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Why I Converted to Buying Handmade Plates

11/11/2019

 

...and how I let go of my desire for everything to match.

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Did you know that I used to be a big Correlle commercial glass dinnerware fan?
I grew up with all of my mom's dinnerware matching, and all of it very light weight correlle glass plates. Naturally, I just assumed everyone's dinnerware including my own should match.

It took me years to get over this desire to have everything match. I mean most people can handle an ecclectic cup collection, but a varied plate collection...that can be a stretch; including me back in the day. Honestly, it took my art professor questioning my desire to have matching plates at a group dinner she was hosting at her house. She told me to look at the Mary Bowron plate I was eating off of. That plate was an art piece unto itself, and I had the opportunity to fill my whole kitchen with art work, and stories of endeared artists.
Well my art professors story of the preciousness of an artist plate stuck with me. I have become a pottery collector. Surprise surprise... a lot of my plates are even Mary Bowron's plates. I love hosting meals at my home, and seeing peoples reactions to choosing an art piece to eat off of. Usually, the reactions are joyful, and sometimes a race to grab their favorite pottery. For some of my friends, it's a learning curve to appreciate that pots are typically heavier than correlle glass...but slowly I bringing one friend at a time over to the dark side of loving handmade pottery.
In my new Milwaukee house/studio I have had a big dream come true of creating a plate wall. It brings me so much joy to have my collection of plates becoming a wall of "painting" that get used and rearranged.
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Chris & Theresa's Art Collection

11/11/2019

 
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Acquisitions from 20 Dirty Hands, in Galena, IL

About Chris & Theresa:
"We are both art enthusiasts. Theresa is a student of ceramic arts."
 
What Kind of art work do you Collect? 
"pottery, statues, paintings, handmade jewelry"
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery? 
Theresa – “There are many reasons why. It’s one of a kind, handmade art that typically is also functional. I enjoy supporting the tradition of the arts. I like to see and feel the potter’s hands in a piece.”
 
Chris – “I appreciate the procedure and dedication of years of disciplined practice to result in any piece I hold presently.”
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery? 
"2019 20 Dirty Hands Tour, Joe Pinder’s shop, Pinder Pottery, Inc., Galena, Illinois."
 
What’s your favorite part about the Lisa York piece of pottery you own? 
Chris – “I really love geometry and bright colors. Lisa’s red mug had such a striking color result, along with the way the mug was thrown to create the circular shape, but then the external walls were shaped into a tangent square surrounding the circular inner wall. It reminded me of certain famous children’s picture books many of us read when we were kids. Almost like an object in those books that was brought to three-dimensional life from the pages.”
 
Theresa – “I like that both pieces were wheel-thrown and then altered. Both are square, and in the case of the garlic jar, it also has a round lid. This makes the pieces unique, and I see the artist’s hands in the work.”

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Art Collector Stories

Linda Olson's Art Collection

11/5/2019

 
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Lisa York, at work at the NOTSTOCK event at Minot State University.
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Newly acquired Lisa York Art's cup for Linda's Bathroom.

About Linda:
"I have made ceramics since 1979, and I love ceramics for the connection to others, old and young. I often compare the feeling that I have while making ceramic objects with the feeling of quiet anticipation that I get coming home after a long trip. Using things handmade connects me to that feeling and to the makers."
 
What Kind of art work do you Collect?
"I will collect most anything, functional to sculptural. I like to look at ceramics; I like to eat off of it; drink out of it; and look at it. I most often have purchased work to encourage someone I find making something wonderful and loving the process. I learned from my art supporting mother that having someone love your work enough to pay for it was the best encouragement.
   I also collect things of my own making, harbingers of a path I want to follow later when I get time."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"It makes doing the dishes so much more fun. More so, I appreciate the connection to the person who made the ceramics, and I enjoy recalling the moment that I encountered the ceramic object, decided to purchase it, or met the person who made it."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I bought a Lisa York artwork at NOTSTOCK in Minot, North Dakota, because I was impressed with the serviceability of the work. Sturdy rims and handles, light weight and well designed. I also enjoyed meeting the artist and watching her work hard during the artist residency."
 
What’s your favorite part about the Lisa York piece of pottery you own? 
"I appreciate the honest, open nature of the ceramic glasses, which I knew I would enjoy using. They are not “fussed up” or gaudy, but quiet and earthy. The new bathroom glasses work great in my home."

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Images of Linda and her work on the left.

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Art Collector's Stories

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Interview Sabine Dahm

10/25/2019

 
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About Sabine:
"I retired in 2000 and ever since have been making pottery.  I have a home studio and mostly electric fire to cone 5-6.  I hold an annual open house and sell my pottery at several local events.  I donate the proceeds from my sales to a local food bank."

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Do you collect handmade pottery?
"Although I don’t think of myself as being very materialistic, I have to admit that I like to buy pottery.  I have a collection of pots that I acquired from local pottery studios – e.g., Greenbridge Pottery, The Lion Potter, Susan Greenleaf (formerly at the Torpedo Factory), Matt Hyleck (Baltimore Clayworks), M4 Studio and Mea Rhee.  Just recently I visited the pottery studio of Allison Coles Severance near Frederick, Maryland, and bought two of her beautiful wood-fired bowls.  But I also pick up pieces while visiting art and craft fairs or when I travel.  Recently, I purchased several pieces from Mayumi Yamashita Ceramics in Japan through Etsy.  I greatly admire the work of Anne Mette Hjortshoj, a Danish potter whose studio is on the beautiful island of Bornholm (I visited the island as a child.).  She is represented by Goldmark in the U.K. and I purchased a small pot through the gallery."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"The reason why I buy pottery are three-fold:  1) I like to support local artists.  Working on pottery myself I appreciate the effort that it takes to create a piece of pottery.  2) I pick up pieces that intrigue me as to how they are made.  They serve as inspirations for my own work.  3) I just love a piece of pottery; that is, I either display it in my home or like to use it."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I had seen Lisa’s work while she was at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland and really liked her pottery.  When I saw that she was giving a workshop at The Clay CoOp, a local pottery studio, I decided to attend.  She also had a small show at the venue and I bought my first Lisa pot, a dinner-size bowl, which I love and display on my fireplace mantle.  Subsequently, I purchased a teapot and a couple of cups.  I love Lisa’s atmospherically fired work.  I think how she hand alters her thrown pots and creates her unique surface textures and decorations works so well with the atmospheric firing processes – i.e., unique pots for a one-of-kind firing process.  This is very much in contrast to my work using an electric kiln firing to cone 5-6."
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Learn more about Sabine on her website and facebook page.

​Read stories about why other people collect and buy handmade pottery by clicking the button below.
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Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Interview Brett Thomas

9/30/2019

 
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​About Brett:  
"I’m am artist who studied Ceramics.  I love making hand made vessels to serve and entertain.  Currently, I uses the historic term “Trencher” in a contemporary approach to server my dinners."
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
"I travel a lot due to my business.  In doing so, I meet quite A few artist.  If  I’m drawn to a piece that catches my eye, I will buy it!"
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I enjoy buying handmade potter due to the fact, that the piece is a memory of the artist.  When, I choose to use their pottery with my meal,  It reminds me of the maker and our relationship."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I had admired Lisa’s pottery before we meet.  Then, I had the opportunity to curate a show “Essential Earth” Lisa was one of the artist I had invited to take part within the exhibition.  I was planning to buy one of her pieces but, it sold before I had the chance to buy it!
So, when she was conducting a workshop at CAC Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA  I was able to purchase her beautiful pottery."
Learn more about Brett's work on his website.
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Read stories about why other people collect and buy handmade pottery by clicking the button below.
Art Collector's Stories

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Rachel Brask

9/23/2019

 
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About Rachel:
"I am a Rhode Island abstract painter creating contemporary oil paintings of my impressions rainy days."
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
​"I used to think that I only had a few pieces of handmade pottery, purchased from here and there. Then I actually collected all of them in one place and found that I now have to admit I have a habit: I collect handmade pottery."
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Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I’ve always had a compulsion to buy mugs, I love mugs. Back in college when I first knew artists that could make these beautiful ceramic mugs, I was always excited to make art trades with them for mugs, or buy direct from them to support them. Amongst my collection I have pottery by Lisa York, Paul Christiansen, and Cameo Lussier-Lawrence. I enjoy  buying handmade pottery for a few reasons. I appreciate how handcrafted mugs usually have more detail into the mold of how a person more comfortably holds the handle.  There’s something about certain ceramic mug that will spark something in me to want to take it home:  a color, texture, or the way it’s shaped.
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I also love to purchase pottery directly from the artist because then I get to know their story, and the story of the mug or bowl they create. Then when I drink my tea or coffee from these vessels, they remind me of a fellow artist, a friend, and I’ll wonder how they are now and what they’re up to today.  Since I am a visual artist, my painting sessions in the studio always start with a cup of black tea in one of my artisanal mugs, because I feel like the creativity that went into the making of that mug then sparks my own creativity in my next painting."
 

How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
​"I met Lisa in college where we were both art majors and we became friends. I think I obtained some of my first few Lisa York originals through some small art trades, and in later years through her online shop or social media. It has been wonderful to keep in touch and to see where her beautiful handcrafted ceramic artistry is going, as well as to keep an eye on what else I want to buy of hers in the future.
I often like to start my fall mornings on the porch with a cup of tea in a Lisa York ceramic mug."
Learn more about Rachel check out her:
website, instagram, and facebook page. 

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Other Pottery Collectors

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery:  Cissy Padgham

9/16/2019

 
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About Cissy:
"I’m a retired commercial interior designer.  After discovering the local community art center in 2002, making pottery has been a huge part of my life, artistically and socially." 
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
"My home is filled with a mix of my own pottery, and pieces I’ve bought over the past 20 years."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I love that it’s functional art and I get to enjoy it and use it every day."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"In August 2019 Lisa York held a soda workshop at the Community Art Center in Wallingford, PA, where I purchased three of her bud vases." 
 
What’s your favorite part about the Lisa York piece of pottery you own?
"They’re not round!  She changes symmetrical pots into ones that are lively, and full of movement by her altering/carving, and glazing techniques."  

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Stories on why to buy handmade

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery:  Marcus Davis

8/1/2019

 
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About Marcus: Ceramic artist, potter, and teacher.

Do you collect handmade pottery?
 "I have 50 pieces ranging from Song Dynasty celadons to contemporary artists, former teachers, colleagues, and friends."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"Buying handmade pottery is the beginning of a relationship with the maker. The design, technique, and execution of the artist’s concept is a window into the personality and soul. The more I use a piece, the more it speaks to me, and the wider the variety of pots from an artist, the broader picture of their tastes, sensibilities, and impressions of their world.  I have pieces that I’ve owned for 20 years and I still learn something new from them. The handmade pots I own of a more historic nature ground me in a sense of ancient traditions, and give me a feeling of being connected to a ceramic genealogy that is very important to me, and from both I draw a great amount of inspiration and insight."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I walked up to Lisa at a Hood College faculty show and said 'Lisa I have GOT to have this mug!'"

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    Hi, I'm Lisa the artist and creator of this content. 
    Here on my blog I share behind the scenes, events, and activities related to my art.

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