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Harley Weigle | Episode 951
Harley Weigle is a Ceramic Artist and Art Educator interested in functional vessels as a bridge to deepen relationships and explore identity. Harley received his bachelors of Fine Arts from Shippensburg University and attended the University of Florida for a Post-Bacc in Ceramics. This fall Harley will graduate from Kutztown University with his Masters in Art Education.
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How many pieces per month are you creating currently?
That’s a great question. Right now, not too many. I would probably say about forty pieces at most. Not too many right now.
How do you keep your pottery on your schedule as opposed to you being on its schedule?
Torches are fantastic. I will say that. They definitely speed up the drying process and allow you to work on your schedule. For pieces that are a little more finicky, such as teapots where there’s more attachments, things that are prone to cracking or breaking, plastic and a lot of water. I have one large sheet of plastic that I will drape under the ware boards and then over the top of the pieces.
Do you think being involved in the clay community helps to give you better direction for where you want to go?
Yes, this is something I have been really contemplating. I was absent from the community for a long time and this year when I reintroduced myself back into the clay community I realized how many biases in making that I had. And it’s helped me to open up my mind to other methods of fabrication with certain things and it’s helped a lot. It’s very important.
Are you saving money to give you a good enough cushion for the hard times or the slow times?
Yeah, absolutely.
What advice would you give about how important that is?
My advice would be to, regardless of wanting to make pots full-time you never know when times are going to get tough and you always want to be comfortable so that way you have the abliilty to make choices like I am going to be making so having that safety net is crucial.
Do you feel like it’s important to be working with galleries or shops to be able to build a bigger network and have diversity in your sales outlets?
I am going to answer this question as a no with the caveat that I am not currently working with any galleries. I think that we are living in a digital era where, in my personal opinion, the relationship with a gallery is no longer needed. Maybe not no longer needed but not as necessary as it used to be. We have access to so many people at our finger tips via social media where that was the big draw for galleries prior. You were giving your work to somebody who already created that community of people who want to buy work. Now it’s not going to be one post or one live broadcast but you have access to that at your finger tips with just consistency.
What advice would you have for a potter heading towards ceramics full-time?
My advice would be to continue to follow your passion. Make every single day. And I would advice them to run a marathon. I ran a marathon with my wife this past fall and I had no idea how hard it was going to be when I got to mile 18 . And there are so many lessons in that marathon that I am applying to my business. When life gets tough you’ve got to push through and that would give you the mental fortitude to do so.
Book
Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday
Contact
Instagram: @weigleceramics