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Paul Lowe | Episode 767
Paul Lowe Was born and raised in Oslo Norway where he spent his childhood cooking and crafting with his Grandmother. Paul worked as a food and prop stylist all over Europe before settling in NYC 15 years ago. Paul’s love of ceramics started 7 years ago after taking a class…. It was love at first slab. Paul describes his style as heavily influenced by his Nordic heritage with clean and simple lines and colors. Today Paul lives and works in Palm Springs with husband James and 3 dogs.
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What kind of equipment do you use for your photography?
I am using a professional Canon D5 camera but you don’t have to use that. You can just use your phone. If you have a good cell phone with a good camera it will take…some of the pictures on my Instagram I have taken with my phone. It’s totally fine. It’s not so much about the picture itself, it’s about the set up. You know? That you have a nice surface, that you have good natural light…let’s say you are going to take pictures of a vase. Put it on a table and if the table isn’t pretty, cover the table with a bit of fabric or go on Etsy and buy a photo backdrop. They are kind of inexpensive and they come in all kinds of beautiful colors. And then set your table next to a natural light source.
Do you ever use any other light source other than natural light?
No, I only use natural light. Because there is something about that that just creates very poetic and harmonious image to me. So set the table up next to a good light source.
Is there a time of day when the light source is better?
Well that all depends on where you live and what way your window is faced. That is something you have to play around with. In my house the best light is from 3 til 5 in the afternoon. Take a day when you are home and look and write down, the light looks really good at 3:45.
Does that change with the weather, like on a cloudy day?
Absolutely, and you know a little bit of cloud is actually good as it’s a natural diffuser for the light. So that’s actually really good.
Is the golden hour a good time for photographing your work?
The thing is especially in the afternoon, when humans like us, we look really good in the afternoon, in the golden light, because our skin evens out and we get that glow. But for photos of products you will kind of get that yellowish and you don’t want that. That is in the photo world what we call warm pictures. So you don’t really want that unless that is something you are going for.
For me personally I like to set myself up next to a window, especially on a day with a little clouds and then just play with some props, some old books, some flowers, some foliage, you know you don’t have to go overboard but just a little touch. If your work is strong enough you don’t have to do any of that at all. But if you want to create something for Instagram it is always good to add a little something. And maybe do a little video of it.
What is one thing that you wish you were doing in ceramics that you don’t have the skill for at this point?
That’s actually a lot! So I would like to try slip casting. I would like to be able to make my own glazes. I would like to learn more about stains. I would love to learn more about glazing because in my own aesthetic I don’t really like a lot of colors. So what I use is mostly whites, whites with speckles. I use black and sometimes I use some blue. I would love to be able to learn more about achieving other textures using glazes. I would love to find a white that is completely matte. I haven’t found it yet and I think I need to make it myself. There is a lot of stuff that I have no idea about in ceramics and I learn all the time and the great thing is I go to a communal studio here in Palm Springs and a lot of these people have been doing ceramics for many, many, many years and they have really amazing knowledge that I try to pick once in a while. I have learned a lot of stuff there. But it is mostly glazing that I would love to learn more about.
Contact
Instagram: @paulloweceramics