“It’s Functional Work And Its Function Is To Pay The Bills” | Chris Long | Episode 742

Chris Long | Episode 742

Chris Long is a full time studio potter living and working in central Austin, Texas. When not on tour with his band “Hikes”, Chris can be found making pots in the studio he built in 2017. The aim of Chris’ work is to make comfortable pots that are visually engaging.

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Can stability make you a better artist?

Yeah, I think so. I mean I am intending on living as an example of that. (laughter) I hope that the answer is yes because I want to be stable and a good artist. Yeah, I think so. I think the struggle is overrated, man. I think a little bit of struggle is good for you but I don’t think it is at all necessary.

Is there something that is lost when you aren’t depending on your ceramics to pay the bills?

For me personally, yes, but I don’t want to say in general now.

What’s the yes?

The time, it’s the time that’s lost. I think that’s a huge thing. I am really sensitive about how I spend my time because I am a big time miracle baby. I know this is the short answer round but I am going to do a quick little back story. I was a super, duper miracle baby. My parents had seven miscarriages or something crazy like that. So when I was a child and I first understood that I was like, Alright, we can’t waste any time. That just got ingrained in my head from a very young age. I was like, You better mean it and you better not waste this time that’s a straight up gift to you. So for me, that’s what I feel like is lost. If I know I am not spending my time in what I consider is the right way it just kind of hurts my soul in a way.

Is there something gained by not living off of your ceramics?

I guess the answer would be money. More of it, if I had a different kind of job or something. I don’t know. Or if I was just playing music or something I would be getting an entirely different thing from that. Which I have lived like that a lot and that’s still incredibly nourishing for me. But it would kind of have to be one or the other for me, personally.

What for you is more satisfying, making an awesome piece that you can make a lot of quickly or making an awesome piece that takes a lot of time?

Probably the second one as long as they all make it out of the kiln well. It hurts a little bit more when you are spending more time on it and it still doesn’t come out right. But I think it feels better now that the timeline isn’t dictating the nature of the work so much.

How are you getting your pots out to the world for people to purchase?

As of 2020 I have been getting them out through my Etsy page. I will do a handful of pop up markets a year, which is great not doing them every weekend. I like them so much more now. I will still do little stuff here in town every once in a while. But really it’s just Etsy anymore.

What do you love most about teaching?

I don’t know. Trying to be a good one I think. I have had some pretty impactful teachers in my life and I can just go back to very certain moments where an off handed thing that one of them said to me straight up changed my life. So knowing that I am in that kind of position and trying to take that role seriously, I have really been enjoying that sort of weight. Yeah, I mean however I can put that, that would be it I think.