Raina Lee is an artist based in Los Angeles and works in clay and experimental glazes. Raina’s practice draws from ceramics history, archeology, and burial objects, and objects from her family’s past. Raina began in clay making functional works and has recently started making sculptural pieces.
Ceramic artist Andrew Tarrant is an accomplished practitioner of sprigged decoration. Andrew’s work is a contemporary view of classical pottery forms influenced by historical and mythological themes and a modern humor. Born in the United Kingdom, and moving to Canada at a young age Andrew’s early memories of England promoted the evolution of his artistic career.
Shaylise Sylvester is an artist who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she was born and raised. Shaylise discovered her passion for ceramics during her undergraduate studies and has been honing her skills for three years now. Shaylise is currently exploring and studying the history of ceramics, looking at historical artifacts, and finding her voice through her work. Shaylise tends to focus on wheel throwing but also enjoys the freedom of form that hand-building allows. Shaylise work is primarily functional at the moment, and she is interested in the development and history of functional pots. She also enjoys the idea of creating a functional pot that is unique and beautiful in shape. Shaylise had taught ceramics in California and now teaches at a local community studio in Fairbanks. Shaylise is currently a ceramics student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is preparing a portfolio for graduate school.
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Marlaina Mathisen | Episode 1124
Marlaina Mathisen is a proficient wheel throwing artist who loves to share her understanding of the wheel to others. Marlaina’s personal work focuses primarily on wheel thrown and altered forms ranging from functional works of art to organic sculptural centerpieces. Currently Marlaina teaches a variety of classes at The Digs in Chicago, Fine Line Creative Arts Center in and supplying and managing a pottery gallery in Door County Wisconsin called Ephraim Clayworks. Marlaina’s 5 year plan is to continue diligently working towards establishing her own pottery studio.
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Your approach seems audacious, thinking bigger and going bigger. I wanted to ask you a few questions so I could learn to better myself and to follow a little bit down that road that you have been on. So first off, I’m curious, how do you move forward when fear is trying to hold you back?
That’s such a good question and thank you for saying that, that means a lot to me. I haven’t always felt audacious or bold. And I think that one of the biggest things I could ever say about fear is that when you have courage, courage could not exist without fear. So if you want to be courageous you must be afraid and in that I think you can kind of find gratitude for being afraid. Because being courageous doesn’t mean you are going to do it fearlessly. It means that you are doing it through being scared.
What does that do mean for a comfort zone? Living in a comfort zone versus stepping out of a comfort zone?
I think that you really can know if you could give one percent more most of the time. But you often can lie to yourself. And I am just saying this from personal experience. I think that’s one thing pottery has taught me is that I can try again to make a larger pot for example, and it has adapted me to failure which translates to all of life.
What is the difference between blind faith and bold planning?
I am not going to say that I know for sure. I am still always a student and I am always learning. A quite that has really stuck with me on that specifically is that you can have faith or you can have fear and both require you to believe in something that you can’t see. So which one is going to lift you up? Which one is going to give you the most air underneath your feet? Which one is going to help you attack this challenge more? It’s going to be faith.
How important is taking the time to plan and learn?
I love this question because I am have been talking a lot about this quote to people, You can’t learn to swim by reading about water. And that is just like talking about the importance of action and not getting stuck in the planning phase or stuck in the reading phase. Which is so important but at the end of the day if I don’t take any steps myself I won’t have anything to pivot from. The more effort the more valuable the outcome is to you.
Is part of being audacious also part of fighting against the status quo?
Yikes. I don’t know. Maybe. I think there’s a part of me that loves being challenged and having to prove myself. Like when I was a little girl people were like, She can’t do that, she’s a little girl. And now sometimes people are like, She can’t do that she’s a girl. And I’m, Oh yeah, I love that you said that cuz now I am going to go a hundred times harder.
Book
How to be an Adult in Relationships by David Richo
Contact
Instagram: @marlaina_thepotterylady
