Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Travis Winters | Episode 476
Travis Winters is a ceramic artist and Programs Manager at Touchstone Center for Crafts. Working primarily with animals and figures, Travis creates figures based on mundane day-to-day life, past struggles, and real people. An MFA graduate from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Travis exhibits work nationally and has shown at Baltimore Clayworks in Baltimore, MD, The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, PA, The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, VA, The Baton Rouge Gallery in Baton Rouge, LA, and the AMOCA Museum in Pomona, CA. Travis was the Lormina Salter Fellowship Artist at Baltimore Clayworks, long term Resident at Odyssey Clayworks in Asheville, NC, a Kiln God Summer Resident at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in New Castle ME and a Short-Term Resident Artist at Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, MT.
SPONSORS
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
Your work seems to have some kind of story connected to it. Do you have a story in your head when you make a piece?
It depends on the piece. So all my work I feel like is super personal. It is probably what is going on in my life at that point in time. Some times I will start a piece with that idea work through but a lot of times I will think, I want to make this animal based upon honestly if it’s wrinkly. I really like wrinkles and folds. So I will kind of jump into that and as I am working on it whatever is going on in my life jumps into the work. So it really just kind of depends on the piece.
How do you go about developing a piece? Do you start with pen and paper or do you start with ball of clay?
Ball of clay. I always say I am going to sketch more and I never do. I am not a big fan of drawing and painting. Somehow I got through the MFA program with only one drawing class. Drawing really stresses me out. I wish it didn’t. I do a lot of research of imagery on the computer especially for the animals. You cannot find a 360 degree view of them in images so I have to find images for each viewpoint and piece them together in a weird monster mash up and put that altogether into kind of the figure and going from there. The base is a huge part of my work so I try to develop what will go with the piece and what kind of idea I am trying to get by.
How do you start a piece and have a direction and for the idea to change in the middle of it but not to change the piece itself? Does that make sense?
Somewhat. Generally I will just kind of work with an idea. I will kind of run with an idea that I get through working. I mean, for me my ideas come to me while I am working rather than sitting around and thinking about what I am going to make. That works for some people. I am more like jump in and get moving and kind of let it happen. The more I make the more ideas I get. As I am finishing a piece I am kind of thinking about what the next piece is going to be.
You talked about working towards goals or deadlines. Do you a time limit for your work schedule or do you set a piece schedule?
It is kind of more about when I have to have the piece done rather than how much I need to get done at a time. For example there is a show coming up that I would like to have a new piece for and I am setting that deadline. The show I am working on is a year away so I am not stressing too hard about it because I still have a lot of time. I am still making somewhat of a plan where I am thinking, I want to have X amount of pieces done before Christmas. But I am not too strict about it either. It just really depends on what I am working towards.
You said it can take up to three months to make a piece. Do you have multiple pieces you are working on simultaneously?
Usually I will work on one bigger piece and then and then also working on a bunch of smaller stuff on the side. If I had more studio time I would probably tackle two big pieces at a time. But right now it is bouncing back and forth, sometimes I need the head space of working on something small that is not going to be so tied up . I mean you can only stare at one piece for so long before you really need to take a break from it and then you can come back to it.
How important is goal setting for an artist like yourself?
I think it is great to have goals. What else do you work for if you are not trying to do anything? So kind of having an idea of what you want to do keeps you motivated. I think being an artist and staying motivated can often be the hardest thing to do. So setting goals and pushing yourself to reach them is the way I know how to do it. When you work alone you can easily fall off the face of the earth unless you are really driven and for me to stay driven is to have those goals set.
What are your three favorite tools as an artist?
I feel like I only use two or three tools most of the time. I don’t know. Modeling tools. A little flat one with a little straight edge on it is the thng I probably use the most. I use a lot of brushes. And for surfaces my make up brushes are the best thing ever.
Do you ever feel like the medium you have chosen is not taken seriously because it is “just clay”.
I think it is beginning to be taken seriously. I mean it is coming to be more acceptable in the fine arts world which is a good thing. I personally like being part of the craft world. The fine art world is a whole separate entity of its own. We all take it seriously. I think clay is an amazing material to work with so if people want to say, It’s only clay, that’s fine. It is only clay we shouldn’t get too hung up on it. I mean it is such a great material to work with. The technical aspects of working with clay is astounding. You can work with it your entire life and still be learning things.
Book
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Contact:
Instagram: @tmwinters85