Interview by Jimon
1. How would you describe Amiee Byrne? I like making useful objects useless.
2. What first drew you to pottery as a medium? I was looking for a creative outlet, and happened upon a ceramic studio and was gifted a class. What really entranced me though, was when I first picked the clay up and started working with it as medium. The ability to make something three-dimensional and tactile felt very special to me.
3. Were there any pivotal moments or influences that pushed you toward becoming a full-time artist? Very early on I realized that I enjoy being in the studio more than anywhere else. It became my happy place. Then a couple years after I started, Fred Segal here in Los Angeles asked me to make a small collection for them to sell. I made fifteen pieces for them which sold within two months. Seeing my work on display to the public gave me a newfound confidence in my work.
4. Can you describe your earliest experience working with clay? During my first class, we were introduced to clay and shown how to make a very basic pinch pot. We spent the first hour working the clay and began to understand how to manipulate it. But the pinch pot was just so boring to me. So the next class I asked if I could try something different. I think I must have recently seen the episode of The Simpsons where Homer became an astronaut. The imagery of the chip spinning and floating in space was in my head at the time and it was so funny to me, so I decided to try and make a potato chip mobile out of ceramic. The following week, I brought a tool to form the clay into the cartoon shape of the classic wavy potato chip and it was a success. It was such fun I just kept experimenting and testing new ideas and it all flowed so quickly from that first exploration of the material.
5. What emotions or ideas do you try to express through your ceramic work? Creativity, humor, surrealism, nostalgia.
6. Walk us through your process—from raw clay to finished piece? Each piece is so wildly different. Sometimes my process is slab, other times coil or extruder. I often use formers (such as balloons or even a book press) to get the initial desired shape. Overall though, it starts with an idea, and then a list. The list includes materials, tools, other ideas I can build around such as a theme or texture that I'm trying to replicate. I choose the best clay for each individual piece, I spend the first few days testing ideas of how to execute the hand building process. Once I'm happy with the piece, it sits to dry for three weeks with careful observation to prevent it from cracking. After the ceramic is bone dry it's bisque fired in the kiln. I then sand and smooth everything, glaze and/or underglaze it, and do the second firing. Sometimes there is a third or fourth firing, depending on the look I'm going for.
7. How do you decide whether a piece will be functional or purely decorative? The only art piece I've ever made that is functional is my cigarette vase collection. Each is unique, but really the only thing I've done that isn't purely sculptural.
8. What role does improvisation vs. planning play in your work? I always have a plan before I start, but that changes and shifts as I work through the construction. Each piece requires experimentation to achieve the desired look, but the end result is always as close to the original idea as possible. Improvisation only occurs in the building process.
9. Do you prefer wheel-throwing, hand-building, or slip casting? Why? Hand building always. I'm terrified of the wheel. Slip casting takes away from the individuality of each piece. I'm interested in the process, and know it would make production easier for me, but I enjoy the small imperfections of hand building. Slip casting is too perfect.
10. What types of clay and glazes do you work with most? Stone and earthenware. I dabble with porcelain. I love the look of it, but it's horrendous to hand build with. I mostly use underglazes, mason stains to color my own clay, and a clear glaze if the texture requires gloss.
11. Do you fire in electric, gas, or wood kilns—and how does that affect your work? Electric feels more controllable to me, and it's all I've ever used.
12. Have you developed any signature forms or surface techniques? I'm quite proud of the carpet and fur textures I've come up with. I've never seen those used by anyone else. My ash also, which is on the end of every cigarette piece I make, whether in my vase or ashtray collection.
13. How do you experiment with texture, color, or form in your pieces? That's all I do. Each piece is nothing but experimenting with the hand building process. Whether it be mixing glaze colors, testing different tools to develop new textures, or exploring different firing temperatures and trying multiple firings, all to attain the best end result.
14. What do you find most meditative or rewarding about working with clay? I love that once you start, you're on a time limit because of how the clay dries. So there's this intense focus once I sit down. In that process, everything else quiets and becomes a little less important. Even going to get a coffee at the shop just across the street from my studio feels stressful, because I'm leaving my work on the table. I always want to rush back to it.
15. How has pottery changed the way you think about time, patience, or imperfection? I'm a very patient person, so I think that's why ceramics comes so naturally to me. It requires the acceptance that something that took days or weeks to build might break in the kiln or drying process, and you just have to start over. So you have to be okay with that. In traditional ceramics, there's a beauty in the imperfections, but I still enjoy the process of trying to make something as perfect as I can, while knowing there's always going to be something about the medium that makes that perfection impossible.
16. Do you believe the tactile nature of ceramics creates a deeper emotional connection for the viewer or user? Absolutely. One-hundred percent. I want people to pick up my pieces, put their hands on them to get that connection. Sculptures should be made to be felt, not just observed. I want my textures to surprise and astound.
17. How do you balance creating art with selling it? I have someone do the selling for me, for the simple reason I can't. I make it and hope someone loves it enough to want it in their life.
18. Do you make work in collections, commissions, or individual pieces? All of the above. My collections are my favorite. I love building a whole world of things.
19. Have you exhibited your ceramics in galleries or markets—if so, how do you prepare for those events? Galleries only. If there's a theme for a show, I build for that. I quite often build pieces with the idea that one day they might all be in a show together. Some may seem from different worlds, but they really do all occupy the same space in my mind.
20. Are there new forms, techniques, or materials you’re currently exploring? I recently incorporated tin foil as a tool to achieve the look and feel of a ripped baguette. I've also been experimenting with using slip as layers to build height in a more natural way than carving.
21. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in ceramics? Play.
22. How would someone find you on social media? @amiee_byrne_ceramics
(Images by Scottie Cameron; except artists photo by Davey James Clarke)