Living in Los Angeles, you end up meeting A LOT of people. Sometimes you are lucky enough to meet some REALLY talented folks. The stars must have been aligned when I met Julie Klein. We met at an art show and chit chatted about usual things. I discovered Julie was a new transplant to LA and that she made pottery. We talked a bit more and then she was gone and I was left with a card. To be honest, I have never been crazy about pottery. I have seen some nice looking pieces here and there but never anything where I was "WOWED" (I may have been ignorant to the world of pottery) .... that is until I saw Julie's masterpieces! Her work, particularly teapots, is outstanding.... don't take my word for it see yourself below!
My main purpose of this blog was to share things that I find inspiring and wonderful. Julie Klein's work certainly fulfills that goal. The following is an interview I did with her for this blog......
Your teapots are what first caught my attention. It's refreshing to see such original designs. What's your process? Do you tend to draw out your ideas at first or do you just grab some clay and go with it! And does the piece take on an organic life of it's own usually or do you find yourself sticking with the original idea?
I’m a pretty analytical person, so every piece I approach with a plan which helps keep me focused all the way to the end (I have a really big problem with “writer’s block”). I carry around a really (now) ragged 3”x5” spiral notebook in my bag everywhere I go which contain tons of sketches of potential projects. I have probably about 200+ drawings in this little thing. I pretty much start cranking them out when I’m inspired to do so. Some drawings are so old that they no longer fit with the direction of the work I’m moving in but it’s still fun to revisit where I was when I sketched them out. As far as creating from start to finish, I try and stick with the original sketch but when you translate from an inspired piece or texture or idea onto paper and then many moons later translate again to clay while problem solving the construction of the working pieces, it does organically take on a life of its own unintentionally.
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How long do you find yourself spending on the each teapot?
Curse my day job! Yes, I’m a weekend potter, unfortunately, so time is very limiting. I usually work on 3 pieces at once though so while a handle is setting up, I can maximize work flow by finishing a lid on another. But all in all it takes about 3-4 weeks to complete the construction, another 1-2 weeks to let slow dry to bone dry consistency, put it in to be 1st fired, glaze it the next week and get the finished piece the following week. Somewhere in this lengthy time, I get so tired of working on the same piece for so long I start to let go of it emotionally….
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Do you find it hard to part with a piece when you sell one?
So I have no problem letting go of a piece because I’m working on the next one at that time which I inevitably like better and is probably a cooler challenge. Even though the work I make is very one of a kind, nope, no issues parting. I mean you have to if you want to be a professional artist or else you’d just be your own home decorator. But I do make sure I photograph all the pieces before I put them up for sale. It’s important that I document everything not only to have a copy of it but to also visually see where my work is progressing. Like I can see that a lot of my forms are becoming more gestural and open lately…
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What is your inspiration for your work?
I believe there are no more original ideas. They all come from somewhere. So most of my work is inspired by other artists but more so from their media. I’m really interested in pushing the ability of clay. So I’ll see a handle from a 16th century Greek metal pitcher that’s extremely ornate and I’ll think, “how can I make that work with clay?” Every piece is a bigger challenge than the last. You know the War of the Worlds tentacle legs robots? I’m trying to make a teapot right now in which the body will be suspended off the ground and only supported by tripod legs. I have to think about how to deal with all the weight on the legs, warping in the kiln, how it will stand for glazing, etc. Gravity has been my biggest challenge, so I’m inspired by problem solving. Oh, that and Yixing Pottery. You should google it.
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Why Teapots? Huge fan of tea?
I’m a coffee drinker and IF on the off chance I’m cold or have a cold, I’ll drink tea with a teabag. I’m my own market competition. When I was making 2” tall mud pies on the wheel I loved the idea of making teapots. It’s like a girl who buys her first pair of running shoes who dreams of winning the Olympic Gold Medal at the 100 meter dash. Ok, maybe not, but for me, the teapot is one of, if not the most complicated functional vessel. I’m drawn to the infinite amount of design possibilities. Just as an example, imagine all the different ways a hat can be designed. I feel the same way about a teapot. Actually, before I started to play with clay I bought Larkin Publications 500 Teapots and drooled over all of the amazing designs. My work is moving in the direction of sculpture but I’m still making teapots, just more non-functional ones.
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Would you like to see your work manufactured on a big scale? or do you prefer the one-of-a-kind business?
Dude! I’d totally sell out! If Crate and Barrel approached me and wanted to mass produce a design of mine, I’d race to sign on the dotted line. What I’m not interested in is production pottery, the cranking out of the same thing myself over and over ala plates, bowls and cups etc. It doesn’t work with my brain. When it’s the same thing over and over again it becomes mundane and it’s no longer fun anymore. I also have little desire to do custom work. Yeah, also means I have no choice but to stay at my day job in order to continue doing what I’m doing. Even though I’d like to devote 60hrs a week to clay, I’d need to become an assembly line in order to make a living. I’m not ready to do that quite yet. So for now, OOAK is where it’s at.
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What music do you listen to while you work?
I actually rarely listen to music while I work. The low hum of the wheel as it spins is what I love. It’s like my own version of The Rain Forest Frog soothing CD.
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Which do you like better?
The designing of the pieces? The production/sculpting/ of the work? Or the firing, finishing of the work?
I definitely like the construction, production of a piece. I’m a very tactile, DIY hands on kind of person. I also love the look of leather hard clay and If I could capture that color and texture permanently, I wouldn’t fire a single piece. Glazing is definitely my weakness, however. I feel I’m not very good at it. Perhaps it’s because I lose patience with a piece by week 6 that I just want it to be finished. That’s not smart on my part. Most consumers buy art or objects for the colors first then form second. I’d like to start using non-clay related materials and add it to the piece post high firing, but I find myself moved on already and focused on construction of another piece all together.
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I read a quote the other day and it said something similar to this ... "Find something you love to do and never work another day in your life."
Do you think this is where you are headed or at now?
I like that quote. I’d like to say I’m heading that way. I’d certainly like to get there. Just keep on moving forward. But I definitely don’t see clay as work. Friends will tell me that they wish they had passion for something like I have for clay and I don’t really understand their statement all too well. For me, clay just is. It’s something I have to do. Don’t get me wrong, like any relationship, you get sick of ‘em and pull back for a while, question if this is who you want to spend the rest of your life with; that kind of stuff. But that’s just normal insecurities you work through. But ultimately I’m married to it. I found what I want to be when I grow up.
Okay no more questions detective! Big thanks to Julie Klein for taking the time for this interview and now go to her site and drool over her work! Christmas is right around the corner and her Etsy site is calling your name!!!!
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