Meet Kendall and Harper
Potter, Artist and Dog Owner from Massachusetts
Q: Have you always been a creative? How did you get into pottery?
A: I've been pursuing a creative path ever since science turned into mostly math in high school. I attended Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA and graduated with a BFA in Art Education and a minor in Art History. While I was there my fine arts concentrations were painting and printmaking. As for pottery - I probably wouldn't be where I am with clay if it hadn't been for my best friend Carly, who became a high school ceramics teacher after we graduated college. Whenever I would spend time with her, we would end up playing around in her ceramic studio and I fell in love with the medium. I loved the functionality of each thing that I could make as well as how I could combine my painting and printmaking practice into the ways that I applied glaze to my pieces.
Q: You have your own studio now! Can you tell us where you get your inspiration for your pieces from?
A: I'm inspired mostly from the earth but also draw inspiration from everyday life - like colors and shapes that catch my eye. Clay, being something that comes from the earth, I love to leave at least a small portion of every piece the natural raw clay. Playing with the relationship between raw clay and something like neon orange glaze is exciting to me.
Q: What's the process for creating your work? How long does it usually take to make one piece?
A: One thing that ceramics teaches me every day is patience. It's a very slow medium to work with and a lot of times it is controlling you and not the other way around. The only part of the process that I ever really feel like I have full control over is throwing and trimming on the wheel and once a completed load of pots come out of the kiln - everything in between is a waiting game.
Each piece requires different things in terms of time but if we just use a mug as an example, it takes about 20 days give or take a day from start to finish. During this time, I would throw, handle, trim, allow the piece to dry out, bisque fire it, sand it, glaze it, and then glaze fire it.
Q: Any tips to share on how to make a mug?
A: Practice!! That's the best piece of advice that I would have for anyone who wanted to pursue ceramics. It is a lot of work but when you unload a kiln full of pots that come out the exact way you were hoping there is nothing like it!
Q: We love how Harper finds her way into your IG. What's Harper like as a shop dog?
A: She's a curious little thing so she's always poking around in the studio to see what I'm up to. My studio is in my home so she comes in and out as she pleases. She spends the most time in my studio when the sun is coming through the windows on that side of the house, she'll lay on the floor and soak it all in - she's a sunshine girl for sure.
Q: Describe Harper in three words:
Energetic, goofy, snuggly.
Q: What is your or your pups' favorite Billy Wolf item?
A: Bandanas, all day every day.
Visit Kendall’s shop - https://klayhouseceramics.com/