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Creating A Cohesive Collection | Ruthie Schulz | Episode 1195
Ruthie Schulz | Episode 1145
Ruthie Schulz became a studio potter by accident, inspired by handmade ceramics she encountered in Spain and South America. After years of self-directed learning and mentorship, she transitioned from full-time potter to teacher, founding Twisted Clay Studio, now a thriving community ceramics space.
SPONSORS
You can help support the show!
GRPotteryForms.com
TortugaTools.com
BuschKraft.shop
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
How important is working in series when trying to develop a cohesive voice?
I think working in a series is very important to building a body of work. It doesn’t have to be a series in which everything matches everything perfectly, but if you are going to build a body of work around a certain style, I would imagine that you need to be able to repeat that style over and over. And a series can look like pots that look similar to each other and not exactly matching.
How does form and profile come into play?
For me, I am really interested in form. When I see a pot, I see the form first and then I see the color and decoration. But it is a hard question because you have potters who have really voluptuous forms and still have these straight-sided mugs and then the decoration brings it all together. So it all may depend on how you are firing your work, but if you are keeping your decorations the same, then I imagine form does come into play.
Should one stick to a limited or complimentary color pallet?
That’s a funny question because when you look at all my pictures, those are all from my classes at Twisted Clay online Membership and I often tell my son, I need to develop a new body of work because right now my body of work is whatever I am teaching. But when I did develop a body of work before I was teaching, I think I had four glazes. If you are getting too broad with all the different colors, it is really hard to see it as one body of work.
How important is it to prioritize functionality?
I think that depends on the potter. For me I always prioritized functionality. Josh DeWeese was at our studio not too long ago and he was talking about how, the esthetics win over the function. But I think for me function frequently wins. I really want to be that pot that people reach for in that cupboard every time they open it up.
How important is it for you to take your work for a test drive before you put it out there?
Really important! I remember when I was doing art shows there was a gal who ordered additional mugs from me and she asked me for a certain number of ounces. So learn from my mistake… I measured the ounces, but it was right after they came out of the kiln and every one of the cups did have the right number of ounces, but they all cracked because I think it was too early to put water in them. But I always, always want to take them for a test drive.
Book
Wheel-Thrown Ceramics by Don Davis
Contact
twistedclayonline.com
Instagram: @twisted_clay
View all episodes
By Show Notes – The Potters CastRuthie Schulz | Episode 1145
Ruthie Schulz became a studio potter by accident, inspired by handmade ceramics she encountered in Spain and South America. After years of self-directed learning and mentorship, she transitioned from full-time potter to teacher, founding Twisted Clay Studio, now a thriving community ceramics space.
SPONSORS
You can help support the show!
GRPotteryForms.com
TortugaTools.com
BuschKraft.shop
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
How important is working in series when trying to develop a cohesive voice?
I think working in a series is very important to building a body of work. It doesn’t have to be a series in which everything matches everything perfectly, but if you are going to build a body of work around a certain style, I would imagine that you need to be able to repeat that style over and over. And a series can look like pots that look similar to each other and not exactly matching.
How does form and profile come into play?
For me, I am really interested in form. When I see a pot, I see the form first and then I see the color and decoration. But it is a hard question because you have potters who have really voluptuous forms and still have these straight-sided mugs and then the decoration brings it all together. So it all may depend on how you are firing your work, but if you are keeping your decorations the same, then I imagine form does come into play.
Should one stick to a limited or complimentary color pallet?
That’s a funny question because when you look at all my pictures, those are all from my classes at Twisted Clay online Membership and I often tell my son, I need to develop a new body of work because right now my body of work is whatever I am teaching. But when I did develop a body of work before I was teaching, I think I had four glazes. If you are getting too broad with all the different colors, it is really hard to see it as one body of work.
How important is it to prioritize functionality?
I think that depends on the potter. For me I always prioritized functionality. Josh DeWeese was at our studio not too long ago and he was talking about how, the esthetics win over the function. But I think for me function frequently wins. I really want to be that pot that people reach for in that cupboard every time they open it up.
How important is it for you to take your work for a test drive before you put it out there?
Really important! I remember when I was doing art shows there was a gal who ordered additional mugs from me and she asked me for a certain number of ounces. So learn from my mistake… I measured the ounces, but it was right after they came out of the kiln and every one of the cups did have the right number of ounces, but they all cracked because I think it was too early to put water in them. But I always, always want to take them for a test drive.
Book
Wheel-Thrown Ceramics by Don Davis
Contact
twistedclayonline.com
Instagram: @twisted_clay