Interview: Crystal from Vitreous Wares

Tell us a bit about yourself, who is Crystal?
Outside of ceramics, the things I love the most are food, cooking, gardening, and light. I’m a third generation Oregonian and really love the variety of climates and flora of my state. I got my bachelors of fine art in 2006 in sculpture at Pacific Northwest College of Art. I’ve had a few jobs in the art and design fields since then but pretty much work full time as a ceramicist now.
Ceramicist is one of my favourite ever words! Such a great job title. 🙂

Have you always been creative?
I’ve always been interested in how things work and how to make things. The only class I wanted to go to in high school was my drawing class and I still remember deeply enjoying drawing. I remember one of my professors in college said that sculptors see the world in light and dark and its really true for me.

Do you remember when you first fell in love with ceramics?
My mom had a job glazing tiles when I was a teenager and I would help her do that sometimes. The thing that got me was the malleability of wet clay in my figure modeling classes. I felt like I was drawing in three dimensions and that was remarkably exciting for me.

Do you play with any other mediums or just ceramics?
I’ve actually been interested in and have worked in a lot of mediums having been a sculpture major – I was once a real dabbler. I love metal, wood and fabric but I’ve really focused on ceramics for the last few years.

Your pieces are all so beautiful! Tell us a bit about your process. Do you sketch out ideas first or do you just dive in, get your hands messy and see what happens?
I definitely draw things out first and sometimes I’ll work on an idea for many years. If I can’t draw it, it isn’t clear enough in my head to create. After that I make an original and a plaster form from that original, which is what I use to make my work. I don’t use a wheel and instead use the plaster forms to produce almost everything. After it’s dry, the clay goes through two different firings before it’s finished, a bisque and glaze firing.

What is your workspace like? 
It’s tiny and completely full! I work in my home studio and have to carry everything down a spiral staircase to get to the kiln so I’m a little worried about the day that goes badly… I’m hoping to build a work studio in my backyard out in my garden this summer.

If you had to choose one of your pieces to be your favourite which one would it be?
I really love my three-tiered bowl (above) that can be used as a fruit bowl or as a cool vase. It was a really long process to design and create and is still challenging to make. I use the first one I made in my kitchen as my fruit bowl.

Do you have a favourite form to make?
I’ve definitely been making hourglass shapes for many years. I can pull out sketchbooks from 8 years ago and see the refinement over the years. It comes from my love of the figure but it’s been simplified.

The colours you use are all so beautiful. Does anything influence your colour choices or do you simply pick what you are loving at that time?
I always try to use colors that complement what you will do with the piece. I want the color to heighten whatever you will use it for. I think simplicity helps achieve that as well.

Do you sell your creations at markets/in stores or just online?
I sell at craft sales in Portland and also in a few galleries and stores nationwide. My online store has the widest selection by far and a lot of unique pieces.

Do you have any advice for people preparing for their first stall?
Bring a friend, backstock, business cards, and definitely a credit card reader.

What do you do to get yourself out of a creative rut?
I give myself permission to be in the rut and that usually gets me out of it the fastest. If I beat myself up for being burnt out (say after all the holidays shows) it doesn’t do me much good. I also love getting a huge stack of books that interest me from the library.

Any handmade sellers you admire?
Gosh there are so many cool makers, especially on Etsy. I have a few favorite ceramic shops on there including Element Clay Studio, Vitrified Studio, and Hope Johnson’s ceramics. There’s also an awesome light shop called lightexture.

Last one, if you could have any kind of plant what would it be and why?
It would be an evergreen and ever-growing tarragon plant. Despite being a master gardener I just can’t get one to live in my garden (even in my greenhouse!) and having one that produced all year round would be amazing.