ClayFire -- The Mud Potters & Ceramicists of ArtFire: ClayFire's Featured Artist

I'm so excited about this week's featured ClayFire artist. They are a husband/wife team who make fine art clay works that really speaks to the viewer. The artists are Kitty and John Mecham. They can be found on ArtFire at www.liquidambar.artfire.com

So we’re not so formal, what is your first name? My name is Katherine, but I go by Kitty and my husband is John.

Where are you located? We live in Cary, but our studio is in Pittsboro, North Carolina.

Share a little about yourself. John is a Biology professor and also works in black and white photography. I like to work in all mediums, sometimes combining them. Clay is my first love and then glass, but I also love painting, photography, metal work, ok – I love it all. We both work for the same college (I am the ceramic assistant) and we also teach drawing and photography classes at the local art center.

We are lucky, because we work well together in the studio. We bounce ideas off each other and critique each other’s work as well. We find that we work much better together as a team. Our children are very artistic and contribute to the studio, learning as they go. We also have a studio mutt named Biscuit.

Describe the work found in your ArtFire studio. I only post clay or glass items on ArtFire. The clay pieces are very unique. I create a lot of sculptural pieces rather than functional.

Describe your method of creating. John likes to work with slab building and/or wheel work. I mostly use the coiling method for my sculptures and I also do some wheel work. I often inscribe designs into the pieces, and my favorite finish is using Iron Oxide as a stain.

When did you start crafting/creating art? We both have been creating art for many years. I started full-time in the studio about four years ago. We have only been on ArtFire for about a month or so.

Where do you get your inspiration? We both get our inspiration from nature. Our studio is hidden among the trees along the Haw River. We have no phone, computer, or TV, so when we are there we are totally immersed in our work and in nature.

What makes your work unique from other ArtFire artists? There is a lot of thought and planning that goes into our pieces. We make them because we have a story to tell or we just feel the need to create. We are not trying to follow any trends, or what we think the market will buy. We create because it is in us.

Tell us all something interesting about you that we might not guess from your shop. People always ask us why “Liquidambar”. Liquidambar styraciflua is the scientific name of the Sweet Gum tree, which surrounds our studio. That is why it is also spelled ~ar instead of ~er.

What advice do you have for artists who might be thinking about throwing their hat into the online arts market? Do it because you love it, not because you want to make money at it.