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Kerry Serritella | Episode 1274
Kerry Serritella is a CPA, wife, mom, and lifelong learner who discovered pottery as a much-needed creative escape from a stressful career and a newly emptying nest. Still considering herself a student of the craft, Kerry now creates from her backyard studio, embracing the joy of handmade pottery while dreaming of a retirement that leaves plenty of room for family, creativity, and clay.
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When you started to put this together, did you have a plan for the flow of making?
That’s a great question. I did have a plan because I did a lot of research. So yes, I have my glaze place right next to the kiln and my clay right next to the wheel and the wedging table. So yes, in short.
Did you initially want to finalize your equipment before you could finalize the layout?
No, I was winging it. I was just winging it, but it worked. It worked great.
When you planed your layout, did you think about the movement of the clay through the studio or did you think about the movement of your body through the studio?
I thought about the movement of the clay, how it starts, where it needs to go next… from the clay storage to the wedging table, to the pottery wheel, to the glazing table, to the kiln. And I have enough shelves for their purpos: this is drying, this is ready for trim, this is ready for glaze, this is ready to go in the kiln. And the shelves all flow accordingly.
Did you take into consideration the systems that need to be in place for the building, like the dust control or the plumbing?
You know, I read a lot about how to keep the studio clean and dust free, always cleaning before it gets dry, cleaning with water and So I did not prepare a lot of ventilation when my kiln is running. I have a lot of windows, so my windows are usually open if the weather permits. And when the kiln is running, there’s always a fan in the window blowing out. So I try to be smart, and I don’t sit in there and work while the kiln is running. Just trying to be… cautious.
How about flooring? What did you do for the flooring in your shed building?
Yeah, so my husband threw down lots of layers of like an epoxy flooring. So it’s just a gray, you know, he laid it down on top of the plywood floor and over and over and over again. And so, yeah, so that’s all that it is. It’s easy to sweep. It’s easy to mop.
Did you think in terms of what you’d be doing in the studio like, I’m wanting to build up more towards production or more towards more volume?
I have not. However, I have recently understood the importance of that because I just started selling my pots at a local farm store. So volume, never thought of that before.
Have you also thought of adding a second wheel or a third wheel and starting to do private lessons?
Only in my dreams. I don’t know that I will do that anytime soon, but I dream of that.
How did you, though, go about planning for your electrical needs.
My husband. He’s been in carpentry all his life. He’s construction. So I let him do all of that. Yeah. I told him what kiln I was going to have once we knew. And he’s usually in excess. How you said 200 amp is a lot for what I need. But he is, I tell him he’s a man of excess all the time, always just a little bit more than what you need.
Book
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Contact
Instagram: @vesselandbranchstudios