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Michael Bridges | Episode 1075
Michael Bridges is a potter living in Chicago, Illinois. Michael is a hand builder that identifies as a wheel thrower. Skulls, jack-o-lanterns, and spookiness are right at home in Michael’s work.
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How do you fire your work?
I work with as many different firing processes as I can. Soda fire, earthenware. 04. sculptural, I do a little bit of cone 6 as well.
How much time to do you invest into each piece?
Too much. (laughter) I work on it until it’s done. Sometimes that’s an hour, sometimes that’s four or five full days.
Your work has very child-like features although I know you are a skilled potter. How much effort are you putting in to make sure it’s not too refined.
Learning how to walk away from a piece is harder than making something look perfect. In my opinion. It’s taken me years to learn when to let it go.
Do you sell your work year round?
I do sell year round, often by appointment or email or direct contact. In terms of online sales I generally put most of my work online towards the end of the year in October, November, December. And that allows me the freedom earlier in the year to explore new ideas. So I don’t have that pressure of constantly having to sell.
Is there a piece that you would like to make but your skill levels don’t quite reach?
I would really like to work large. That’s a big want is to work five, six feet tall. Life size. I don’t have the facilities for it now but that is the vision at some point is to make life-size work.
What is your favorite holiday?
Hmm. Favorite holiday. I am going to have to think on it. As a side note I grew up working on all holidays. I worked in a vacation town so I never took holidays, I worked through every holiday. And then in the bakery industry I also worked through the holidays. So I kind of hate holidays for that reason. (laughter) So that’s a tough question. So I am an antiholiday guy. I guess I am going to have to go with Halloween. It’s the one where you get to dress up , that’s probably the closest that I’ve had to enjoying a holiday would be Halloween.
Book
The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
Contact
Etsy: michaelsmug
Instagram: @michaelsmugs