We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bruce Fraser. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bruce below.

Bruce, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I’m glad I started my creative career later in life. I learned so much from each of my careers and interests. They all contributed to the career I have now. I didn’t have the range of skills I had when I encountered ceramics. From the moment I started in the field I had an unexplainable confidence. That was very unusual for me in my life. Having said that I don’t think I would have liked the work when I was younger. Also, there was no internet in the 80’s. I was pretty lost in my younger days, dabbling with all kinds of things trying to find my way. House painter, handyman, I worked at an internet provider in the 90’s and learned customer service. I worked as a video editor and producer for many years which helped me with the basics of photography, design and composition.

Even though I consider myself a slow learner I stuck with those careers and basically learned how to learn. Now I have a certain confidence that I can learn almost anything I encounter in the ceramics field, even though it may take me a while. I make a lot of mistakes, some of them pretty dumb but because I have process and technique devotion, it makes for a quiet confidence that isn’t overblown…Most of the time.

I didn’t have this confidence in place when I was 45. I was drifting on a sea of uncertainty much of the time. I was in my mid 50’s before I felt I had a sense of style in what I liked and didn’t like. I didn’t have many opinions about what is good and what isn’t. Until I developed that skill I was out at sea. Now I’m opinionated as hell and have little trouble expressing my tastes.

Bruce, 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?

I wanted to keep my range of options limited so that while still making other ceramic products for skill building, I decided to stick with just ceramic wind chimes for the long haul so I could focus on one product, refining it over and over. Iterating it slowly over a long period of time. My creative process involves repetition, breaking things down into small pieces so it’s easier to deal with all the issues that arise. I took my time learning all the things it would take to be successful…Slowly but surely.

One of the interests I’ve had over the years is finding ways to honor those who came before us. When I was in the video business I started a company that would tell life stories of family members, alive or deceased. When I saw other sellers on Etsy hocking cheap Alibaba wind chimes with laser etched or sublimated printed remembrances I got mad! I thought to myself “I can do that!” but in a hand crafted manner. I’ve strived to make my bereavement bells a product for working class people at a price that’s around what a flower arrangement for a funeral or a celebration of life would cost. Yet, last a long time.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

“I don’t care what you’re doing, painting, sculpting, the problem is always the same. The problem of the artist is to stay in the problem.” Garry Winogrand

We’re all artists in a way. I really don’t think “non-creatives” exist. From my point of view we’re being creative much of the time. A mother or father has to figure out how to get 3 kids to 3 different soccer practices, make dinner and walk the dog. There’s only one way to make it happen – Be creative!

So much of our mundane daily lives involve figuring out problems. Most people don’t think of themselves as creative while they’re literally finding answers creatively all day long!

That insight changed my life 30 years ago and set me on a path I could never have predicted. Recontextualizing our lives can have a powerful effect on how we perceive ourselves and how we live our lives.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I’m not a big fan of the idea that society needs to do anything to support artists and creatives. At this point in time our society is imbued and soaked in art and design. Human beings, can’t seem to live without art. It’s literally everywhere we look. Our food, clothes, cars, computers, just about anything we deem attractive or ugly involves human creativity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://EarthWindBells.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earthwindbells/
• Twitter: @EarthWindBells
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QcpXrXqDqE

Image Credits
I took the photos of the product. Malou Leontsinis took the photos of me.