Elspeth Schulze is an interdisciplinary artist originally from Grand Coteau, Louisiana. Through ceramic, textile and sculptural processes, she explores the complex relationship between material and place.

website: elspethschulze.com

ig: elspethschulze

*My mother, Tanya Nehrbass Schulze, at Festival Acadiens in the late 1970’s*

My mom is an artist. When I was young, her studio was in a room just off the kitchen, that also served as the laundry room. I still remember the comforting sound of the dryer and her pottery wheel turning at the same time. If she didn’t like a piece she was throwing, she’d let us push in the walls- that soft collapse of clay was enthralling. When I was older, my dad built a freestanding studio for her in the backyard. I visited my parents this weekend, and fired some small ceramic pieces in her studio- it was really sweet to be in her space.

*My mom’s studio in Grand Coteau, Louisiana*

I wasn’t interested in ceramics myself until I was in college, living away from home. I took a wheelthrowing class my junior year, and loved the process. After I graduated, I stayed on as a studio and teaching assistant in the ceramics area. Around the same time, I worked at a series of bakeries, finding so much in common between the two roles- mixing dough and glazes, firing ovens and kilns.

*Sketches of plywood wall panels with inset ceramic forms*

I’m a grad student in a ceramics department now, but haven’t worked much with clay during my two year tenure at the University of Colorado Boulder- I’ve spent more time in the woodshop and digital fabrication area. Now that I’m away from campus I’m longing for the facilities- the glaze and clay mixing room stocked with materials, the endless row of kilns.

*Unfired ceramic shapes drying in my temporary studio in Tulsa*

I have a few boxes of clay left over from before grad school, and last month I started to make small, handbuilt forms in my temporary work space in Tulsa. There is something so grounding about having your hands in clay- it was just what I needed while everything feels so up in the air. I don’t have any of my ceramic tools with me, and it was nice to realize I didn’t need them. I used a votive candle to roll out slabs, and took the plastic tube from a bic pen to punch holes in handbuilt shapes. The tip of a cheap foam brush worked pretty well as a sponge.

*Working in my mother’s studio this weekend*

I didn’t realize how much of being an artist would revolve around the computer- it feels like I’m always answering emails, applying to opportunities and editing images and artist statements. Working with digital fabrication only increases this screen time, which makes me feel a little crazy. Working with clay is such a welcome break- I can cue up an audio book and work with my hands for an afternoon.

*Coating unfired ceramic shapes with underglaze before bisque firing*

Over the past couple years I’ve been using a CNC router to cut plywood, which is basically a big drill bit controlled by a computer. The end product is almost too precise, so I’ve been looking for a way to add my hand back in. I just regained access to the community digital fabrication lab in Tulsa, which is an amazing resource. Over the past couple weeks I designed and cut some test wall pieces out of plywood. These are arched panels with recessed faces, and I’ve been making small, handbuilt ceramic forms to tile into these recesses.

*Bisqued ceramic shapes placed in CNC cut plywood panels*

I’ll adhere these ceramic shapes to the face of the panels and pour tinted plaster around them. I’ll also dye or paint the wooden frames- so tinted wood will be framing tinted plaster and ceramic forms. I love the combination of multiple material surfaces side by side, and am excited to see where these material tests lead. For now, I’m happy they took me back home.