JOURNAL - Pinky & Maurice

April 13, 2015 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

The Art of Business with Ingrid Tufts

Ingrid Tufts is a ceramic designer and maker from Melbourne, Australia. For many years she worked in IT, and it was not until she was 35 years old that she began studying ceramics, as many of us do, in an evening class.

Discovering clay can be an epiphany for many people but for Ingrid it was a career changer and today she produces a range of tableware and decorative ceramics for restaurants, homeware designers, retailers and collectors under her label Tufts.

Ingrid ‘throws’ and slipcasts her pots in porcelain and stoneware clay bodies and describes her aesthetic as a coming together of simple functionality and playfulness.

I’m practically jumping out of my skin that Ingrid’s flying up to the studio on Saturday, June 20, to present a workshop specialising in Business and Concept Development for makers and designers. This inspiring workshop will provide practical direction and advice for fledgling and established creators of all kinds.

Claire Atkins: Welcome to the cyber studio Ingrid!

Ingrid Tufts: Hi Claire and thanks for having me.

C.A: You were working in IT before you discovered clay as an adult, can you describe how that unfolded?

I.T: My journey into clay was a natural progression. Getting serious happened quite slowly, from an evening class, to a Saturday co-op and before I knew it I was enrolled in TAFE part-time. I studied at Box-Hill TAFE between 2006 and 2008. I didn’t complete the Diploma course because I had a limited amount of time, in the end it was either pursue my own practice or study and I chose the studio. From there I slowly gave up my day job, one day at a time.

C.A: Does your background in technology help your studio work today?

I.T: It’s pretty handy. I can get around images and produce my own marketing material and keep my website up to date. Sometimes though, I wish I had an accounting background!

C.A: What does a typical week look like?

I.T: Each day there is a list of things to do. It might be throwing in the morning, glazing in the afternoon with a little admin in between. I usually take half a day each week to do deliveries and meet clients. Sometimes I work in the evenings or on the weekends as jobs require. The kilns are usually busy at night and on the weekends.

C.A: You’re well known for producing ceramics in collaboration with other artists. What’s your favourite collaboration to date? What’s the best thing about collaboration? What’s the worst?

I.T: Fortunately, all the illustrators I have worked with on projects have been great. Customer management can be a little more tricky in the design process, but overall I find it wonderful to have access to another source of creativity. It can make things new and fresh.

C.A: You’ve also been commissioned to produce ceramics on some great projects for restaurants and you’ve had some impressive clients including Opera Australia. Can you describe the processes involved in this kind of relationship?

I.T: Usually, I’ll put forth a number of ideas and see what the client responds to. Then we work up an idea, sometimes making maquettes or little test pieces so we can see how they work. Clients are all different so I try to be responsive to their needs.

C.A: What advice would you give someone who is dreaming of working as a studio potter?

I.T: Be prepared to work hard!

C.A: What’s your advice for studio potters who feel like their work or their creative business is languishing?

I.T: I’d say, try something new and take a risk. If I get a bit tired of the studio I make sure that I make something new or start a new glaze experiment.

C.A: Who do you think will benefit from your workshop and do you think it’s relevant for makers and designers of all kinds of objects?

I.T: Well, I think this workshop is perfect for anyone who wants ideas, inspiration and encouragement. Although I mainly use examples from the ceramics world (because it’s what I know best), the workshop is equally relevant to other makers.

C.A: Thanks so much for taking the time to hang out in the cyber studio today Ingrid!

And, if you’re a maker or designer of objects looking to kick start your creative business, or give it a good kick in the pants, check out the workshop details here or head straight to the online shop to secure your place. There’s an early bird price of $95 until Friday April 18, after that the price goes up to $125! Don’t be shy to contact me about the workshops via the contact page, below in the comments, on Facebook or Instagram.

March 26, 2015 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

The Artist’s Lunch

I’m a maker and a collector of ceramic pots, and they are beautiful objects in their own right, but they also have a life that is intrinsically connected with food.

Using hand made pots at every meal in my own home seems to ‘charge’ the most simple meals, it causes us to slow down, it effects how we lay the table, how we present the food, we become more aware of our movements, we seem to take greater care and we’re more mindful of the meal.

PINKY and MAURICE CERAMICS CLAIRE ATKINS Amber Melody Photography--26

Pinky and Maurice Ceramics & Sabi Sushi

Last year I had the pleasure of spending time in my kitchen with whole-foods chef and educator Jean Martinez. In a world gone mad with hipster food fads, Jean is a down-to-earth country girl with a simple passion for teaching sustainable food skills. I was struck by her methods of gathering and preparing ingredients, and her obvious enjoyment of the processes involved in making a meal seemed to ‘charge’ our meal with an ‘energy’ (C’mon, I do live in Byron Bay) much the same way good ceramics does.

The Lovely Jean Martinez of Artisan Wholefoods

Jean describes her business Artisan Wholefoods, as a moving-feast-small-cooking-school, that takes her to regional halls, churches and homes throughout Australia teaching sourdough bread making, fermentation and wholefoods baking and cooking.

She trained in New York at The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts and has two culinary degrees, a Bachelor of Business, an adult education teaching qualification, and for many years she worked as a teacher and joint co-ordinator of The Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Program in Perth with Wholefoods educator and author Jude Blereau.

Jean is a fabulous chef and I’m excited that she has agreed to cater for our April 11 workshop Artisan’s of Instagram. Today, Jean joins me from her off-grid, spring-fed, solar powered cottage in the stunning rainforests of Northern NSW.

Claire Atkins: Welcome to the cyber studio Jean!

Jean Martinez: Thank you Claire, it’s a pleasure to be here and chat with you!

C.A Tell me Jean, what are your first food memories?

J.M My parents were definitely what you would call hippies back when I was born. They were living on the land in a remote rural area in New Zealand and were living the ‘good life’ growing as much of their own food as possible, dying and weaving their clothes and generally living outside of society.

By the time I was 2 we had moved to Darwin, post Cyclone Tracey, where life for them was quite different – they both had jobs for one thing!

The food influences that stand out for me was their commitment to whole and natural ingredients and a pretty wholesome life in general. All of our meals were cooked from scratch, we used real cookware – stainless steel and cast iron. ‘Fast Food’ or takeaway meals were an occasional treat – and one that was enjoyed together as a family.

It was certainly far from perfect, but when I look back I see a life with balance. The ‘good life’ is what I have always aspired to, and I am grateful to my parents for providing me with this.

Whole-lotta-love-artisan sourdough

C.A I really wanted to be Tom and Barbara Good from the BBC TV series ‘The Good Life’ when I was little! When did you discover that this is what you wanted to do too when you ‘grew up’?

J.M I sort of fell into cooking as a job and stayed with it because I was good at it. It wasn’t until I decided to go to cooking school in New York that I truly found my passion for food and chose it as my career – which sounds a bit backwards. I think that the seed of what is now my business, Artisan Wholefoods was formed then, and everything I have done since has sort of gently guided me along the path to where I am now (which was 16 years ago by the way!!).

Learning about traditional food philosophies really lit my fire at cooking school. This continues to inform many of my food interests and the classes that I teach. In particular fermented foods and sourdough bread.

C.A Tell me more about Artisan Wholefoods, what makes it tick? What’s its driving passion?

J.M The thing that drives Artisan Wholefoods is my desire to educate people as to what good food is. It is truly a simple thing, and something that our ancestors followed as this was what was available to them, and this was what they learned at home. Our modern world is a very different place. Foods today are far more refined and convenience is king. We have an overwhelming amount of options and information available to us. Add to this, OPINION and marketing and you have a wild and confusing soup.

When I was growing up the promise was that scientists would get to the bottom of this ‘perfect health’ quandary – tell the farmers how to grow food, tell us how and what to eat, and things would be sorted. The reality is a mash-up of self-interest on behalf of multinationals, flawed science that can be bought and an increasing loss of our own food culture that used to be learned at home. To top it all off as a society, we are sicker than ever.

I have a deep scepticism of the status quo and a desire to save what is rapidly being lost. My answer to this is to revive traditional food skills – fermentation, sourdough bread making, understanding healthy fats, how to treat grains, nuts and seeds, and how to cook with enjoyment and deliciousness. I also believe strongly that we need to support the farmers that support the soil and us through organic and biodynamic farming, raising old breeds of animals and using ethical practices.

A ute load of Jean’s students at the Whole and Natural Foods Chef Training Program in Perth, W.A

C.A Can you let us in on present plans or visions for the future for Artisan Wholefoods?

J.M My dream is to bring my classes home and send the roots of Artisan Wholefoods down into the soil on the land that I live on. My partner and I are in the process of making this happen by turning our sweet rainforest home into a cooking school, and building ourselves a new home nearby.

I already grow some of the food that is used in classes, but the vision is to provide as much of the fresh produce and eggs for classes that we can and to extend the sustainability of this school as much as possible. This will be Australia’s first off the grid wholefoods cooking school.

In the meantime though, it is such a blessing to be able to roam the region teaching from Brisbane to Dubbo. Plans are in place for classes in Sydney too.

Baby chicks at Jean’s place

C.A So the question on everyone’s lips is, what will we be eating at the Artisans of Instagram workshop?

J.M I love the opportunity that catering presents to prepare whole meals that showcase just how delicious whole and natural and organic ingredients can be.

The workshops will have a gorgeous inclusive morning tea (catering for people with food intolerances), featuring a gluten free welcome cake, low gluten poached pear scones and fresh fruit.

I love any opportunity to include fermented foods and it’s often a surprise to people how diverse the flavours can be. There will definitely be home-made crème fraiche!

It is important to consider the time of year when catering too. So, our Autumn themed lunch will have substantial salads and a lovely large roasted vegetable and goats cheese tart. There will also be some cultured and lacto ferments vegetables with lunch, some homemade sourdough and cultured butter too.

C.A I’m getting hungry just thinking about it, I can’t wait Jean and thanks for the chat!

I do hope you’ll join us in the studio for a workshop and to share an artist’s lunch with Jean, our excellent workshop hosts and me! Please visit the workshop page for more information or dive right in and book in the online shop!

March 13, 2015 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

Telling Tall Tales in Clay

Earlier this week, I caught up with kid’s author, Tristan Bancks and his young protege, kid author, Raph Atkins. These two inspiring fellas are hosting our very first workshop in April, ‘Claymation: Stories in Clay’.

The pair first met in 2012 in creative writing workshops and since then they’ve gone on to write funny stories, silly TV segments and youtube videos together.

Listen to our Skype conversation in our Youtube below and discover what an author does all day, where their ideas come from and some of the ways technology can bring story ideas to life.

Big thanks to Raph for providing the time lapse photography and hilarious claymations throughout the video, they’re really worth sticking around for!

If you’d like to join Tristan and Raph for some clay fun in the studio, simply check out the workshop details here and book in the online shop.

Raph and Tristan making delicious brussel sprout and tuna smoothies with Jonno and Ollie on Toasted TV

Raph and ‘Morris’ the sausage dog spoke with Country Style Magazine in January about their friendship and writing stories

Tristan Bancks, author of the hilarious and sometimes gross ‘My Life’ series

Australian kid's author Tristan Bancks with budding author Raph Atkins at the 'My Life and Other Stuff that Went Wrong' Byron Bay book launch 2014

Tristan and Raph at the ‘My Life and Other Stuff that Went Wrong’ book launch in Byron Bay, 2014

March 7, 2015 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

Artisans of Instagram

I’ve invited a talented group of writers and visual artists to host workshops in my studio this year. The first series from April to June looks at technology and how it can be used as a powerful tool for creative expression. In the coming weeks we’ll be meeting all the workshop hosts right here on the blog.

Today I’m chatting with Ellie Beck.

Ellie Beck is a textile artist, print maker and the artistic director of Deadwood Creative, a business that she operates with her husband Sam Messina, that breathes new life into salvaged skateboard decks, and transforms them into pieces of contemporary jewellery.

Ellie is also the creator behind the popular blog and Instagram account @petalplum where she shares her creative journey and daily life with a creative community of almost 100,000 followers. Ellie is also Mum to three young people, and together with her family is physically building a sustainable home, deep in a forest in Northern NSW. And you thought you were busy. Welcome, Ellie!

Claire Atkins: Ellie you lead a very full life. You’re a maker, a partner, a mother and a creative entrepreneur, tell me what a typical day looks like, and how do you get it all to fit?

Ellie Beck: There is no typical day really. Each day depends on a number of different things, depending on what we’re currently working on. Mostly we’re up for the school rush, or on Wednesday mornings we all head out early to the local farmers market for our weekly vege shopping.

If we have Deadwood orders to fill for online customers or stockists, we’ll spend the day doing that. Sam does all the production while I make the labels and pack orders, as well as invoicing and paperwork.

During any day I make sure to factor in time for my own personal creating – it might be a weaving or crochet I’m working on. I do a lot of natural botanical dyeing, so there might be some fabric or yarn in the dye pot. Many of these are personal creative pursuits, but I also run textile workshops so this is developing my craft and creating products for sale.

Around all of this is the usual work from home thing of doing housework, or more like avoiding housework! I also have a 4 month old baby, so right now there’s a lot of sitting and feeding and cuddling and nappy changing happening amongst it all. And then the big kids come home from school before I know it!

I always try to make time for two important things – to spend some quiet time away from computers and social media. And to spend some time taking photos to document my work or my day – mostly to share with my online friends (on Instagram) and to keep a record of my work.

Yep busy days!!

C.A What feeds your creativity or what inspires your art making? Where did you grow up and what was your childhood like? Was it a creative one?

E.B It was a very creative upbringing. I grew up where I now live, in the rainforest. We’re building our home on the land that I grew up on, which is pretty special. It’s very inspiring living here – surrounded by forest, birds and wildlife, away from city and town life. Both of my parents were/are creatives, and I was lucky to attend a Steiner school which provided a solid foundation for my own creativity.

So much feeds my creativity – but mostly, just being in my own quiet space and making things. I like to make for the process of making, rather than always having an outcome. I’m pretty inspired by the idea of what is possible for me to make, with my own two hands and some scraps of fabric and moments of time. Instagram is an inspiring space to hang out – and I love that I can share my own work there and inspire others as well.

C.A You have been an important mover and shaker in your region in establishing creative groups like Hey Maker in Northern NSW. How important is it for your practice to identify with a creative group or family of makers?

E.B For me it’s a balance of self-making, own quiet time, or working alongside my husband and then conversely I need others. The creative voice talking to someone else’s creative artistic self. It’s so important to spend time with people who know you, and understand your passions and see them as real. I think in terms of developing an arts practice, having a sounding board of creative friends (carefully selected people who uplift you) is so important. My husband fills this role, but sometimes I need a woman’s voice as well!

I find the people I seem to spend most time with are other creatives, though not necessarily textile makers. It’s good having different influences from creative friends – their ideas come from another place and increase my curiosity about more than just one type of making.

C.A You have an impressive tribe of followers on Instagram and you follow creative people too. How important is this group to you personally and to your practice? And is it possible to have authentic relationships with people on social media?

E.B I find without this connection through Instagram I wouldn’t have given myself the permission to grow as much as I have in my arts practice. I know what sounds silly – but I’m not making art in a vacuum, and to have support and interest from the outside world gives me a sense of validation in what and how and why. {Though it’s equally important to not get hung up on this being the only validation…..hence why I make sure to take time away from social media}.

My Instagram community is a group of people I would never have had the chance to connect with in regular life. They bring so much to my experience as a creative, as a business owner and mother. To have access into other people’s lives and arts practice – to share in their joys and disappointments is pretty special. If there was no Instagram, then I’d have a very small circle of people who I see maybe once or twice a month.

I’ve been blogging for almost 8 years and on Instagram for close to 4 years now, and without a doubt the connections are real and true friendships. The great thing is within this giant world we can find people who we are most going to connect with – it’s like a party of only people with your similar interests.

I think the thing about having an authentic connection comes down to how much you are willing to put of yourself. It’s a bit like dating online – if you have a false profile, you’ll never meet the love of your life. We’re lucky that the internet exists and we’re no longer confined to our small towns to search for connections. Totally true and real friendships – if you don’t believe me try it for yourself!

C.A What are some of the overwhelming benefits that belonging to an online community like Instagram has meant for you personally and as an artist.

E.B I think the biggest is the connections and friendships that I’ve made, with people who are “my people”. A lot of them also have the potential to become creative collaborations, which is very exciting. As a mother, or doubting artist, having someone on the other end of Instagram (at any time of day or night) is a warm and welcome relief – someone to hold your hand, to support and offer advice or just a little smile to lift you up.

In terms of business, Instagram has made it possible for us to run an online business from a rainforest home, outside a major city or large town. It has also made marketing fun and real and accessible.

C.A What can people expect from your April workshop in the studio and who will it resonate with?

E.B I’ll be talking about how we make a living using Instagram as our biggest social media platform, it’s basically free advertising for our business.

We’ll go into the nitty gritty of what I do with my account to make it a fun, yet successful place to hang out. How to make the best of the opportunities that Instagram can bring, and how to tap into those opportunities.

We’re going to talk about taking photos, apps to use, and also have a play with some styling and setting up little scenes and vignettes.

I’ll share my tips on having a healthy relationship with Instagram, as I think this is one of the most important parts of any online blogging or social media interaction.

I hope it’ll resonate with creatives who want to learn how to share their beautiful works with the world. Sometimes people make amazing things, but find it hard to photograph them or promote them. I really want to help these people share their talents. People who are interested in finding a community and connections will love what Instagram can bring to them personally and professionally. The workshop will be good for people who have product and service based businesses, who want to work within our region or post their goods world wide.

Also – there’ll be cake and lots of chatting and sharing and taking pretty photos. And I can’t wait to meet everyone!

C.A Thanks so much for hanging out here with us in my cyber studio Ellie!

Don’t be shy to leave a comment or ask any questions about Ellie’s workshop here. If you’d like more workshop details, head over here, or dive right in and book your spot in the online shop.

February 14, 2015 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

The Business of Art & the Rise and Rise of the Creative Entrepreneur

Art is constantly reinventing itself. A potter friend of mine, Adriana Christianson recently shared an article on her Artist’s Facebook page, ‘The Death of the Artist and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur’, by William Deresiewicz.

It’s a good article that talks about the changing shape of the artist over the centuries; from apprentice craftsman, to artisan, to solitary genius, to the artist as creative entrepreneur. Andy Warhol was perhaps the supreme businessman artist, the notion of the artist as creative entrepreneur is hardly a new thing, however, the article resonates with many artists today and particularly with those who are not only makers but are also the promoters and salespeople of the works they create.

“…Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” Andy Warhol from THE Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)

There’s a good discussion on the nature of Art that raises questions about its future in an age of social media. For me, social media has opened up opportunities to talk to other makers that might never have happened otherwise. I have discussions on Facebook and Instagram with potters around the world about problems we’re having with glazes, we share prized recipes for porcelain casting slip and personal stories too. There are benefits for the maker but Deresiewicz warns of a kind of dumbing down of Art. What do you think? Has the democratisation of creativity and taste on social media made everyone an artist? Is it increasingly difficult for artists to make authentic works if they’re immersed in an online culture of being ‘liked’ and followed? Deresiewicz fears that artists will spend more time looking over their shoulders creating work that is eager to please, that is more like entertainment and less like art.

Andy Warhol: I think everybody should like everybody.

Gene Swenson: Is that what Pop Art is all about?

Andy Warhol: Yes, it’s liking things.

Do you think it’s possible to be an artist who is fully engaged with thousands of followers on social media and make art that does not seek to please? I’d love to know your thoughts or experiences.

And in the spirit of the creative entrepreneur, I’m running a series of workshops in my studio from April to June (did you see what I did there? I’m being a creative entrepreneur right now) that touch on some of these ideas and pressures facing artists. You’ll meet some inspiring writers, artists and craftspeople who are negotiating their way through the interwebs and yet still manage to make good art while they make a living.

January 26, 2015 by Claire Atkins 4 Comments

So good to meet you

Hello and welcome to my studio in cyberspace! I’m Claire Atkins, creator of Pinky & Maurice Ceramics.

This is my first ever blog post and so I thought, over the next few weeks we could get to know one another. I’ll share some of my stories and you can share yours and work out if this place is for you.

Claire_Atkins_Pinky-and-Maurice-ceramics-website-photo_by_Megan_Kinninment

Claire in the studio

A little bit about me. During the week I juggle studio time between a number of creative jobs, but when I’m in the studio my primary medium is clay. My work is inspired by the natural and built world, other artists, other pots, paintings, poetry, stories and music. I also paint, print and draw.

Claire_Atkins_Pinky_and_Maurice_ceramics_photo_by_Megan_Kinninment

Finding centre

Claire_Atkins_Pinky-and-Maurice-Ceramics-photo_Megan_Kinninment

Silkscreened signatures transferred by hand

Tiny dishes in porcelain stained the colour of Byron Bay skies

While we’ll be talking about pots and potters in the coming months, I hope this can be a place for anyone who’s interested in the creative process and cultural products of all kinds, to feel at home. And please don’t be shy to make a comment, ask a question or just get in contact and say hello.

PINKY and MAURICE CERAMICS CLAIRE ATKINS Amber Melody Photography-0318-2

Porcelain beads

Making daily marks

Thanks so much for dropping in, I’ll let you go for a wander through the pages now, but call out if you need anything, I’m just out the back learning how to drive this thing!