Nic DeStefano is the April Potter of the Month.

Age:  34

Location:  Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Occupation:  Visual production//ceramics teacher

Favorite Glaze: Brady’s Black

My interest with ceramics started in college where my main focus was on sculpture.  Clay was the medium I found most engaging and I chose ceramics as the concentration of my BS in Studio Art.  My work touches on a few disciplines but also crosses a range of ideas.  Generally my work retains a minimalist quality while exploring basic sculptural elements like shapes, textures and forms and is all hand built for the most part.

The vessels on the left in the picture are part of a series I’ve been working on for a while.  The basic form is a shape that I’ve found myself drawn to and one that I have repeated quite a bit in exploring texture and color variation.

The series of body parts is a conceptual work in progress.  Though quite sculptural the work was inspired by the idea that images of war are perversely ‘sanitized for our protection’.  That more and more over the years the media has censored graphic images of death and destruction due to armed combat.  And the result of this sanitization is a reverse desensitization of sorts; where the everyday citizen makes no personal connection to media reports of deaths by war because they are not seeing the image of someone just like them blown to bits by a bomb.  My main argument for this concept is the events surrounding a war like Vietnam, where the everyday citizen was subject to, by far, the most disturbingly explicit images of war(while the war was happening) and in turn had what is most likely the largest mobilization of war protest by the American public.

The black “martini pitcher” set was something I made in response to a great show La Mano recently held called Pots That Pour: Teapots and Pitchers.  I had a lot of fun hand building the set and enjoyed creating the MOD elements that are part of the pieces.
The last image is of two pieces in a series of ultra-thin dish type vessels I’ve been making.  They are definitely more of a fun but delicate accessory type piece that can be used to hold anything from jewelry to a beautiful succulent or just as purely aesthetic decoration.

For just about a year and a half I’ve had the privilege of teaching a hand building class at La Mano.  I was excited at the opportunity and have enjoyed a very different experience in helping others bring to fruition their clay ideas as opposed to working on my own endeavors.  At the same time the single most appealing and challenging aspect I find with working in clay is the fact that the clay is the stuff of pure imagination.  One literally has the capacity to create almost anything they can conjure up in their head.  The challenge is sorting through those ideas and having the patience and drive to commit to making the work and the many trials that come along with refining your idea.  So helping my students flesh out their ideas and showing them the techniques they need to accomplish what they want is very rewarding.

Most of all I am grateful and blessed to be part of the warm and welcoming community of unique and amazing individuals that call La Mano home.  It’s a special breed of people who find their way to clay (or is it the clay that finds them?), and to share the cathartic experience of making art, sharing life, and just plain having fun with folks I consider my family in clay.

Nic’s work is on display through the month of April at La Mano in the store front window.

Bri Johnson is our Potter of the Month and her work is being displayed in the window. She works intricately with line design and her detailed work is admired by many in the studio.

Here is what Bri has to say about her work:

“For me, a piece isn’t really “mine” unless it’s been carved. I love carving. It puts me in that happy, creative, timeless place that all craftspeople search for. I get design ideas from all over the place– museums, books, jewelry… one of my favorite designs is based on the insignia of a book publisher. I keep a sketchbook and mix them all together. I’ve been involved with pottery on and off since elementary school, and something feels “off” in my life when I go too long without getting my hands in some clay.”

Richard’s work is featured in the gallery this month.

He writes: “I find that clay has a really playful quality and working with it takes me back to my childhood.

“I draw a lot of inspiration from summers at the beach, camping trips, fishing off mt grandpa’s boat and exploring the canyons behind our house. The broken dolls that frequently appear in my pieces are somewhat related to childhood as well, but in a more abstract way. For me, they embody the idea that throughout our lives we are always children, damaged to different degress by the experience of adulthood, but eternally capable of tapping into all of the wonder and joy of our youth.”

This is what Elly Lonon has to say about pottery and what inspires her:

“I tend to get obsessed with a shape or technique and almost compulsively repeat and expand upon it.

“I’m almost embarrassed to admit how many of those giant silly mushrooms I’ve created.  With both the ‘shrooms and the bright bowls, I enjoy the repetitive and meditative practice of carving into the slip.  I generally prefer hand building to throwing because I get to spend a little more time with each piece and it somehow feels more intimate.  Adding slip to thrown pieces and carving designs allows me to have that same sense of intimacy with a thrown piece.”

This month, James Tan’s beautiful ceramic pieces are on display in the front window at La Mano.

Recently, we asked James to speak with us about his work.  Here is what he said:

“One of the things I love about La Mano is the diverse group of people that works and plays there. I’m constantly inspired by not just the more seasoned artists but also the ones who are new to pottery and see things with a fresher eye. My hope is not just to elevate my skills and artistry but also to be someone who inspires others to do the same. My teachers, Sarah Sabourin and Nic DeStefano, have both challenged me to try new things on the wheel and hand building and I enjoy both disciplines equally. Jonathan Bergman, my partner, is my biggest inspiration. His enthusiasm reminds me of the possibilities that working in clay has to offer and it’s because of him that I started studying pottery again after a 7-year hiatus.

“Working with clay allows me to create with my hands, whichis what advertising art direction (what I do during my day job) used to do before the advent of the computer. I feel I’ve grown leaps and bounds in the year I’ve spent at La Mano but feel that there’s yet still so much more to learn. May that feeling never go away!”