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Kirk Jackson | Episode 489
Kirk Jackson is originally from Lewis Center, Ohio. Kirk discovered clay, as an expressive material, while studying at The Ohio State University. While pursuing a BFA there. Kirk had the opportunity to spend a semester in Jingdezhen, China and also did a summer residency at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts. After completing his BFA, Kirk worked as Studio Manager at Watershed, participated in the Working Artist Program at Longwood University, was a Resident Artist as well as instructor at Seward Park Clay Studio. Kirk then became a Long-Term Resident for two years at Red Lodge Clay Center and two years at the Clay Studio of Missoula. Kirk currently lives and works out of his own studio in Missoula, Montana.
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How much is your making around fulfilling orders?
I think my making is more around filling kilns and having a good balance of different sizes and shapes of pots. Inventory definitely comes into place too. If someone is like, Hey man you haven’t made a big serving bowl in a while I would love to have one. I will make some. I don’t really do commission work but I will listen to people about the different forms they like to see. I think finding that balance of different shapes and sizes is kind of what is key to me. And that is mostly to get a good firing.
What kind of kiln are you firing in?
Right now it is a down draft gas soda kiln. So I have been pretty much firing exclusively soda gas for the past three years.
Is this your own kiln?
I am firing in a kiln right now at the Clay Studio at Missoula. I was a resident there for two years and I still have access to some of their facilities.
How do you plan on firing if you ever move?
It is so nice to be around an active and supportive community. Especially in Western Montana, there’s a lot of folks working in clay and a lot of different facilities around. Ultimately I want to build my own kiln. I know that is a few years down the line but ideally having my own set up in my own studio is the dream.
Do you have a schedule of mugs, vases, pitchers, bowls, saying I want to have this percentage?
Yeah, I definitely have it in the back of my mind of what I need and obviously you can never really take a break from making cups. That is just kind of typically what I sell. I guess I make whatever I want whenever I want which is really nice. If I am not in the mood to make pitchers that week, I will not make pitchers that week or tea pots. I love making tea pots, they are very labor intensive. When I get done making a run of them, I am kind of burnt out on them. Then I will want to make some thing simpler and I will typically move to bowls or something that you are just throwing and trimming. So it is kind of just keeping it fresh for me so I don’t get burnt out on one thing.
Your work seem to be all one of a kind. Is that accurate?
Yeah, I am definitely not a production potter. They are all slightly different in terms of scale and proportion and surfaces with the nature of firing in a soda kiln.
In your mind, what is the difference between a tumbler and a wine cup? Because you sell both.
They are just kind of names I have given them. It’s scale. My tumblers are a little bit taller and more like a water cup. And a wine cup is like a little juice cup or you know, whiskey with a couple of rocks in there.
A lot of your mugs are in the $45-$55 range. Is that the sweet spot for mugs in general right now, or is that the sweet spot for your mugs?
I think it is pretty common across the board. I priced my mugs to fit into this market. I am not making 200 dollar mugs. I am making fifty dollar mugs and it is based on what the market is like. I can’t adjust my prices too much or nobody will buy the work.
How long did it take you to find the sweet spot?
When I was a resident at Red Lodge as part of our work exchange we worked in the gallery there and I learned a tone about not only working at a gallery but being an artist representative and I struggled with pricing my work a lot before working there. I did a lot of things I shouldn’t have done in terms of changing my prices. It was kind of a realization that if you want to sell in a nice gallery you have to be more consistent, and step it up a little bit.
What was one of the mistakes you made when you were pricing your work?
I think honestly, undercutting people that I was selling with and pricing my work too low. Because I wanted it to move and I didn’t think it was that good. It was more valuable than I was giving it credit for. It didn’t take me very long to figure it out.
What is the best way to set up your studio to have your work stations work well?
I have a home studio that I have been working in for three or four months and it is kind of bare bones because I know it is not a permanent situation. It has a great flow and I think that is because of the size of it. I don’t need a whole lot of table space. I have plenty of room to walk around. I like to get up and move around a lot in my studio practice just to keep from sitting in one position too long. So for me, it is having enough space to walk around. Every time I pull a cup off I will put it three feet away so I have to get out of my chair and stretch my back out and stuff like that. I think it is important to keep your body moving and not sit in one place too long.
Contact
Instagram: @kirkjackson1