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John Hamilton | Episode 971
Blending the world of science fiction and functional art has allowed John Hamilton to find a voice in ceramics. Each Piece utilizes various elements of the ceramic process, employing trompe l’oeil to draw the viewer in closer, enticing them to touch and closely study each piece. The purpose is to create functional art that demands to be on the counter, table, or shelf opposed to the inside of a cabinet out of view.
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Why do you like to put on your work that patina of age?
I am influenced by use in general. I want people to feel kind of transported and feel like they are using this object that has been hurled through space I guess. I don’t want it to feel old. I don’t want it to feel untouched. I want it to feel it’s presently going through its journey. So just those washes and the surface treatment, I want them to feel real, involved.
How long did it take for you to figure out how to add that touched, being used feel?
Forever. (laughter) I would say the influence started with Brian Hopkins, he came and gave a demo workshop and I asked him to critique my work and he asked me a one word question that I constantly think about. And that’s, Why? He followed that with, I don’t want you to stop. But, Why? And I think about the intent of why I do something every time I start to turn that corner.
Who is the person that is following you and likes your work?
My ideal audience is anybody that I can help bring nostalgia back. I can trigger that excitement of…I was talking about watching the Trilogy, you know, when they instantly say , This reminds me of this. It’s funny because I never thought of it this way, it took me awhile but I started realizing my physical target audience are middle-aged women and I wasn’t expecting that. My ideal audience is who appreciates and enjoys the work enough to transports themselves to their childhood, to something that gets them excited.
Of course we make to please ourselves, but is it also important to make with an end user in mind?
I go back and forth on this one. Yes, I think that’s what a functional…I mean I am obsessed with functional pots and I think that is exactly what it is. The people who appreciate your work will come. When I decided to go with the space theme and just tap into my childhood in that sense, I knew I was going to loose a certain large demographic and it was going to get funneled down to less people but it was more about me making work for me and the exploration that comes with that. I didn’t want to be stuck making pots just for the sake of making pots. I wanted to tell stories and bring nostalgia. One thing I find is necessary is I need to excite myself. If I don’t open the kiln and excite myself who am I doing this for?
You are in the studio, you are in the groove, what’s playing in the background?
Anything and everything. My grandma always had the TV on when we would walk in, Ms. Harriot Hamilton, and she just needed background noise. So background noise, I’ve got a TV in there, it’s Sci-Fi movies, it’s old, it’s new, it’s corny, it’s great. Stuff that I am not going to pay attention to where I need to pull my eye away from what I am doing but I need the background noise. It’s books. I love hip hop. I’m constantly listening to music. I will switch on a dime though, I love some good country music too.
Book
Make the Impossible Possibly by Bill Strickland
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
Contact
Instagram: @johnrhamilton3ceramics