Conversations with Artists

HandMade in America talks with CSA artist Carla Filippelli

Who or what are your major influences?
The inspiration for all of our creations from the very beginning has been the endless acts of creation of/by Mother Nature.  Our first focus, in 1979 was extracting colors from the many dye plants of Western North Carolina.   This extraction and the process of dyeing fibers and reeds opened our eyes to the hidden secrets within the natural world. Shape and color of course are apparent everywhere but to focus on the acts of creation itself have been our real inspiration.   After many years of traditional Appalachian basketry and using patterns of all kinds, we discovered the weavers within nature.  The animals that do not use easily recognizable patterns were our guides and teachers.  We watched spiders and birds at work, particularly the weaver birds; we observed beavers weave their logs into dams and noticed the tiniest mouse nest was woven from soft, found materials.   Suddenly we had become free from traditional patterns, and our work reflected this immediately and has never been the same. That’s when I developed the random weave style of weaving.  Some of our shapes for the baskets were inspired by the traditional forms of Appalachian basketry other shapes came out of a more random process that the weave dictated.

What’s your design process like?
We really enjoy creating large wall sculptures for residences or corporate spaces.  Working with clients about color, interiors, shapes etc is what informs us of what we want to design. Then a very left brain process takes place and we let the wild vines and reeds guide us to free flowing shapes and palettes that we feel will work with the design process.
Custom colors and sizes are our specialty, and working closely with clients is how we achieve good results.

Can you give me an example of something that inspired a particular piece of work?
Much of our inspiration comes from the natural world. We were on vacation in British Columbia a few years back and spent time on the rocky beaches playing with the long lengths of bull kelp that flowed up on the shores making interesting shapes and designs in the sand.It washed up and held onto other surf side stuff. We got inspired to create a large sculptural wall piece that flowed over a long 16 foot wall as the entry wall of a newly built condo in downtown Asheville; 60 N Market Street.

How have you changed as a consequence of your work?
Working my whole life in craft and as a craft artist has given me the greatest gift; self employment.  It has given me the freedom to work and play when inspired. Now I am able to  give back to the craft community through mentoring and volunteering.

How is your work integrated with the community?
We have worked with art consultants and designers who have gotten our work in several corporate and commercial  establishments around the state and nation. We also had a stint as artists in the Arts in Embassies program which loaned our pieces to foreign countries and ambassadors’ homes.
As members of the Southern Highland Guild since 1983, the craft community has always been an inspiration and resource as we grew into seasoned craft artists.

What’s the most rewarding part about your work?    
I am rewarded  every day getting to walk to work; to my little studio nestled in the woods. Even when the demands of marketing, deadlines or material shortages show up, I can always stop, breathe a little deeper and say “ how lucky are you creating and sharing work I have made myself. “

Conversations with Artists

HandMade in America talks with CSA artist Sue Grier

1. Why or how did you choose your medium? 

A few years after college, I wanted to start a small, part-time, creative business (we had 2 small children). I had taken a couple ceramics classes as an undergrad and loved working with clay—especially throwing. I had an opportunity to work out of a private studio in Columbia, SC with a potter named Mary Ann Wardlaw—so rather than painting (my original background), I started a pottery business. The flexibility worked well around family needs.

2. Could you talk a little about why you love what
you do? 

CLAY CLAY CLAY  It’s really all about that.

Working with clay is very ‘process oriented’—that’s the attraction. I work primarily from wheel-thrown components. I’m only half teasing when I say that the clay keeps a person ‘centered’. Beyond throwing, as mesmerizing and meditative as that can be, there is the quality of mark making and creation of form. Having worked with clay for over 20 years, I have a decided interest in the problem solving inovlved with making complex forms or pieces. What fun to test one’s skills against this ornery & willful material.

Beyond the creation of interesting clay pieces is the challenge of glazing and firing the work to best advantage. I have enjoyed working in a variety of firing types: oxidation, reduction, soda and wood fired. Each of these offers a unique surface for a ceramic artists’ use.

3. Do you have any other creative pursuits? 

I always thought I would be a painter—I even had 3 yrs towards a BA in Painting. I don’t paint very often now, but a fun project I’ve done the past 2 years is take part in the Potter’s Pallette, a fundraiser for the NC Pottery Center in Seagrove. I also love printmaking (I did quite a bit in grad school). The past 2 yrs, I’ve been learning Ikebana (the art of Japanese flower arranging). Most recently, I have taken some classes to make needle-sculpted dolls.

4. How long have you been working in your medium? 

I set up my clay studio in 1984. From 2002-2004, I attended Graduate School at Clemson University (MFA Ceramics) and taught there part-time for the next 6 yrs. Back to full-time studio in mid-2010 here in Asheville.

5. What would you say informs you work? 

As an artist, my work has grown to embrace the vessel through my previous involvement and understanding of more traditional functional pottery forms. I maintain a desire to make the work “functional”, yet the definition of function has evolved to embrace the utilitarian as well as the intellectual or conceptual aspects of the term. The clay vessel used with the idea of embodied learning has allowed layers of information to be included in these pieces. Ideas that keep recurring in my work involve the passage of time. At one point, the idea of time passing in front of me – and now moving to a broader revelation of how I am moving in time-based phases – as are we all. I enjoy the use of the ceramic vessel in this exploration for the range of forms, the associations and metaphorical uses they have and the ability to take advantage of ceramic processes (mark making, glazing, firing, etc).

6. Who or what are your major influences? 

Some influential clay artists include—in no particular order —Betty Woodman, Peter Voulkos, David Shaner, Byron Temple, Ron Meyers, Bruce Cochran, James Lawton. Other artists who inform my thinking on art include Mark Rothko, Andy Goldsworthy, Antonio Gaudi, Martin Puryear, and of course Dr. Seuss.

7. What is the most challenging thing about working in your medium? 

Clay has opportunity to fail in at least 3 different ways beyond the ‘idea’ stage: while working with the wet mud, during the drying & bisque firing, and during the glazing & glaze firing. There are technical & creative decisions in tackling each of these areas and succeeding.

8. Any words of wisdom for those starting out? 

Be prepared to put in your time to get really familiar with your medium. Become an ‘outlier’ (think of Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers). And dig deep for your own voice. Explore your influences & inspirations, traditional & contemporary sources. What will set you apart will be your unique experiences/interpretations layered into your creative work.

9. When did you decide to become an artist and why?

My parents started getting me drawing & painting lessons when I was in 6th grade. Thanks Mom & Dad! I also had a very wonderful art teacher in Junior High School. I never thought of doing anything else but art. It was a surprise, looking back, that it has been as a ceramic artist rather than as a painter.

10. What’s your design process like? 

In the years since my MFA, I have been more interested in how/where the work I choose to make will be placed/used. For example, one of my favorite pieces was designed to ‘fit down the middle of a long dining table in a spacious room. I knew the piece needed to be of a certain scale to succeed. The resulting piece was a long & low fluid footed vessel. When actually working on the piece, I don’t start with drawings, rather I work directly with the clay—problem solving as I go.

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