The audio file for this article was produced by the Ceramic Arts Network staff and not read by the author.
Ceramics Monthly: What role does tactility play in your work?
Natalie Thedford: The inspiration behind my work comes from highly tactile processes—handcraft traditions like sewing, quilting, and knitting. My making process is also highly tactile. I treat coils of clay as if they were individual
fibers and manipulate them with the manual sensitivity I developed at a young age when learning various handcraft traditions.
It often takes viewers some time before they realize that the work is actually ceramic and that I have translated these handcraft processes from the realm of fibers and textiles into clay. They want to touch the work and make sense of the visual dissonance
I’ve created between what is soft and what is hard. In this way, tactility in the work is also related to desire; it draws the viewer in and sustains their attention.
1 Natalie Thedford's Four Ceramic Quilt Blocks, 24 in. (61 cm) in height, low fired in oxidation, ceramic, acrylic, wood, E6100, 2024. Photo: Andrew Castañeda.
CM: What techniques do you use to make your work and why?
NT: When I’m designing the 3D forms to which I apply my textures, I often start with a paper model. I draw a lot of inspiration from quilt block patterns and use a quilter’s rotary cutting mat to assist me in designing the
forms. The inscribed lines on the mat make it easy to get the correct angles for the geometric shapes. Sometimes, I use CAD software to sketch things on a larger scale or to experiment with new ideas quickly. I jump back and forth a lot between digital
and analog tools and processes.
I use the paper model as a template to guide my slab-built form. I make a plaster slump mold from the initial slab-built form, which allows me to make multiples of that form. The textures are attached while the form is leather hard. I extrude a million
little coils that I twist, flatten, and cut to achieve my textures. The textures accumulate one row at a time, which feels very similar to my experience when knitting.
2 Natalie Thedford's Twists and Fringe, 25 in. (63.5 cm) in height, ceramic, low fired in oxidation, acrylic, 2020.
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?
NT: One of the most intimidating things to me is having a blank canvas. So, I like to have a few things going at once or make sure to start a new work before totally finishing or resolving the initial one. That way, the blank canvas never
really exists. If and when I get stuck, forcing myself to step away from the work, go for a walk, or put one project down for some time while picking another up, often helps to shift my focus and reveals solutions that I couldn’t see while looking
at the problem straight on.
The most encouraging thing for me is to be connected and in conversation with other artists and friends. There’s so much rejection along the way, but reaching out to friends—artists and non-artists—who can help me see things from another
perspective has been invaluable. Sometimes, those conversations offer practical solutions, and other times they support me on a soul level, reminding me of why making art is meaningful and worthwhile. I’ve also found that recalling those conversations
becomes the needed solution later in the future.
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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 role does tactility play in your work?
Natalie Thedford: The inspiration behind my work comes from highly tactile processes—handcraft traditions like sewing, quilting, and knitting. My making process is also highly tactile. I treat coils of clay as if they were individual fibers and manipulate them with the manual sensitivity I developed at a young age when learning various handcraft traditions.
It often takes viewers some time before they realize that the work is actually ceramic and that I have translated these handcraft processes from the realm of fibers and textiles into clay. They want to touch the work and make sense of the visual dissonance I’ve created between what is soft and what is hard. In this way, tactility in the work is also related to desire; it draws the viewer in and sustains their attention.
CM: What techniques do you use to make your work and why?
NT: When I’m designing the 3D forms to which I apply my textures, I often start with a paper model. I draw a lot of inspiration from quilt block patterns and use a quilter’s rotary cutting mat to assist me in designing the forms. The inscribed lines on the mat make it easy to get the correct angles for the geometric shapes. Sometimes, I use CAD software to sketch things on a larger scale or to experiment with new ideas quickly. I jump back and forth a lot between digital and analog tools and processes.
I use the paper model as a template to guide my slab-built form. I make a plaster slump mold from the initial slab-built form, which allows me to make multiples of that form. The textures are attached while the form is leather hard. I extrude a million little coils that I twist, flatten, and cut to achieve my textures. The textures accumulate one row at a time, which feels very similar to my experience when knitting.
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?
NT: One of the most intimidating things to me is having a blank canvas. So, I like to have a few things going at once or make sure to start a new work before totally finishing or resolving the initial one. That way, the blank canvas never really exists. If and when I get stuck, forcing myself to step away from the work, go for a walk, or put one project down for some time while picking another up, often helps to shift my focus and reveals solutions that I couldn’t see while looking at the problem straight on.
The most encouraging thing for me is to be connected and in conversation with other artists and friends. There’s so much rejection along the way, but reaching out to friends—artists and non-artists—who can help me see things from another perspective has been invaluable. Sometimes, those conversations offer practical solutions, and other times they support me on a soul level, reminding me of why making art is meaningful and worthwhile. I’ve also found that recalling those conversations becomes the needed solution later in the future.
Learn more at nataliecelestethedford.com.
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