Our Meet the Member interviewee for April lives in Silver City, New Mexico. Amy Maule has a piece in the current Celebration of Clay there, at The Light Art Space.
How did you first get interested in clay?
My parents valued art and hand-crafted items, so I grew up surrounded by clay objects and art making. After college (in molecular biology), when I had time for hobbies again, it felt natural to enroll in a pottery class and I was quickly hooked. Over the years, I’ve taken community education and community college classes and workshops in clay and other art media, but don’t have a formal art education.
Describe your studio.
I work in a repurposed adobe building at the “bottom of garden” with an outdoor sink and an attached kiln/garden shed that I built myself. It’s tiny, cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but has good light. My wheel faces a sliding glass door looking out on the back yard. The small size forces me to stay organized - I’m probably unusually tidy for a potter. There is at least one lizard living in the ceiling and sometimes I can hear him moving overhead when I’m working, which is a bit unnerving, but he helps with the insects and doesn’t seem to mind my company.
Studio photos by Amy Maule.
Describe your “work.”
As an artist and scientist, I’m interested in the intersection of art, science, and nature. I’m also very process oriented. Clay is an organic element that we manipulate with our hands, so my work tends to include unglazed surfaces, contrasting clay bodies, and marks of the maker – throwing rings, finger indentations, etc.
Photos by Amy Maule.
Before moving to Silver City, I lived in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in wet, mossy, forests. I’m drawn to moss and lichen forms in particular, and concepts of life cycle, growth and decay in the natural world.
In the northwest, I primarily fired in wood kilns and many of my mentors studied Japanese traditions and techniques, so I’m influenced by their teachings, including tea ware and tea ceremony. My own heritage is mostly British/Scottish, so I feel more comfortable reflecting a European aesthetic in my own work. In many cultures, tea is connected with a distinct formality and structure, in contrast to the way I tend to drink tea - on the couch with a book, blanket, and cat.
Studio photos by Amy Maule.
The ideas I’m currently exploring incorporate all of the above, as well as the eternal debate of art vs. craft, functional vs. decorative. I’ve been throwing somewhat traditional tea forms in dark, earthen colors, and adding mushroom and lichen-inspired growths to them. The sculptural additions explore ideas of nature and decay but also reduce the functionality of the thrown pieces, pushing them from useful into the realm of sculpture.
From a technical perspective, I’m currently firing cone 6 stoneware in reduction (small updraft propane kiln).
Studio photos by Amy Maule.
Studio photos by Amy Maule.
Describe any work you do that promotes “clay community."
I’ve only been in New Mexico for about 3 years, so I’m still in the process of meeting people and finding my place in our local community. I take all the workshops I can manage and enjoy connecting with other clay artists.
When you are not working in your studio, what do you enjoy?
I have a day job as an environmental scientist, so too much of my time is spent in front of a computer. I also have a long list of house projects that distract me from the studio when I let them.
I try to spend what time I have left hiking, seeing live music, connecting with friends, and enjoying the sunshine. Silver City is a great place for all of those things! Artistically, I also dabble in photography and drawing and am interested in exploring printmaking, both on its own and integrated into ceramics.
Do you play music in your studio? If yes, what do you listen to?
I almost always have music in my studio, but the type varies. If I’m feeling mellow: blues, 70s, 80s or 90s rock – the music of my childhood. If I need an energy boost, hip-hop or dance music. Lately, I’m also liking Bollywood and Cumbia.
What other pottery do you have in your home?
My current go-to coffee mugs are by local artists Lizzie Slegeir, Claude Smith, and Chris Sowers. Most of my pottery collection is from my clay friends and mentors over the years: Sandy Segna, Ted Ernst, Ken Pincus, Richard Brandt, Hiroshi Ogawa, Carol Opie, Sally Wu, and more. I often seek out clay artists when I travel, so I have an assortment of items from other countries and around the US – mostly small cups and bowls.
I also have 2D art by Silver City artists Joe Huebner, Karen Hymer, Joel Armstrong, Sally Tilton, and Mimi Peterson. It’s important to me to surround myself with art that inspires me and is made by people I care about.
What caused you to join NMPCA? Describe involvement with NMPCA, and how many years you have been involved.
I’m a brand-new member! I’d been considering joining for a while, but the upcoming show at Light Art Space was the nudge I needed. I’m looking forward to being involved, and hopefully connecting with other artists in SW New Mexico.
Portrait of the artist photo by Amy Maule.
