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Adriana Christianson | Episode 182
Adriana Christianson is a studio potter based in Croydon , an outer eastern suburb near Mt. Dandenong in Melbourne , Australia. All of Adriana’s work is made and fired in her tiny garden studio that is surrounded by a rambling garden behind her 1920’s original farmhouse. Adriana began potting in High School and continued at Prahran College of Advanced Education to study a Diploma of Art & Design majoring in Ceramics. Adriana then started working in the production pottery of Jan Lewis and Tabletop Ceramics as a Studio Assistant and decorator . Her 30 year journey with clay has always run paralell with ‘growing’ her family and teaching adults and children pottery in community settings . The inspiration for Adriana’s work comes from the beauty and intricacies of floral wallpapers and fabrics of the 1800’s, (especially William Morris and Liberty) also the blue and white Willow pattern dinnerware, which she constantly collects.
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Do you fill your cupboards with your own work or do you fill them with everybody else’s work?
Both. I have a ridiculous collection of cups on my kitchen shelf which is right behind me. It’s just ridiculously insane. So that when people come and have a cup of tea at my house they have to choose a cup! So they’ll stand there for ages and the tea is going cold and they’re trying to work out which cup to use.
Who is your mud crush?
I don’t think I’ve got a mud crush! As far as someone who inspires me, definitely Vipoo Srivilasa. He’s a Thai Australian potter. And he is also a very genuine person.
What’s the role of an artist in Australia?
I think the role is to make everyone aware that there is beautiful artwork in your community and there are people creating these fantastic works of art. Also that there is more to life than having a nine to five job.
How do you promote your work?
Look, I’m really quite addicted to Instagram. I do tweet occasionally. Accidentally, I think. So I would say I really promote it through social media.
If you could have a superpower what would it be?
Apart from somebody to cook dinner for me every night? My superpower would be to stop all those wars that are happening.
Book
The Coat Route by Meg Lukens Noonan
Contact
Instagram- adrianachristianson
Paul, Asking a woman if this is her sole source of income is possibly a sexist question. Would you ask a man if he is making all of his income from his pottery? Adriana has raised 3 children while continuing to make pottery or teach through most of those years. Of course she isn’t the sole bread winner. I admit this is a touchy subject – I am a mother of 4 wonderful well adjusted mostly young adults, ok one is still a teenager. I have always made pottery and taught throughout the time I was raising them. Sometimes I only had a few hours a week in the studio but I consider myself a true working artist. I am not and probably never will be the primary source of income for our family- does that have anything to do with success? I don’t think so.
Miriam, thanks so much for you comments and for listening to the show. In regards to that specific question, yes, I in fact do ask that of both men and women. In the context of this show it is never a sexist question, but rather a potterist question. Potters in general tend to have difficulty in finding a way to making clay their sole source of income. That question comes up regularly because this is one of the themes of the show: The Life, Love, and Business of Clay. So both men and women will continue to get that question from me.
I appreciate the sensitivity to gender equality. There have been many, many injustices done by people that hold the place of “power”. That holds true with not only with gender, but also race, class, parents, children of aging parents, nationalities, and so many other classifications. That all needs to come to an end. We are all just people. It is better to love.
Lots of love to you.