Starting out
I wanted crock pots for fermenting veggies and to spend time with my friends. So naturally I got into Ceramics!!!
I learned the basic in 2018 from Berry who has a small studio in Glen Cove, in the back of an office building. I went there on weekends for 3 or 4 months and made a dozen or so pieces.
Then I traveled across country exploring and studying Aggro ecology, bio dynamics, permiculture and communal living. Until I ended up on a commune in Missouri called East Wind.
At East wind I discovered a mostly abandoned pottery studio. with the help of others we got the kiln back up and running and renovated the space over the years. I played with clay there as a hobby for a couple of years before I got the Idea that I wanted to do it professionally.
During my time at East wind I was working in the Communities Nut Butter business. doing Sales, Food safety (handling food inspection and quality assurance), and other general management tasks. I gave the Community 6 months notice that I would be leaving and trained people to take on my responsibilities in that time.
As I was doing less work for the community allowing me to invest more time and energy in to pottery.I built a portfolio and artist statements. I applied to a dozen or so artist in residencies but did not get in. So I was determined to start my own studio and moved back long Island where I could also be close to my family.
I set up a booth at the oyster bay market for several months as i looked for a studio and worked at the paramount theater in Huntington as a bareback. I was struggling to find a place to set up when Frank Olt at the LIU ceramics department let me help out at the college studio for a couple of months. this was excellent for showing me how a studio could be managed and operated. giving me a lot of insight in setting up my own studio.
As my time there was coming to an end,I came into Scarsellas flowers with my mom who suggested that I ask Philip one of the owners if he had space. He did! It took a while to move in and i finally did in January of 2022 and it took even longer to get new electrical lines and my kiln set up having my official grand opening November 3rd 2022.Now fully devoted to my crafted JBTCLAYWORKs continues to grow and continue to improve my quality and my offerings
