I'm so excited to share our artist of the month with you. I first met Brenna McBroom at a marketplace at an Unschooler's gathering, and even though the room was completely packed with artists, crafts from people of all ages, and an excited crowd, her pottery stood out. It was an oasis of tranquility, this beauty. She's an incredibly talented potter with an eye for shape and color.  Her work is not only beautiful, but extremely functional. We were lucky enough to sit down and talk with Brenna, about art, ceramics, inspiration, and more. Here's what she had to say...

WE: Please tell us about your art...

BM: I make functional vessels on the potter’s wheel out of stoneware clay. I’m currently firing to cone six in an electric kiln, and I’ve done some experimenting with raku, pit, and saggar firings as well. Because my focus is primarily on functional work, I strive to create pieces in which form follows function. While I enjoy designing and creating pieces that are graceful and elegant, I try to always return to the question ‘to what end?’ in order to make sure there is a reason for each of the elements that I incorporate into a piece.

I’m a perfectionist, and I strive to create works that are technically sound. This was very important to me when I was learning to throw, and it served me well. I’m quite competent because of it. However, the downside to this quality is that it can lead to work that is “tight” and static. I’m currently working toward letting go of some of that control with the intent of creating work that is looser and more expressive. I love delicate curves that give a sense of ‘lift’ to a piece- as though the piece is inhaling like a ballerina mid-plie.

WE: How/when did you start becoming an artist?

BM: When I was a child, ‘an artist’ was my answer to the question ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ For some reason, I was under the impression that artists had big, warehouse-like studios and they spent their days lying on the floor with a paintbrush, painting highway billboards. However, it wasn’t until I was eighteen that I started acquiring the technical tools to create art, and it was at this point that I began creating art in earnest. By some stroke of luck, my mother and I enrolled in a wheel pottery class with some friends of ours. Something about throwing pottery on the wheel hit home with me, and I started taking advantage of the ‘free studio time’ that came along with our class. I would drive out to the studio several days a week and stay for hours at a time, struggling to master the fundamentals of throwing. Within a year I had my own wheel.

Two and a half years later I continue to be obsessed with ceramics. I just returned from an internship with a potter in Cambridge, Massachusetts; we worked together creating a product that she had designed: a BreadPot intended for baking ‘no-knead’ bread.

WE:  What do you draw inspiration from?

BM: Ironically enough, one of my biggest inspirations for my functional work is poorly designed ceramics. I like observing functional vessels that don’t work well and figuring out why they don’t work well. I incorporate those lessons of ‘what not to do’ into my own work to avoid making mistakes that I’ve observed in other pieces.

I’m also very much inspired by the human body, and by dancers in particular. I strive to incorporate a feeling of lightness, of ‘lift’ into my pieces. I admire pieces that embody elegance, expressiveness, and grace, and I try to bring those qualities into my own work.

WE: Where are your favorite places to create art?

BM: Because I create pieces on a potter’s wheel, it’s difficult for me to move my creative space around. However, I have been known to bribe large men in my vicinity to help me carry my wheel outside- there’s nothing better than throwing pieces in the sunshine. Otherwise, I throw in a small room that’s been converted into a studio. I have an ‘inspiration wall’ where I hang objects that have shapes or textures that inspire me. Right now the wall contains horsehair,  bubble wrap, and a couple of fish skeletons, among other things.

WE: What do you enjoy creating most?

BM: The pottery wheel wants to make bowls, and I never tire of running through a series of bowl permutations. I love matching bowls and mixing bowls, serving bowls and stacking bowls, small bowls and large bowls, nesting bowls and fruit bowls. I love trimming footrings on to bowls and trying to create the perfect bowl profile.

My other current obsessions is teapots. They have such a rich history from so many different cultures, and they’re also really tricky to make in such a way that all of the elements combine to form a unified and functional whole.

WE: How can readers find and purchase your art?

BM: While I’m planning to launch a website in the near future, I’m currently selling my work through etsy.com. You can find me under the username “toothpastesandwich” (http://www.etsy.com/shop/toothpastesandwich). I also frequently post images of my most recent pieces and projects on my Facebook page.

WE: Is there anything else you'd like to share with us?

BM: I’m currently writing a book focusing on artists who were self-taught or untraditionally schooled. I’m searching for self-taught, working artists who are interested in being interviewed about their educational backgrounds. Artists who fit this profile and who are interested in being interviewed for this project can contact me at Brenna.McBroom[at]ncf.edu

WE: Thanks so much, Brenna! I love your art - it is So very beautiful.

All photos courtesy and copyright Brenna McBroom.