“What I'm Making” - Lorie Marsh
This Thing That I Love
They say that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. I believe the opposite is true. You work harder than anyone else — working nights, weekends and holidays, working relentlessly away — because you cannot resist this thing that you love.
Creativity has always come easily to me. I first fell in love with clay when I was 10 years old, but I did not seriously return to it until 2013.
At what point do you decide to create art? Do you make a conscious decision? In the beginning, usually not; you are simply compelled to create.
In 2013 I walked into my first pottery class full of fear, as well as the class after that, and the class after that, and the class after that. To me, there are many correlations between pottery and life. My inability to center my life was evident at the wheel; coupled with my tactile limitations, my frustrations rose but the desire to touch clay persisted, and so did I.
There are dozens of steps involved in making a mug or bowl on the pottery wheel, as well as dozens of types of clay and glaze. The basic concept consists of several easily understood stages: wedging, anchoring your wedged clay to the wheel, centering and coning the clay, opening and shaping the clay into the desired cylinder shape, trimming excess clay from the vessel, and wiring the piece from the wheel.
The vessel must then dry completely before it can go through the first of multiple firings. The first is called the bisque firing, which brings the clay to 1,915 degrees. This firing removes all moisture and impurities from the clay, making it stable enough to glaze. The glazing process often contains nine or more layers of glaze, each hand applied with drying time for each layer. The glaze firing takes the vessel to 2,350 degrees, which turns the glaze to the glassy finish we are all familiar with. Subsequent firings are used for decals, overglazing, and luster work.
Once a piece finishes the multiple firing processes, the bottom is sanded so no rough surfaces remain. The piece receives a final buffing before being photographed, cataloged and either listed in an online shop or boxed to sell at an in-person show.
Ceramics has challenged me in ways I never expected. I was thrilled by the process and learned to let go of my expectations of the outcome. So many times, when I thought I had finally reached my goal, the kiln would surprise me, and I would be back at the beginning once more. Most importantly, I learned so much about myself in the process. I lost myself during art, lost all track of time.
Since that first class in 2013, I have won several awards, sold my work worldwide and participated in local art shows and fairs, including Wellfield Gardens’ Taste of the Gardens and Michiana Pottery Tour. I have spoken at the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference on becoming an emerging artist as an adult and demonstrated at the international Ceramic Congress and featured in Shrunk Magazine. Due to demand, most of the work I currently make is small — many pieces are less than two inches tall. I specialize in complex glaze combinations and hand-painted pieces. I usually work between 30 and 40 hours a week with highly bright white and fine porcelain on a custom-made small wheel in my home studio in Granger. It is a magnificent and profoundly fulfilling obsession.
If you have an interest in the process, you can follow along on the adventure on Instagram and Etsy at loriemarshceramics.
Lorie Marsh
Managing Editor, Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly
Program Manager, Center for Accounting Research and Education