Michael Lucero, New York, New York Michael Lucero

When I was in Art school, I did not know what I was going to do, and surely was not thinking of a career. I was never that pragmatic. I loved working with clay and the ceramic department at Humboldt State University was very exciting to me. I loved seeing the amazing work being done by the students. Later, I continued on at the University of Washington as a graduate student in ceramics, working with Howard Kottler and Patty Warashina. I was very lucky to have met them and had their encouragement, which directed me to be the artist I am today.

The idea of making a living as an artist was not taught (at the university) as most students went into academic teaching jobs out of school. I chose not to go that route. Instead, I went directly to New York City. I soon got a part-time teaching job at NYU and then Parsons School of Design as a way to pay the rent. My work progressed and I began to show in a New York gallery. This enabled me to see the possibility of earning money from my work. A living was not the goal with the work. I was always concerned with what I was making, and I was surprised when it found a person who loved it enough to buy it. Even though I am assumed to be successful, I still have many old works that were not as lucky and are packed in boxes in the basement. I have always challenged myself and always tried to move forward with the ideas. I wanted the work to have a fresh look, and never wanted to bore the viewer—or myself.

Because of the current economic recession, I have begun a series of small works and this seems to have helped sales a bit. I began not really thinking of sales or of who really liked my work or not. In the beginning, I made large-scale pieces and most of them never sold. I was always in a mode of evaluation and always assessed what I was doing and how it was communicating. I have learned that something small can have the communication capacity equal to a large-scale work. This is something that has taken many years to understand. Scale was an early major issue with my thinking and, through my experiences, I have realized the challenge of empowering something small to speak as loud and clear as a large form.

I usually step back a few steps and then try and move forward again and again. This is a pretty constant cycle. As for creative recharge, it usually comes from the process of working itself. I always discover when I search. I really never thought the decision to pursue sculpture as a living was a choice. I always knew I would make something in the way of art. I have made sacrifices with regard to not having a steady income (by taking a full-time teaching job). This has haunted me for 30 years. I go back and forth with what I have chosen, but have loved my freedom and credit that freedom with why I have been able to produce the work I have in the years since graduate school.

My health insurance is me trying to be as healthy as possible by eating right and knowing that I have limited exercise, although when I work I use my total body.

If you want to make ceramic sculpture, you first have to have ideas you'd like to make and not take it so seriously. I never thought of the work I have done as a profession. I guess I have thought outside the academic box and tried not to limit myself to clay or ceramics alone.

I really love to mix materials. I truly believe that my world has informed my work and will continue to do so. I try to think of the material of clay as a metaphor and remind myself of the cultural artifacts that we have in our culture that I can comment on with my work. I love all materials, but I especially love clay. I only worry about the material when it does not like to be treated the way I treat it. When it cracks, I have to deal with it, but I am not really focused on perfection so I give myself space to move.