Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Casey Beck. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Casey, we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
For me, I have two forms of self-care: in studio and out of studio self-care. I’ll start with out of studio self-care as that allows me to be more effective in the studio and in life. Last fall, during the beginning of my last year of graduate school, I began cycling with more intention. During this time there was a lot of stress in the studio due to my MFA thesis exhibition approaching and in my personal life due to mental health and upcoming life changes. I found that even getting out on my bike once a week for 1-2 hours truly changed my mental health and relieved these stresses. I think about my dog – everything about dog training says that exercise helps reduce your dog’s anxiety and stress. Maybe I am the same way as my dog? Well, with less stress from my own exercise, I was finding that my mind was less cloudy, and I could be more effective in the studio and happier in general. Of course, there are several other factors that I owe to some okay mental health; a supportive spouse, supportive friends, and medication! But, on top of that cycling has really helped!
My in-studio self-care is important as it feeds the progression of my work. I always try to set aside some time to play within the studio. I can sometimes become very serious about what I am making, focusing so much attention on a singular goal or grouping of work with set expectations that I don’t allow myself much wiggle room. I have found that allowing myself to step back and play within my work, or even begin developing a second body of work, I have found freshness from the more serious frame of mind that I get into sometimes. Working towards my MFA Thesis exhibition that I presented this spring, I was very seriously making work with a specific goal in mind. Of course, I had plenty of play within my goal, however the stemware and jug forms I was working on were very specific and I spent most of my time working towards this. During this time, I tried to pursue something totally outside of what I was expecting for my thesis and focused a little bit of time every once in a while, on low fire Majolica pots. While my work is all high fire soda, these Majolica pots were just about the opposite of my thesis work. The white Majolica glaze offers a wonderful canvas for brushwork (which I don’t often do brushwork) and to me the enigma of brushwork was so exciting and freeing, while not taking too much time away from my thesis work. In a gist, I had a hobby in the studio that still allowed me to pursue the ideas of pottery I am interested in, while also allowing myself to have fun outside of my comfort zone.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a potter living and working in Lincoln, NE. As of this spring, I hold an MFA from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln where I have been studying ceramics for the past three years. I make pottery not only out of a passion for my material, clay, and for the complex processes of wheel throwing and atmospheric firing, but also out of a passion for living with, using, and sharing handmade objects. For me, using pottery daily is an act of celebration. My philosophy of making pots comes in part from the particular history of utilitarian pottery that has developed over the last sixty years in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, where I went to school and began my career as a potter. More recently, the form language that I employ in my work has developed out of a study of historical pottery and glass vessels, along with architecture. My crisp forms are contrasted with enigmatic surfaces that undulate around the vessels, speaking to a sense of timelessness and ephemerality.
I fire my work using a process called soda firing, which originated in the 1970’s and evolved from salt firing, developed in Germany in the 15th century. My soda firing uses a gas-fired kiln in which sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash, is introduced into the atmosphere at its peak temperature. The soda ash volatizes in the hot kiln, is carried along with the flame, and is attracted to the silica within the clay body, forming a glaze directly on the surface of the objects. The color and texture of the surfaces are influenced by how restricted or unrestricted the flame is as it carries the soda ash throughout the kiln. My research involves not only manipulating the chemistry of the clay bodies I use to produce a particular range of unusual colors and textures, but also developing a series of different firing schedules, in which I regulate the speed of the firing and the atmosphere within the kiln as it heats up and as it cools, in a particular process called “downfiring.” The loading of the pottery into the kiln is important as it directs the path of the flame through the wares. The pots are placed touching each other, while protective “wadding” is placed against or directly onto the surfaces of vessels to cut or redirect the flame. The way in which the pots are loaded blocks and directs the flame around and onto each pot allowing me to orchestrate the patterning on each piece within the kiln stack. Soda firing inherently creates enigmatic surfaces and cannot be completely harnessed. Despite my meticulous planning, collaboration between kiln and I always occurs. The spontaneity that is produced in every firing, and on the surface of each pot, is of enduring fascination to me and is what keeps me endlessly excited about this way of working.
As I transition out of academia, my spouse and I are purchasing our first home where I will set up my very first solo studio / pottery. This is a really exciting time and is what I have always wanted to do but is also so scary at the same time as there are so many unknowns going from having a set paycheck and stability in graduate school to the enigma of life as a studio artist.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Finding your craft in anything
I believe that one thing that has always benefited me as an artist is my dedication. I am a potter through and through. Even when I am not in the studio, I am practicing my craft. Cooking, eating, enjoying a cocktail or glass of wine is also a way of practicing my craft as a potter. Choosing which pot pairs with what meal or beverage allows me to fully understand my habits of pottery usage, and further understand what looks good with what, what handle works well for what beverage, or what depth of plate works best for a meal. This is an aesthetic activity and allows me to make art from daily and mundane life, while it also feeds my creativity. Each day I learn a little bit more using other’s handmade pots, along with a few of my own that I keep in my home, and this can be brought back to the studio to further develop pottery forms that are successful in their use. Finding art in life can lead to thinking about life as a whole as something more than just mundanities. I think being true to yourself and allowing yourself to make art of the mundane is important and can even feed a creative practice when you are feeling in a slump or do not have access to your studio or ways of working. Simply thinking; how can I make this feel special, or how can I arrange this food on this plate, or even tucking in your bed in a specific way can heighten your experiences in life and create an artful narrative.
Knowledge of History
Something that has greatly impacted my work is beginning to introduce historical references into my work to broaden its depth while further understanding the history of art, or in my case pottery, blown glass, and vessels of other materials. Inherently, we always reference our mentors, those who have come before us and now with the internet, our peers. Working in these ways can lead to many folks making similar work. I too did those and still do, however, finding historical influence in my work has recently allowed me to find new paths of research both formally and within the content of my work. Researching works through museums and hands on interactions are the ideal ways of further understanding the works formally, while reading about them through books and reliable internet sources gives more context to them. During a recent trip to Italy, I began to learn more about Venetian glass and Etruscan pottery, and since have brought formal considerations from these works to my own work. This has pushed both the formal qualities of my work and the content of it. For thousands of years, makers have painted amazing paintings, thrown the most elegant pots, and sculpted pieces with great technical precision. Attempting to learn from these masters, both known and unknown can inform decisions in your own work, while also referencing a specific time and place that may be of important to you or simply be a formal interest. With that though, one must be aware of appropriation and choose what to reference with great consideration. What I look for in historic works are the formal traits of vitality, visual lift, line, volume, etc. and reference the pots through these traits rather than directly copying a work from history.
Growing through taking risks
As a young artist, I think it is most important to take risks and grow from the experiences of both success and failure. I have had students recently who are afraid of failure and are looking to define their voice as an artist as fast as possible. This is something that takes a long time. For me, I have been making pots for about twelve years and just recently in my second year of graduate school feel like I have found a voice for my work, while just this spring have felt like I could also talk about it successfully. Taking risks in the work, exploring new ways of utilizing your material and working with completely different materials, methods, or formal considerations can be so impactful on your work, the direction of it and can help aid in finding your true voice. Something that I think can be so detrimental to this is social media as many folks really present well on there, even if the work is not great or doesn’t quite have a voice. I think a lot of young artists see this and think that should be where they are at and now! My biggest advice would be to slow down, look at historic art rather than social media, take risks in your work as much as possible depending on circumstances, and allow for your true voice to form rather than trying to force it.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
When I am feeling overwhelmed in life or in my studio, I make a to do list! Spreadsheets, spreadsheets, a to do app, a notebook, and some more spreadsheets. They all keep me organized. I use an app called todoist that keeps all my dates organized for shows, exhibitions, due dates, etc. Every Monday when I get into the studio, I make a French press of coffee, sit down, get caffeinated and work on a weekly to-do list. I have my calendar open, my to-do app open and think about when I want to fire my next kiln to finish work. I will then work backwards, planning out each day of making, when I will work on shipping, when I will load kilns, etc. Honestly, I never get through my weekly list of studio tasks, but it does feel great when I get most of them finished and highlighted on the list. Even when I am not feeling overwhelmed I do this to keep on top of my tasks and keep my organized.
Contact Info:
- Website: beckpots.com
- Instagram: @beckpots
- Facebook: casey beck
- Other: I would love to encourage folks to sign up for my emailing list to have first access to online sales, be notified about new work, workshops, and exhibitions! https://beckpots.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=d9a2a0535447fafbb0733312f&id=cb08c7618a
https://linktr.ee/beckpots
Image Credits
I took all of the images
