, carvings, or colors that fall outside my aesthetic interests or capabilities. This project reflects Duluth Coffee Company’s philosophies about roasting and brewing signature, gourmet coffees for the local community.

Process Shot 3, Duluth Coffee Co Process Shot 1, Duluth Coffee Co

DuluthCoffeeMug3, Image 1  DuluthCoffeeMug2, Image 1 Duluth Coffee Company, Joel Cherrico Pottery Stamped Mugs, 2013 Stoneware Mugs Duluth Coffee Company, Joel Cherrico Pottery Stamped Mugs, 2013

8:00pm: Gallery Paige, Grand Opening

Paige Dansinger is a renowned painter and art historian who has exhibited internationally, including a show at the Guggenheim this past spring. We met coincidentally at Continental Clay supplier while she was buying machine-made plates and glazes to paint for a commission. I said, “It would be great if a potter could make plates for you” and she replied, “Well, do you make plates?” Also coincidentally, I was at Up Cafe performing pottery throwing demos, that day only. She saw me throw, saw the stack of 500+ pots in their space, and we caught the vibe that we need to team up.

In the 2 months I’ve known Paige, she’s come to my kiln space to paint on my pots, invited me to her studio to view her process and bring more pots, and opened a gallery. That’s right, she opened a gallery in the downtown Minneapolis Skyway mall!

Gallery Paige had the Grand Opening Friday. Dozens of her pieces graced the gallery walls as paint on canvas, painted plates, and her innovative #DrawArt displayed as video and projection. Artists and art collectors streamed in and out of the space for hours. I brought her the first 2 glazed, finished pots from our collaboration and we shared a toast to the next body of work! Her paintings are gorgeous and I feel honored to begin the process of making pots as canvases for such a renowned artist.

When I met Paige she said, “I want my paintings in museums all over the world, hanging next to Picasso.” I think she’s on track to live into that goal!

Paige Dansinger Paintings, Joel Cherrico, Artist Tableware, 2013, Gallery Paige, Van Gogh  Paige Dansinger Paintings, Joel Cherrico, Artist Tableware, 2013, Gallery Paige

Gallery Paige, Photo by Paige Dansinger, 2013

Photo by Paige DansingerPhoto by Artist Jim Mcallister, Gallery Paige, Joel Cherrico Pottery, 2013

Photo by video artist Jim Mcallister. View some of our collaborative work here:

https://www.cherricopottery.com/video/

Not Your Typical Cold Call: An Inspiring Conversation with an Elder Potter

Last Wednesday afternoon I was attaching some handles to mugs and I got a strange call from a number in New Hampshire. Normally I let out-of-state calls go to voicemail because it’s often spam. For some reason I decided to wipe the clay off my hands and pick up.

The man on the line was Bruce Dix. He was Google searching a potter named, “Hong Jae Pyo” and he discovered my work. He asked, “Have you ever met this guy? Did you host him at your studio?” I said, “Bruce I don’t really have a studio, today I’m making pottery in my 3rd floor apartment. I’m only 25, I got the pictures of Hong Jae Pyo from a friend and just put them on my facebook.” Then Bruce said, “Oh so you’re a young guy, huh? Well I’m 65 and I’ve been a potter my whole life. I’ve gotta give you some advice while I’ve got you on the phone.”

This was the start of an hour long conversation about Bruce’s life as a potter.

The internet is so crazy. Hong Jae Pyo was a Korean potter practicing Yi Dynasty ceramics, and he toured the U.S. in the late 80’s. My only relation to him was by posting 2 images of his work on my Facebook page, because I’m really interested in his Copper Red glazes…we’ve never met, we’re not “tagged” together in any pictures. I simply typed “Hong Jae Pyo” as the image description and it was enough for Bruce to find him in Google, find my phone number on my website, and shoot me a call.

Hong Jae Pyo, Pottery Throwing Demonstration, photo by Kenneth Furber    Hong Jae Pyo, Pottery Throwing Demonstration, photo by Kenneth Furber, 2

Bruce went on to describe the time he spent with Hong Jae Pyo and 2 other Korean potters that were on tour with him.

“They were traveling to colleges to give demonstrations, eating Coke and Pizza, I could tell that they were really uncomfortable. They lived in small Korean villages with locally grown, good food. I invited them back to my place and cooked them a feast.”

Bruce went on about the potters. “I had porcelain, stoneware, and terra cotta. Each potter used a different clay and we made pots for days. They spent time by the ocean, walked around outside, away from the city. They were really humble, nice people.”

Our conversation shifted to Bruce’s life and his desire to give me advice. I don’t remember everything he said word for word, but here’s what I took away from our conversation:

Pottery Insurance

“Take your best piece from each firing – the jewel – and put it in a box. In 20 years, you’ll have a show of these pots in New York City, sell $100,000 and be able to retire. Plus, you can pull these pieces out from time to time for inspiration. It shouldn’t be hard to keep from selling these pots right away. You have family heirlooms, you don’t try to sell these, right?”

$0.25 Mugs

“When I was your age, I sold my mugs for 25 cents each. If you can get $25 per mug then you’re doing great, keep going!”

No Art Festivals

Bruce never did a single craft fair.

Word-of-Mouth

“Eventually all of your customers will come to you, it just takes time- years and years. Try unconventional ways to sell your pots. Call one of the big banks in your city and politely ask to speak with someone in charge of marketing and corporate gifts. Put on a white, clean shirt, white pants, and bring them some of your pots.”

Colleagues, Not Competitors

“You should never have competitors, you’re never competing against other potters. Find the potters that you have similarities with and spend your time with these potters.”

Ignore Criticism

“As your career builds, you’ll start to get a lot more criticism. Ignore people who criticize your work. Don’t let it bring you down, just go find like-minded potters.”

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You won’t find Bruce’s work online, he’s not interested in giving up privacy to get his pots out into the world.

Special thanks to Ken Ferber for originally sharing the images of Kong Jae Pyo that he snapped during a 1988 workshop. Ken let me photograph his images, as well as sections of a book that he bought during the workshop.

Joel Cherrico Blog Post, Bruce Dix, Kenneth Ferber, Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, www.cherricopottery.com 01    Joel Cherrico Blog Post, Bruce Dix, Kenneth Ferber, Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, www.cherricopottery.com 02 Joel Cherrico Blog Post, Bruce Dix, Kenneth Ferber, Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, www.cherricopottery.com 03      Joel Cherrico Blog Post, Bruce Dix, Kenneth Ferber, Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, www.cherricopottery.com 04 Joel Cherrico Blog Post, Bruce Dix, Kenneth Ferber, Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, www.cherricopottery.com 05     Joel Cherrico Blog Post, Bruce Dix, Kenneth Ferber, Rolling Stone, Jimi Hendrix, www.cherricopottery.com 10

New Pots at Up Cafe: Customers Using Handmade Pottery Everyday

Over the month of December I busted out about 550 new pieces of pottery for use as serving vessels in Up Cafe– a new coffee shop in northeast Minneapolis! This new coffee shop is attached to Upper Midwest Gourmet and Flamenco Organic Coffee Roastry. They’re open for business, so you can stop by anytime and sip an artfully mixed coffee drink from one of my mugs. Check out this spread in Minnesota Monthly about their “soft opening”

http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Blogs/Twin-Cities-Taste/February-2013/Shhh-Its-a-Quiet-Opening-at-Up-Cafe/index.php

Below are a few images of my pottery in their space. Watch for future posts of higher quality images and information about their grand opening. Also, special thanks goes out to my cousin Michael Applen for his Entrepreneurial mindset. He always pushed me to come up with new ways to get my pottery out into the world. He was an important part of getting pottery into Up Cafe, as well as getting this coffee shop open for business. Thanks for your help cous!

Also thanks to Central Minnesota Arts Board for awarding me a $3,000 grant that helped make this possible!

www.centralmnartsboard.org

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