We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Paula & Rich Rogalski. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Paula & Rich below.

Paula & Rich, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

We both have enjoyed working with our hands which was mostly used in renovating each home we purchased and lived in. (Paula) When I was a child I lived in a creative home. My mother was a painter and furrier. She would encourage me in my desire to paint so I learned to draw and paint with oils. I desired to go to art school for further education, but was discouraged from doing so. I took several art classes during my college years as electives to learn as much as possible. Then life happened; Richard and I got married, then we had our son. We both worked full time and concentrated on our family.

We moved to North Carolina in 2004 and that is where I Paula, found a love for working in clay. Our community college had a pottery class in their continuing education program and I started taking the classes. It was an affordable way to learn and John King and Kiowa Cilone taught the class. Working in 3D was so much fun and using glazes like paint gave me an outlet to continue my enjoyment of painting.

I, Rich, was a machinist for 24 years in Massachusetts. I was a metal lathe operator machining parts for valves used in power plants and for ships. In high-school I learned carpentry in a vocational school and always enjoyed working in wood. When retirement came after working several years in maintenance in North Carolina I realized I needed some type,of hobby. This is when I realized I could take these two skills and put them together as a wood turner and began creating hand-crafted bowls.

The learning curve for the both of us was pretty large but the process has been fun. As we progessed in our crafts we started selling at local festivals. The largest obstacle for me, Paula, was working and time. Now that we are both retired we have opened up the display area in our studio to the public two days a week. We are enjoying this new chapter of creativity and meeting people as we pursue our crafts.

Paula & Rich, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Some of how we got into our crafts was mentioned in the previous question. Entering into the art field has been a little challenging as it is a new industry for both of us. Participating in the various festivals locally has helped us get the word out about what we hand craft. We often see regular individuals in our booth which is fun. People comment that our work is different which both of us don’t like making the same things over and over.

Trying something new is much of what both of us like doing. It does create the problem of making some pieces that don’t come out as desired, but the learning process helps for future pieces. We want our followers to know that we have a variety of artistic works that are made because it is what we love doing. Producing to have a lot of inventory to sell isn’t the top priority. Creating for uniqueness and beauty is what we want to be known for. We create one-of-a-kind works for artistic purposes. I, Paula, have been asked to replicate a piece as well as Rich has, but I let them know every piece is individually made and duplicates would be similar, but not identical.

Some of the uniqueness we crate is the combination of wood and pottery. We started making unusual lamps the emulate a tree. Rich would turn a lamp base from a log and I, Paula, create a leaf lampshade for the base. We have been growing this area of design as a functional artistic piece for the home. We have had some great success in these lamps. I, Paula, like to create unusual lamps completly out of clay as well.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I, Paula, like my journey to be fun and challenging in creativity. Sometimes the focus gets distorted when I feel like I need to make product for selling. We register for festivals and my goal changes to making pieces I think, people are going to buy. That isn’t who I am since I like to make unusual things that reflect my creativity. I want to be known as a ceramic artist and not a potter. I enjoy nature which I like to reflect in my work and incorporate natural elements as part of my pieces. Sculpting and carving allows me to create the artistic aspects of my work. This takes time so I cannot create a lot of pieces in a short period of time. I need to continually remind myself of my goal. In all my working life I’ve been told that when goals are in written form, they are more likely to be achieved. I always have an unusual piece in the works to remind me of my goal. I would like to be the Chihuly of ceramic arts. Not for fame and fortune, but expertise of my craft and joy for the audience.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My, Rich, rewarding aspect of what I do is making something exquisite that is enjoyed by others. The last art festival we attended i had a bowl turned from a piece,of black walnut that I purchased in New England. It included some exotic wood as well. Towards the end of final day of the festival a person came in our booth, she picked up the bowl, put it back, picked it up again and put it back. She looked at it started walking away then turned around and said she just had to have it. This happens quite a bit and these individuals are happy to send photos of the piece in their home. It encourages me when I see the work I’ve done enjoyed by others who appreciate the piece.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: rogalskipaula
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitesidesstudio

Image Credits

All photos were taken by us.