Suite One Studio Porcelain Pottery
I began working with porcelain in 2005 while taking my first ceramics course. I was not intending to continue with clay after this course, it was simply a required class for the Painting degree I was working towards. Porcelain was introduced at the end of the semester as a little treat, and in my case a teaser. I immediately signed up for the subsequent course. This was the moment my future changed. I knew I was now a potter.
Working with porcelain is a true joy! The white clay is soft, smooth and buttery. I work exclusively on the wheel, allowing the spinning momentum to work with me. My forms come to be through spontaneity guided by the wheel’s gentle motion and my endless search for simplified beauty.
I am inspired by the timelessness and usefulness of the vessel form. I find in today’s busy world sitting down to enjoy a meal with loved ones is a rare and precious moment. I create my work for these moments, hoping to add beauty to the table by providing carefully designed places for the food to rest and be enjoyed.
Food is indeed a very big part of my work giving my pots purpose beyond decoration. After each piece is thrown on the wheel I alter, carve and stretch the clay to its limits to create softer, organic forms. I find the idiosyncrasies of handmade work to be the most celebrated attributes. I aim to exaggerate these differences ever so slightly. I often leave the exteriors of my pieces unglazed to celebrate the natural elegance of the raw, white porcelain. This unglazed clay creates a wonderful visual and tactile contrast to the glossy interiors. I create my own glazes to strengthen my involvement in the handmade process and reinforce the natural variation of the material.
I work from my home studio, which is really equal parts home and studio. Each day it seems my pottery takes over just a little more of the home side of things. My daily routine involves lots of tea drinking and several hours on my wheel. There is always something that needs to be done in the studio. So, if I am not working on my wheel I am busy glazing or firing the kiln. I enjoy the entire process of my work, start to finish. Although seeing the finished product for the first time is probably my favorite part! As any potter will say, you never truly know the result of a piece until it is unloaded from its final firing. This is the moment I find myself grinning, happily holding in my hands a pot I conceived in my mind weeks earlier. I am fortunate enough to live each day pursuing my passion. Each and every pot is an extension of this love.
Currently my work is sold online: http://www.suiteonestudio.etsy.com and at a wonderful boutique in Atlanta called The Beehive: http://www.thebeehiveatl.com. I hope to continue to grow as a potter and as a fresh, young business in the years ahead. I imagine one day a studio that involves less of my home, and allows me to be a little messier without having to worry about tracking clay through my bedroom, or washing clay splatters off of my oven before company comes over. In the meantime though I am happy, content and busy living my creative dream one pot at a time!
Contact Details
www.suiteonestudio.etsy.com
www.thebeehiveatl.com
www.helenedujardin.com
Lindsay Emery
Lindsay Emery lives in North Carolina, USA, and makes handmade porcelain pottery that is chic, simple and modern. She sells her porcelain on Etsy, at http://suiteonestudio.com and you can follow her on Twitter: @SuiteOneStudio.
