Cool Women Doing Cool Shit: Taussen Brewer Ceramics
questions Kim Hickerson
answers, ceramics art & photos Taussen Brewer
Where did your interest in ceramics start?
Towards the end of my degree program at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) in Edmond, I took a Basics and Beyond Ceramics class. I had never worked with clay before and I had never experienced that kind of curiosity with a material.
How or when did you choose it as your main medium?
I enjoyed all of my art classes at UCO. Painting, photography, and drawing (which was my emphasis), but the relationship I immediately had with clay was shocking to me. I felt a bit lost leading up to that discovery because I didn’t have a driving impulse to draw or paint.
What ceramic artists today inspire you?
Currently, I’m looking at Joanne Greenbaum, Nick Makanna, Woody De Othello, and Susan Klein. The list goes on.
Tell me about some of your favorite past projects.
My favorite projects are the most stressful ones. Or the ones that push me the hardest. Although they may not thrill me at the time, these types of deadlines or proposals are when I learn the most about trusting myself, something I’m still learning to do. I think my favorite project so far has been my series of vases from my last semester at UCO. I love working in series and seeing how color and shape interconnect.
What do you listen to while you create?
Seriously everything. I have phases that I move through. One day I’ll listen to hip hop/rap, another day it’s electro-pop or jazz. I’m really proud of my Studio 2018 playlist on Spotify, it’s a compilation of all genres.
What projects are you working on now?
Currently, I’m working on stacking forms for my wheel-throwing class. We start with curvy drawings that include 4-5 separately thrown segments that will measure 24 inches when we’re finished. In my sculpture class, we’ve moved into a self-guided project. I consider myself fairly new to sculpture, so I am practicing all types of building. A few examples are using extrusions, making all of my parts and then glazing them together, and coil building.
What elements do you find necessary for quality ceramics?
Since coming to New York to study ceramics, I’ve been forced to deconstruct everything I’ve learned about the medium thus far, but what makes this even more confusing is that I have to address well-crafted pots against distinctive sculpture. Sometimes they muddle together. A few qualities I’ve been looking at lately are tension, cultural relevance or identity, and peculiarity.
Where do you get your clay from?
Currently, through my university. Often times I’m using Laguna Clay Company’s clay but we also mix dry material and that comes from suppliers in the U.S.
Tell me about your process.
When it comes to hand building, I start with lots of different cut out shapes, coils, and extrusions. I’ll start with one idea and run with it until it transforms into something else. This usually happens countless times. Sometimes I will start with a sketch, but for the most part it’s an intuitive approach. As I mentioned earlier, learning to trust myself and my decisions is my primary focus right now. For me this means being more spontaneous. One way that I push in this direction is by timing myself. If I’m spending too much time in one area, I will make a quick decision and move on. When it comes to wheel-thrown forms, having a sketch of a basic form is really beneficial. Once it’s stiff enough, then I can go in and decorate and make it what I want.
What advice would you give to someone interested in trying ceramic arts?
Do not give up. You have to be willing to make mistakes over and over to grow.