Lisa Fleming
San Francisco, CA
Lisa Fleming Ceramics
Website
https://lisaflemingceramics.com
Instagram
@lfceramics
Artist Statement
Form, line, silhouette, surface.... I love getting lost in the surface! Making ceramics gives me an opportunity to channel and focus my creative energy into an object. Focusing my mind on that one object and quietly concentrating on silhouette, line, design, surface and color allows me to express my drive for order, beauty and form. I make Aesthetic Vessels, form-focused and design driven. I strive to create forms that express a balance between dynamic qualities and a sense of stillness and containment. The clay forms I make are simple yet sophisticated, elegant, spare, almost austere. I am inspired by mid-century Scandinavian ceramists. Their forms and luscious glazes captivate my imagination. I create all my glazes from dry materials in my studio, and I enjoy experimenting. I make every piece on the pottery wheel with porcelain clay and fire in an electric kiln to about 2300 degrees. I recycle my trimmings into colored porcelains, nothing goes to waste. My background is in fine art and graphic design with a later degree in ceramics. And I am always learning! (My pieces are decorative and not meant specifically for food, though some glazes are food safe.)
Studio Description
Compact and very tidy. I have a space at my home where I have created a studio with everything I need. I have two inspiration walls of photos and drawings. All my dry materials for glazes are there in bags and jars and there are tools for recycling my clay and making the colored porcelains. My studio also functions as my photography space after each glaze firing. I do about 5–6 glaze firings per year.
What temperature do you fire to?
2370° F
What is your primary forming method?
I throw on a pottery wheel
What is your favorite surface treatment?
Glaze or a smooth, sanded, bare porcelain surface
What one word would you use to describe your work?
elegant
What is your favorite thing about your studio?
That it is in my home and immediately accessible, anytime. Plus no additional rent!
What is the one thing in your studio you can’t live without?
The natural light that comes in and the view of the garden
What are your top three studio wishes?
More space, less clutter, and a gallery area for displaying work when clients come to the studio
What’s on your current reading list?
Ruth Asawa and the Artist-Mother at Midcentury by Jordan Troeller
How do you save money on materials and supplies?
I make my own glazes, mostly because I love to experiment. I recycle my clay. I live in a big city and cannot put clay scraps in my trash and porcelain is expensive so I would hate to throw any away. I recycle it all into my colored porcelains.
How do you recharge creatively?
I hike in the woods and stare at the sea. I knit and draw, sometimes with my daughter. Go to museums, gallery shows and travel.
Do you have any DIY tips for studio efficiency?
Keep your studio clean. It's healthy for you and your visitors and makes it easier to work when tools are clean and where you think they should be. Plus you are never far from being ready for a studio visit!
What challenges have you given yourself to overcome?
Shyness and introversion, so large art shows and fairs can be a challenge. And I struggle to put myself out there to shops, galleries and designers. I have done these things anyway and found great rewards, new clients, and a wider audience.
What did your first piece look like?
Probably an ashtray shape, squat and heavy, but I cannot really remember.
What ceramic superpower would you have and why?
The ability to take a piece from the wheel after trimming, straight to glaze fired and see the finished product. Ceramics involves a lot of waiting and patience. It can be months from throwing to the final piece. I'd love that to be more immediate.
What area of skill do you most look to other artists to learn?
I love to watch other ceramists wedge as I really struggle to do this well. Also, their marketing, I am always looking for good ways to get the work noticed.
What is on your studio playlist?
Mostly audiobooks but if music it's classical or jazz
Why do you create art?
I'm not sure if I have one conscious reason for this. I have always created art, in many forms, It is part of who I am.
Who is your favorite artist and what do you admire about that artist?
Gertrude and Otto Natzler, I admire her forms and his glaze work.
What is your best studio tip?
Try not to let the burden of studio rent drive your work if at all possible. Let your work be what makes you happy not work you make because THAT work pays the bills. If you're lucky those two things are the same.
If you could change one property of clay, what would it be?
That's tough, be careful what you ask for. The one trait you might want changed can make some other aspect of your work impossible.
