Ceramic Podcast- Naomi Clement

The woman being interviewed is named Naomi Clement, a Canadian artist and educator. Clement has been involved with the arts since she was young: she grew up in an artistic family, and went to an art school in high school, which offered 2D, print- making, ceramics etc. Clement started off as doing theatre, and in high school started taking ceramic classes. 

After high school, Clement wanted to broaden her community and network by going to grad school in the USA. Clement received her MFA from Louisiana State University, and finished her degree at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design.

Clement’s style involves incorporating graphic letters into her work, Her ideas for incorporating text into her work started before she got her graduate degree: her inspiration first came from her grandparent’s love letters, which she received when she was in her 20s.

 Clement also uses letters from her family's recipe books: she feels like those moments aren't honored as often as they really should be. Clement also asks her family to write words for her so she can use it in her work, because she likes to be able to recognize her family's handwriting. In making her artwork Clement takes the text and moves them around or flips them. It’s important to her that the love letters are not obvious. She wants them to be subtle. 

In addition to using text, Clement works a lot with color. Her parents started collecting artwork in the 60s, so Clement grew up with a lot of color. For her, colors are comforting. The colors that she uses are primary colors, but she also likes to play around with warm and cool colors. 

With all the color, Clement uses a neutral base which is a chocolate brown clay. Clement feels like she connects to her pots more than she connects to the outside world and that pots are good facilitators for the community. But, Clement believes that social media has had a positive influence on her career, letting her share her artwork with the world.

The biggest takeaway for me from this episode is how Clement used her grandparents' love letters to create artwork. To me that's interesting because it directly shows her motivation and inspiration to create artwork. It's an effective way for her to add her own unique style to her work. Her work stands out as unique, which is important since there are so many other ceramics artists. 

In listening to the podcast I learned that I could remake some of her work. I have a diary that I have had since I was a little girl, and there are a lot of hidden secrets in there. Maybe I can make a sculpture and put some of the words and emotions that I was feeling at that time on to the art work.  That way I can combine my emotions and artwork together. Additionally, I felt like I could really apply her methods to my life. I like it when artists integrate their life into art because then I feel like I can really relate to both their art and their life. For me, a piece of artwork has to have a meaning in order for me to connect to it. I find artwork with meaning inspiration and the need to go out and bring my emotions to life. 

Ceramic Podcast- Danielle Mcdaniel

The person getting interviewed in this podcast is named Danielle Mcdaniel, who is known as “The Clay Lady.” Mcdaniel is a ceramist and businesswoman. Mcdaniel started by taking ceramics class in high school. After high school, Mcdaniel started teaching kids and adults as a person who goes to parties to paint plates with kids. Mcdaniel did in-house field trips, went to teach at schools, and taught her students how to do things step by step. She got her nickname “The Clay Lady” from the kids who would be really excited to see her when she came to their schools they would call out  “Look! it's The Clay Lady.” Mcdaniel’s career has been one of slow growth; she calls the growth of grass roots organic. After running paint parties, Mcdaniel later opened her own studio. She mentioned in the interview that she teaches her students how to find their voice in their art and how to sell their artwork. Additionally, Mcdaniel made Clay Lady products, like slip recipes and putting them in a jar and selling them. And with that Mcdaniel made tutorial videos and books to grow her business. 

Mcdaniel sounds like a very powerful woman. She seems to know herself well. She thinks that being an only child created the person that she is today. She also says that she only likes to do things that she knows she can be successful at, because she felt it was a waste of time to do something she isn’t good at. Mcdaniel was self taught growing up thats why she likes to teach kids and adults now. Ultimately, she feels that the process of artmaking and teaching is what makes her an artist, and not the project that she is working on. 

From listening to Danielle Mcdaniel, I learned that anyone can start a business and run a business by themselves, as long as they are dedicated and determined. As Mcdaniel mentioned in the interview, she’s been self-employed all her life. I am impressed by her mentality and I like the confidence that she has. 

The biggest takeaway for me is how this woman created a life for herself, by that I mean how she found something she was good at and kept growing her business from there. She began as a substitute teacher, and now she teaches her own university classes! When I was younger I used to like to do a lot of DIY’s and listening to Mcdaniel reminded me of the enthusiasm I used to have when I made little hair clips and hair bows. I wonder: if I had really stuck to making those clips a business, could I too have been self employed? Mcdaniel really is a very powerful and inspirational women who started from nothing and made a career for herself by self-teaching all the way through.

Ceramic Podcast- Christina Margarita Erives

Christina Margarita Erives. Erives is a Mexican artist who was the tenth out of twelve siblings, and her art is very strongly influenced by her family. Erives said that she mostly got along with her youngest siblings, and likes to think that she has been a good sibling to them. Erives uses a lot of vibrant color in her artwork to represent the colors in her family, and feels like if she uses bright color she won't disappoint her family. 

Many of Erives' pieces are in series. In her interview she talked about how she would find a word or an inspiration, and create her ceramic art related to that. For example, she made artwork about her family of 12. Erives made cups for different types of liquid, meaning that each one was designed to nurture a different one of her 12 siblings. Additionally, Erives wants to show a lot of color because she said she doesn't want the audience to know her truth, whether it’s related to a family matter or something she does on purpose. 

I enjoyed Erives' artwork because it's very colorful and cartoon-like; she seems like she enjoys remaking her favorite dishes or dishes that catch her attention. In her artwork she integrates her cultural background, in traditional Mexican art the colors are bright and that's the same color palette that she uses. Additionally, as part of another piece she made a type of bread called “Concha,” which is a food that only latinos would understand or be familiar with. 

From the podcast, I learned a lot about Erives. It included a short biography, but also told me about her dark side or hidden secrets. I also learned that I like her type of artwork and her method of being creative with her heritage. I, too, like to do art pieces inspired by my family or something that has deep meaning and secrets behind it. Like Erives, my art pieces are a part of me, and when I make them it's like I'm sharing part of my story, or some of my secrets. Hearing about Erives' artwork and life made me really think about what kinda artist I want to be. I don't have to decide now, but for me Erives' work is a good place to start to find out what kinda ceramic/sculptures I want to make.