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Josh Scott | Episode 1234
Josh Scott is a potter and educator in Jacksonville, Florida. He first discovered clay in high school and continued his education in clay to receive a BFA from the University of North Florida in 2017. Shortly after, Josh moved to Utah where he attended Utah State University to attain an MFA in ceramics. His primary focus was to continue to explore wood firing, further develop conceptual framework and establish a teaching strategy. After receiving his MFA in 2021, Josh returned to Florida where he now lives with his wife and two daughters. He has maintained multiple adjunct faculty positions in ceramics as well as a consistent studio practice and exhibition record.
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Do you look at this as more of trying to be in a season as opposed to trying to find perfect balance?
Yeah, I would agree with that, I think. In my case, and I think there’s tons of, I have friends who are in similar scenarios, and I think you just, there’s a time where you need to work, you need to pay your bills, or maybe your work is ceramics and you’re a teacher or you’re a studio potter or studio artist. I think for me, I’m making work to sort of scratch like that itch, that necessity, like that has to happen. There’s no question. And painting is what pays the bills. So that has to happen. And then of course, family. And so I think they all they all sort of balance each other out. And of course, there are times where I would rather not be climbing ladders at work. I would rather be in studio. But I have come to learn that that influences the work in studio as well. And those breaks and those those efforts, family time, those all sort of affect that studio practice. And so I think they balance each other out pretty well.
Do you tend to block your energy, not just your time… times you’ll need creative energy and then social energy? So is it a deal of blocking energy out?
Yeah, I think that’s a cool way to look at it. I think if I were in the studio seven days a week, which if I had no responsibilities, that would probably be the case. I would certainly burn out and the creative energy would sort of flow differently than it does now for sure. And so I think having a job or a family or other hobbies, especially other hobbies, those are all going to balance out the creative draw. And so for me, you’re creative when you skate, you’re creative when you surf, but it’s a different thing than sitting in the studio and really hashing out how to make this kettle form function properly or how to make it look aesthetically pleasing. That’s a different sort of energy draw than going to work and laboring, at your job, totally different. And so again, that balance, I think, definitely keeps me in check. And so otherwise I would just eat, sleep and live in the studio. That would be very balanced, I don’t think.
Do you have a tendency then to treat these individual portions of your life as sacred time? So you’ve got your sacred studio time, you’ve got your sacred family time, you’ve got your sacred work time… and then do you try not to cross over?
Yeah, I would say that I think maybe the ceramics and the family time, they cross over. I’m in super close proximity to my kids all the time, work in the studio and all that. But yeah, I think the I’m thinking about the work constantly, but when I’m at work or I’m with my family or not in the studio, I think it definitely sort of quiets down that part of the brain so that it’s not just a constant draw and you can kind of exist as a normal human and not this like creative black hole or something, So at least that’s the way I operate. Some people are better than I am at that. But yeah, I think it’s good. I think that balance is good. And I work with my brother. And so going to work is just great every day. I’m blessed in that regard to work with my brother, work with my the great faculty at UNF. It’s awesome.
It sounds like you’re able to make family part of the rhythm, like even your day job of painting is with family, and then you’re making at home. It’s in close relationship with family, easy access for kids to get to you. Is that safe to say then that the family is part of the rhythm?
Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, ceramics family at school. My girls will be in the studio with me, like anytime I’m in here. Hey, my oldest daughter, she was in here when she was two or three, pinching little pinch pots out. My youngest daughter would nap on the studio table in here when she was a baby. And so definitely integral to really all of it. Yeah.
I know that saying yes to anything means saying no to absolutely everything else. So are there specific non-essential commitments that you limit just to be able to make sure you have time to do all of the things?
Yeah, I’m sort of coming to that realization late. And, you know, just recently realizing like, okay, I can’t do absolutely everything. That is like a new sort of thing for me. And I can’t, you know, I can’t make hundreds of pots and submit to every single show and do every single sale. And so I learned that this last year with American Pottery Festival that like these, they’re ceramic artists. are doing this too. And some of them, maybe they’re full-time studio artists, and they’re able to make work for APF and for any number of shows. And I know that they deal with their own sort of yes and no answers for things. And so I think for me, I just sort of, I don’t factor that in so much. If there’s something I get invited to or something that I can do, I will submit to it and I’ll submit to the show and I’ll submit to the sale and I’ll go out and do whatever the thing is or the Ncica pop ups or whatever. But if I can’t and I don’t have to work, I just don’t have to work with my timeframe and my work schedule. I can’t always do everything. Yeah.
The part that we didn’t bring into the mix was your you time. So You need to be refreshed yourself. How do you build recovery into the into your week so that, like painting and pottery, those are both hard on your body. So how are you protecting your body from burning out?
I mean, I think family time is obviously very sort of recharging and that’s happening constantly. It can also be draining, of course, but I think spending time with my family and I still surf and skate all the time. Those are hobbies I’ve had as long or longer than ceramics. Yeah, those are good. And then I think the breaks in between the making cycle where I’m just working on full finishing the pots or getting pots out into the world or doing little events, those are like my recharging time, like going out to see my friends or This last in Sica was I sort of extended that trip and was in Logan with my friends and old faculty for several days before the actual conference. I think I’m just, I don’t think I’m really ever just sitting around like relaxing, which I should probably work on, but going and doing those kind of things and walks with the family and beach days and those things mix in. Those are great and super necessary. Yeah.
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Instagram: @joshscottpottery