The Jonescast

Janice Jakielski makes beautiful work. It's that simple. And she's a self-described 10%'er (90% non-ceramic material), which brings her a certain suspicion in the sometimes narrow minded ceramic world. She talks about her inclination to keep moving around (New Mexico, Colorado, Japan, Massachusetts are just a few of the places she's lived in), her foundation as an artist who worked in multiple media, and living in a castle. Enjoy!

Nicole Aquillano used to work for the government in the EPA. And she used to bust punk industrial companies for polluting the earth. Trained as an engineer, she kept herself active in the studio as well. Over time, Nicole realized that what she wanted to do was to make pots. And now she does. We talk about her experience working for The Man, the transition into full time studio pottery, and how an image can activate deep and emotional parts of who we are...among other things. Enjoy!

I remember watching Kathy King demo at NCECA in 2002. I was listening to her talk and watching her work (I think she had a beer while working away up on that stage...or maybe that's myth), and I thought: "Someday, I'm going to talk to that woman on a form of communication that hasn't been invented yet and then distribute it via another technology that also hasn't been invented yet." And it's happened. I was Kathy's guest last month while I spent a few days in Boston, and she was kind enough to have me at Harvard ceramics as a visiting artist. Kathy's background is as varied as anyone I've talked to on this program. She's done a lot of work early on in her career learning about the material on her own, and that scrappiness has found its usefulness as her career has developed over the years. She's gone from academia to the craft circuit and back again...with a lot of life in between. Enjoy this talk, it's a good one.

Nate Query is a founding member of The Decemberists and in that role has appeared on The Tonight Show, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, the top of the billboard 200, and countless live shows. He is also a member of Black Prairie, a band comprised of most of The Decemberists along with a few other musicians (Annalisa Tornfelt and Jon Neufeld to be exact), which has been gathering steam as of late (they've also been on The Tonight Show). We talk about Nate's early forays into music, the influence that jazz has had on him, and what it's like to be on the road in a "big" band and a "small" one. He also knows how to brew some good beer.  Enjoy!

Jen Allen has been a very visible potter on the national scene for the past several years. I met her last year at the Utilitarian Clay Conference at Arrowmont, which was right after my daughter was born and a few months before Jen had her first child. This is a "new parent heavy" episode, and rightly so. The world that Jen and I live in, and try to make work in, has been so fundamentally changed that we can't but help to talk about how much things have changed. None of this is new to people who have children who are grown or are older than toddler age. But it is to us, and when we sat down the natural inclination was to check in with each other (and ourselves). We talk about what success means for us now, how to go about improving work with so much else on our plates, and keeping up momentum. Great talk! Enjoy!

Namita Wiggers is the director and chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR. For the past several years she has worked tirelessly at presenting craft in engaging, informative, and sometimes confusing (the good kind) ways. She strives to make the Museum a place where an audience can see the connections between ideas, process, and product. Not an easy road for a field usually content with the old "object-on-a-plinth" mentality. The next time you're in Portland, stop by the Museum and see what Namita has going on. She's a powerhouse.

I first met Sanam as an undergraduate back in 2000. She was a graduate student at Alfred and since that time I have followed her work. She came over to the house while visiting Portland and we talked about setting boundaries with students, the depth of beauty, complexity and simplicity in Islamic art, and history as a freeing element in the studio. Sanam currently teaches at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO.

Daniel Duford is a Portland artist and educator. The range of materials he uses to make his work (comic books, pottery, printmaking) reflects his interest in working from a place outside of what might be considered the "normal" art world. His interest in storytelling and investigations into myth and history has led him to working in a larger scale to better envelope the audience. We cover a lot in this one: pissing off Ken Price, being Catholic, comic books, the traditional lack of curiosity within ceramics and craft, and the role of myth and history within American culture.

Dan Anderson taught for 32 years at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville before retiring in 2002. Since then he's been a full-time studio potter, actively making and exploring ideas about architecture, decals, and historic personalities. Dan has had a rich life and during his career he's been fortunate to come into close contact with major ceramics artists, such as Peter Voulkos and Toshiko Takaezu. He also talks about growing up in Minnesota, working at his family's grocery store, and his two brushes with cancer, among other pieces of his life. Dan's full of stories, he's a raconteur and he's a great interview. Enjoy!

Michael Strand is an artist interested in setting up circumstances for people to be able to tell their stories. In his own words: "One of the great joys of being an artist is the ability to dream without limitations and then acting on those dreams without the fear of failure. With this mindset I can imagine that a cup could be infused with the spirit of the late Charles Kuralt, branching out into the country to seek out stories waiting to be told, or that a cup could hold the potential of the great Desmond Tutu, and be integral in conversations of mediation. Without practical limitations on function I am free to conceptualize how an object can operate in new and innovative ways." Indeed, Michael's work finishes the puzzle of functional ceramics. He makes the connection between maker, object, and user engaging and more importantly, vital.