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Don Katz | Episode 1070
Don Katz is a blind potter based in Los Angeles, California. Don became blind due to bacterial meningitis in 2001. After waking up from a month-long coma he had to relearn to walk and feed himself and adjust to his sightless reality. What began as an introductory pottery course at The Braille Institute of Los Angeles, has now become Katz’s obsession. Don’s ceramics teacher once told him as he struggled on the wheel that “you are stronger than dirt,” words he lives by today. Don appreciates feeling the clay take shape on the potter’s wheel and how the touch informs the form. He enjoys creating unique handmade functional and decorative ceramic objects.
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What does a day in the studio look like for you?
A day in the studio depends on what I am working towards but like anybody else we have to get the clay ready. Typically I am working at getting better on the pottery wheel and working on building my craft, is my direction at the moment.
Do you have a making schedule?
I do not have a making schedule. I am more at the mercy of what I feel like making. I don’t want to have a making schedule because then I am going to loose the joy of what I do pottery for which is to be creative and use whatever ideas I have in my mind. If I am told to do one thing or make something specific that kind of takes the joy our of it and it feels like a job and I am trying not to make it feel like a job. otherwise it will become less interesting and stressful and not enjoyable.
The clay is so wet and fragile on the wheel, how do you know that the shape is the shape you want when you can’t see the shape that you are throwing?
This is the biggest challenge of all of it. Is exactly like you say, you don’t know when to stop so either I check a lot, which I am really bad at stopping to check or I overspin it and it collapses. There’s that balance of finding when to stop. That’s my biggest challenge. Sometimes I will set a timer to stop. Because otherwise you can just go crazy and keep going for hours. And sometimes we like the form and we ‘ve made and sometimes we don’t so we just scrap it . But right now my big goal is working on tall cylinder because I hate asking to fill a glass of water so I am working on getting height on my cylinders.
Do you trim your work?
I should. (laughter) I mean I used to when I first started and I was going to membership studios and I was much better about trimming my work. Now I don’t because I have become lazy about trimming and I think it would probably look better if I trimmed and made more conscious effort depending on what I am trying to do.
What is a challenge in the studio that you are loving chasing down?
Oh, I love the challenge of throwing. I still think it is a challenge and I have not become proficient expertise at it and I don’t think I will for a number of years. So I love that challenge and that part of the pottery process.
When you are not in the studio what do you do for fun?
The studio is fun for me but my favorite thing in the world is to have a nice meal out in the world. I am a Foodie with a capital F. So yes, I do like good food. So I took my love of food and my past experience and my enjoyment of ceramics and we are going to try and combine the two and at some point my dream is to create all the plateware that I use and to have a dinner party and I’ve made all the recipes for it as well an have a dinner party with that is my ultimate goal at some point. And I am constantly working on my Blishware. Blind friendly dishware that helps keep the food on the plates. Stand by for a few years.
Book
The Adventures of Kavalier Clay by Michael Chabon
Contact
Instagram: @blindpotter