The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What inspires your work in clay?
Olivia Tani: My work is inspired by my desire to make both sculptures and functional pottery. This is fueled by my curiosity to understand reliable building structures and details that make a successful functional object. I thrive on
working through technical challenges of how a shape comes together; I just really love building. I am attracted to objects that hide the mechanics of how they are made under smooth, refined shapes, where every angle is considered in the round. I approach
my pots as a geometric puzzle, changing form with every slight adjustment. Building slab by slab allows for constant reflection and awareness of form while creating my own visual language—I am constantly humbled and inspired by this process.
CM: What strategies have you developed to handle challenges you face, including setbacks in the studio or difficulties along the path to becoming an artist?
OT: One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to allow challenges the time they need to be worked through. I did not fire glaze kilns for nearly two years because I was unsatisfied with my surfaces. At the time, I was glazing my
pots, but it muddled the sharp edges and gooped the surfaces of my forms. It was clear I needed to stop and problem-solve. This pause was hard; I turned down amazing opportunities in order to get my work in a reliable place that I was proud of. After
months of research and numerous test tiles and line blends, it was clear I needed to finish my work with slips, not glaze. I always loved how my pots looked in their leather-hard stage anyway, and this felt like the natural solution. Soon after, I
started soda firing, celebrating the flame’s part in decorating my pots. I welcomed the contrast of high control in the form against the serendipitous effect of the soda ash. During a time when I wanted to keep striding forward at full speed,
it was humbling to come to a screeching halt to fix this part of my process. Good things take time, attention, and sacrifices, and it was very much worth it.
CM: What do you see as the current trends in ceramics and how do you respond to them?
OT: Social media is a huge tool for artists, and it has become noticeably more prominent in recent years. We’re in the age of information, and these platforms provide a user-friendly tool to help spread individuals’ stories,
experiences, challenges, and successes across the globe. As a field as a whole, ceramic artists are so exceptionally generous with their knowledge, and because of the malleable nature of the material, there are seemingly infinite methods to go about
making and problem-solving. This recent boom of social-media presence in our field brings us closer and makes us less mysterious to each other.
Access to bite-sized snippets of an artist’s process allows us to inspire, connect, and lift each other up unlike ever before. There have been numerous opportunities that have arisen for me that I can trace back to growing from an interaction or
something I shared with my community on social media. I love sharing my process and DIY tricks with my community and though it can be a lot to keep up with, it has been crucial in growing my career as an artist.
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The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What inspires your work in clay?
Olivia Tani: My work is inspired by my desire to make both sculptures and functional pottery. This is fueled by my curiosity to understand reliable building structures and details that make a successful functional object. I thrive on working through technical challenges of how a shape comes together; I just really love building. I am attracted to objects that hide the mechanics of how they are made under smooth, refined shapes, where every angle is considered in the round. I approach my pots as a geometric puzzle, changing form with every slight adjustment. Building slab by slab allows for constant reflection and awareness of form while creating my own visual language—I am constantly humbled and inspired by this process.
CM: What strategies have you developed to handle challenges you face, including setbacks in the studio or difficulties along the path to becoming an artist?
OT: One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is to allow challenges the time they need to be worked through. I did not fire glaze kilns for nearly two years because I was unsatisfied with my surfaces. At the time, I was glazing my pots, but it muddled the sharp edges and gooped the surfaces of my forms. It was clear I needed to stop and problem-solve. This pause was hard; I turned down amazing opportunities in order to get my work in a reliable place that I was proud of. After months of research and numerous test tiles and line blends, it was clear I needed to finish my work with slips, not glaze. I always loved how my pots looked in their leather-hard stage anyway, and this felt like the natural solution. Soon after, I started soda firing, celebrating the flame’s part in decorating my pots. I welcomed the contrast of high control in the form against the serendipitous effect of the soda ash. During a time when I wanted to keep striding forward at full speed, it was humbling to come to a screeching halt to fix this part of my process. Good things take time, attention, and sacrifices, and it was very much worth it.
CM: What do you see as the current trends in ceramics and how do you respond to them?
OT: Social media is a huge tool for artists, and it has become noticeably more prominent in recent years. We’re in the age of information, and these platforms provide a user-friendly tool to help spread individuals’ stories, experiences, challenges, and successes across the globe. As a field as a whole, ceramic artists are so exceptionally generous with their knowledge, and because of the malleable nature of the material, there are seemingly infinite methods to go about making and problem-solving. This recent boom of social-media presence in our field brings us closer and makes us less mysterious to each other.
Access to bite-sized snippets of an artist’s process allows us to inspire, connect, and lift each other up unlike ever before. There have been numerous opportunities that have arisen for me that I can trace back to growing from an interaction or something I shared with my community on social media. I love sharing my process and DIY tricks with my community and though it can be a lot to keep up with, it has been crucial in growing my career as an artist.
Learn more at www.oliviataniceramics.com.
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