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Katie Marks | Episode 400
Katie Marks lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Clay is a life long passion for Katie and she feels so fortunate to be able to do what she loves for work. Katie has been creating things since before she can remember starting with play-doh, moving to polymer, and now finally with ceramics. Katie took three ceramics classes at her local community college in 2008 but it wasn’t until after Katie acquired her first potters wheel in 2010 that she attended the University of Youtube. Katie says, “You can learn anything on the internet.”
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In the studio do you like to work with music on or music off?
I like podcasts.
Oh, really. Tell me which podcasts you like to listen to.
Well I keep up with Snap Judgement and Criminal and This American Life. I like story podcasts. Then sometimes when everyone else is gone my assistant and I get into those weird dark podcasts, like unsolved mystery murder ones and stuff like that. I like the Serial ones. There is one called S Town that was interesting that I just listened to. I just listened to one called the Butterfly effect. Real weird. Definitely an experience.
Do you have a plan for Instagram? Like how often you post or what you post, tell me about that.
So with Instagram you don’t have to post everyday, you just don’t. I try to post only when I have finished work or when I am in a mid-process that is interesting. But sometimes I just forget about it and I don’t post. I used to be more diligent but now I find that If I post at least once a week it’s good.
Tell me about your lighting. Do you like to use natural light or do you like to use studio lights?
I would prefer natural light in all areas all the time. For photography it has to be natural light. If the sun goes down I can’t do it. It is not going to come out right, but I will use studio lights to work if I have to.
Do you ever have Netflix or Amazon Prime or something like that going on while you are working?
Sometimes.
Does it ever become distracting for you where it slows you down too much?
Sometimes. Depends on the show and it depends on what I am doing. If I am doing a task that is super repetitive like sanding, I sand almost everything I create. If I have thirty cups I need to sand then I can sit there and watch something and pay attention to the show and not the cup. But If I am throwing then I am not going to watch anything.
Tell me about your tools. What is your favorite tool to use in the studio?
I think my favorite tool is either an exacto blade or a round little sponge.
Who is your favorite potter? Just one person.
I don’t know. That is so hard. There are so many people that inspire me. There is a guy named Nick Weddell. He is Nicks Ceramics on Instagram. He is doing stuff with glazes that I have never seen before. So he really inspires me right now.
Who is your favorite Instagram account?
That’s hard too because I look at so many weird things. Probably Plastik Magazine. I don’t think I’ve ever scrolled past one of their posts without liking it.
If you were restricted to only making one form which form would it be and why?
It would probably be a mug. Shocker. Because I like the interaction. I like that you can sit it on a shelf and it’s like a beautiful piece of art. You can also hold it and it makes you warm and you put your mouth on it and it’s like an intimate little object. I’d make mugs.
Book
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Contact:
etsy.com/shop/silverliningceramics
Instagram: @anotherseattleartist