2019 Emerging Artist: Eric Heerspink Ceramics Monthly

Appears in the May 2019 issue of Ceramics Monthly.

Eric Heerspink, Jenison, Michigan

Glowing lines intersect on the weathered surfaces of Eric Heerspink’s functional and nostalgic pottery. Nostalgia, in this case, triggers ubiquitous memories of a time and place both fictional and futuristic. Pulling from the visual language of spacecraft, masks, and energized weapons, Heerspink develops vessels that explore the pop cultural impact of the 1977 film, Star Wars: A New Hope. This phenomenon, which Heerspink describes as one of monoculture, made space-age grime on sleek forms into a universally familiar aesthetic.

Mugs, jars, growlers, plates, and other common vessels are transformed into unique objects through modern details. The buttressed feet of mugs call to mind connection points in futuristic machinery. Layers of terra sigillata and underglaze wash are applied in crisp shapes that look like they have a job to do. Those glowing lines are made of saturated glaze, and appear simultaneously instructional as they divide each form, yet technological in their vector-like precision. Though influenced by a place far, far away, these pots feel at home in the contemporary kitchen and in use.