We were lucky to catch up with Deborah Schwartzkopf recently and have shared our conversation below.
Deborah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Twenty-plus years ago my ceramics professor Steven Godfrey said, “If you want to be a potter, go work for one and get a picture of what this life looks like.” I had been a student at the University of Alaska in Anchorage for a few semesters. I ended up working for two local potters while I finished my BA in Arts. The blend of getting a degree in ceramics and working for potters was a fabulous springboard to finishing an MFA at Penn State, and then going on to participate in multiple artist-in-residence programs across the country. Each appointment helped to build my network of peers, introduce me to studio set-up solutions, and push me to learn more in every area of my field. My goal was to be a studio potter, selling handmade functional porcelain wares to my local community.
When I started my first artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation, I realized I had put all my eggs in one basket. I was a potter, but no one knew who I was or that I made pottery or that I wanted to sell it. It became my goal to change this. As I worked out of multiple community studios, I honed a grouping of ceramic tableware, applied to art galleries, and started to sell my pottery at any venue I could find – juried shows, markets, galleries, art fairs, studio tours, or workshops I taught across the country. I received more and more requests to teach workshops on the techniques I used to make my unique pottery.
I followed up on each lead. If someone recommended a venue to me I researched it. If I sent out a packet for review to a gallery, I called to see if they got it and had questions. If I got a piece into a juried show and it sold, I emailed and asked the gallery if they wanted more artwork to sell. If a craft center mentioned to me that they were looking for instructors, I sent them a description of what I could teach and images. I was nervous and unsure, but followed up anyway.
I set up my first personal studio in an unheated car garage next to the house I rented in Ballard, WA. It was the most space and freedom I had ever had and I just loved it! I filled my calendar with show deadlines and teaching appointments. I applied for every grant I could find. Each little bump kept the ball rolling.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Deb Schwartzkopf’s aim is twofold. As a studio artist, her goal is to make fabulous tableware that infuses life with purposeful beauty. The studio practice she has established provides a vehicle for her to continually learn about material, connect with the community, and create intersections between ephemeral ideas and functional forms. As a community member and instructor, she uses her unique skill set to offer educational opportunities- creating bridges to cross-pollinate communities both locally and nationally.
Seattle local, Deb Schwartzkopf has worked in clay for over 20+ years. After receiving an MFA from Penn State in 2005, Deb Schwartzkopf taught at Ohio University, Mass. College of Art & Design, University of Washington, as well as for the University of Georgia’s study abroad program in Cortona, Italy. She participated in residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation (MT), Mudflat Studios (MA), the Clay Studio (PA), Watershed (ME), Red Lodge Clay Studio (MT), the Ceramics Workcenter in Berlin, Germany, and San Boa in Jingdezhen China! Deb established what is now Rat City Studios in 2013 where her mission is to engage and build community through clay – one person, one neighborhood, and one experience at a time. Ceramics Monthly Magazine awarded Deborah Schwartzkopf Ceramic Artist of the Year for 2019. Published in June 2020, Creative Pottery features 192 pages of clay working techniques. In 2022 Deb opened Rain City Clay, a small community ceramics studio offering classes, workshops, and events!
Rat City Studios (ratcitystudios.com) is an open creative clay studio that provides a supportive environment for 60+ makers working independently in clay and artists who seek to take the next step down their paths as potters. This welcoming studio, located in White Center, is home to founder-potter-instructor-author Deb Schwartzkopf. RCS offers monthly studio access to independent study participants, skill-building online clay workshops, and a firing service for local artists. We support artists at many levels through experiential learning and shared experience.
Rain City Clay (raincityclay.com) offers classes for all levels, skill-building workshops, artist studios, and yearly community events. Located in West Seattle, we are a vibrant creative community passionate about working with clay. Around 200 students participate each quarter in our offerings, which are aimed at cultivating imagination, bringing people together, and facilitating a space where everyone has a place to foster their creative side.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In 2020, like many people, my world turned upside down. Every income stream I had was oriented around in-person service. Every gallery I sold in closed up, every community center I taught at was canceling workshops and classes, and my own studio closed for months. All the craft fairs I was scheduled to sell at did not happen. For the foreseeable future, the way I moved in the world came to a pause.
I had a big mailing list from teaching and selling through multiple in person events all over the country. I had a strong social media presence as well. The only thing left was to figure out how to teach online. This was out of my comfort zone.
I was full of anxiety. And that is quite an understatement. I could not sleep well. I stayed up nights watching YouTube and online instructionals on how to Zoom, how to edit video, and how to run HDMI cords to connect everything, and made a plan to teach clay technique workshops through Zoom. When I started this journey I did not even know what an HDMI cord was. And I was terrified of being on video. My whole outlook was bleak and full of stress.
Here is a Radio Clip of an interview during that time.
Somehow, I managed to pull it off. I had the help running my weekly online classes with Anika, a wonderful studio assistant. I got a very welcoming response from online participants eager to connect and learn online. And I found that the content I had been teaching in-person translated nicely to an online forum. Eventually, I became more comfortable with the Zoom format. I added multiple views, got a switcher so I could easily change between views, and ran Ecamm Live over the top of Zoom so I could float images, PDFs, and other visual content on top of the live stream. It became a creative outlet in and of itself.
My heart still races when I think back on this time. It was incredibly stressful, but the pivot worked. I increased my student participation, I learned so much about online teaching, and instead of my business falling apart, it grew. I made the money I needed to stay afloat and added an unforeseen income stream!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
When I first started as a potter, everything that needed doing I could figure out and do myself. I learned to take my product images, I did my taxes, I coordinated all the communications with galleries, I made my own craft fair booth display furniture, I built my studio tables, I mixed my glazes… On and on, the list of what I did myself was far-reaching.
One year, I broke my foot badly and was forced to be on crutches for 2 months. Deadlines were looming. I could not drive my manual transmission truck. I could not manage to glaze my pottery because the crutches made it impossible to maneuver my body and use my hands to work. I needed help. And I needed a lot of help. This was a hard lesson and it was pressurized by deadlines.
A dear friend, Angie, drove me to the studio nearly every day for two months. She had her own studio at the same community center. She was a lifeline. When I was feeling down, she was such an encourager with words and the occasional ice cream treat. My mom flew out to my studio to help me glaze multiple times. I was overwhelmed and grumpy. She stuck with me and was the first person I taught my glazing process to. I made it through the winter season of selling at holiday shows and met my deadlines thanks to these people. My mom and I work together well. Glazing my pottery together is still something we occasionally do for fun.
Over the years emerging artists sought me out as a person to learn from. I took on studio assistants and over time learned to receive help. This required me to learn what I needed help with. And it required me to be able to verbalize this need in a clear concise way. Maybe this seems obvious or simple, but somehow it wasn’t for me. It took time and was a big learning process for me.
Each helper or assistant needs different levels of attention to learn a skill or task. Each task needs different levels of attention to complete well. Working with others required me to pay attention to simple tasks and people and a whole new level. It required me to know my process even more thoroughly and to understand what parts I wanted to handle and what parts could be shared.
Fast forward many years later. I have a wonderful staff. They are all working artists who want part-time work to supplement their art-making. Many of them have been with the studio for years. We still have hiccups, but overall, the personnel at the studio have a flow, know their tasks, and care about the organization. I could never have these businesses (Rat City Studios & Rain City Clay) without the constant attention of the staff and their attentiveness. Learning where help is needed, what tasks can be attended to by others, and applying the skills of a dedicated crew are essential components of the success of our organizations.
Check out the fabulous crew!
https://raincityclay.com/our-crew
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ratcitystudios.com/welcome
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debspottery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debspottery/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ratcitystudios/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe66U6cpyOChtS46EScHjDQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/rain-city-clay-seattle-2
- Other: https://raincityclay.com/welcome https://www.instagram.com/rain.city.clay https://www.facebook.com/raincityclayseattle/ https://www.instagram.com/ratcitystudios https://www.facebook.com/ratcitystudios
Image Credits
1.) Photo by https://lbphotography.studio/ Hands of Deb Schwartzkopf working on making a cup 2.) Creative Pottery Book Cover https://ratcitystudios.com/book-creative-pottery 3.) Dessert Dishes by Deb Schwartzkopf Porcelain, Wheel thrown and handbuilt, cone 6 4.) Bud Vase by Deb Schwartzkopf Porcelain, Handbuilt, cone 6 5.) Rain City Clay Logo designed by Adam Taylor 6.) Rain City Clay Classroom 7.) Larry throwing pots at our grand opening April 2, 2022 8.) Rain City Clay Building frontage off SW 100th Street in Seattle, WA