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

Jack, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I grew up in an artistic household, my mom being a painter and clothing designer, and I had helped her during sales at art/craft shows as a child. In my early years of high school I had randomly started painting, during my history class nonetheless, and would also routinely skip out on class and visit friends in the pottery studio. The art teacher, Mr. Lull, happened to be my elementary school art teacher and was generous enough to allow me to hangout during that time. It got to a point where I remember him flat out asking me “why don’t you just take the class, you’re here enough anyway”. It seemed like a no-brainer, and instantly feel in love with working in clay. Mr. Lull gave me some basic techniques and general knowledge of the medium, but really gave me free reigns to do whatever I wanted. Looking back, I think I obviously could have studied the history and general understanding of the technology and business aspects of art, and specifically ceramics. On the flip side, I was young enough to not know what I didn’t know, if that makes sense. I was able to use what I knew, and had created, to transfer to creative arts high school in St. Paul, MN, which is safe to say kind of saved my life and gave me the opportunity and ability to think “outside the box” in what I could do with what I learned about art. The most important thing I learned as a young artist, was learning the medium. When I work with clay, I’m always reminded that anything is possible, both in terms of what is possible to crest, and the problem that arise along the way. I think the main obstacles in trying to learn any form of art, and especially trying to maintain that craft, is having the ability to work in a space that has the tools and equipment necessary to work. I was lucky enough to again use what I learned and created to attend the school of museum of fine arts in Boston, but almost wasn’t able to go as I applied late, had to spend months of black and forth with admissions and student affairs and had to turn down 2-3 aide packages because it wasn’t enough. Some amazing people were able to do math to which allowed me the opportunity to change my life. And I never looked back.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was able to use my basic knowledge and skill in ceramics to attend the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and then I utilized every aspect of that building to fuel the evolution of myself as an artist without even realizing it at first. I worked in wood, metal, plaster, glass mold making, paper making, multiple print making techniques, painting classes (because I hadn’t had any at that point), and spent as much time as humanly possible in my studio during the 4ish years I attended SMFA. My second year in school I leveraged my way into the financial committee, the only student in history, because I was curious as to how the money I was paying for school was being spent. It gave me perspective on a multitude of issues to which I could talk about for hours. Later that year I applied to and was hired as an assistant to a local Boston public artist Ross Miller. I worked on some really interesting and cool projects with Ross, projects he has had with the city on a yearly basis, among numerous other site specific projects around the Boston metro area. I made some connections working for Ross and also started working at Erdreich White Fine Art as an art consultant, doing everything from art installations, packaging and transportation, gallery showings, etc. I’ve done installations in everything from private home collections, museums, to installations of almost 200 pieces of work in 5 floors of one of the biggest bank in the worlds headquarters in the financial district in downtown Boston worth millions of dollars.. I’ve installed, transported, or packaged some of my idols pieces, including; Frank Stella, Ken Price, and Jason Revok. I’ve been very fortunate to have sold over 1,300 pieces myself in the little over a decade I was doing sales/shows in and around Boston, once to the former director of the MFA Malcom Rodgers, and all without a website (my biggest regret as an artist). During my later years in Boston, my art had evolved in a variety of ways and eventually I started bridging my love for street art with my technical skill in ceramics. Since then, I’ve put up over 400 pieces in now 10 different states around the country.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I think being adaptable as an artist is one of the most important lessons to learn, both in not getting complacent in your own work and in how you “sell yourself”, whatever that product may be. I was lucky enough to learn a little about the business side of the art world, and although I don’t necessarily use that knowledge on a daily basis, I have it readily available for different job opportunities, in addition to sales of my own work via studio visits or commissions. I started working in the bar/restaurant industry about 12 years ago because the hours worked well with my school schedule and the ability to work in my studio and gave mire of a freedom of my day to day schedule. That industry provides an “easy in” no matter the city or state you live in, so the few times I’ve had to “pivot” in that sense and move states, I was able to get work and find studio space in a short period of time after settling in.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The easiest and most basic response to this is someone liking or enjoying your work. I learned very early in working in ceramics that people liked my work, and even one of my friends wanting to buy a gift for his mom for Christmas and picking out a larger bowl/plater I’d made for I think $50, my first ever sale. I was shocked both at how easy it was and how much enjoyment I received from someone else liking my work that much. Fast forward some years later and while using the same medium, but in a different format, I had a friend send me some links to reddit pages describing in some variations of people asking about “colorful sculptures found”, “anyone know who these are from”, or something along those lines. I read each comment on each post, and it was so cool that this many people were curious about what they were or what they meant. I also could only imagine how many people think that way but didn’t go post on reddit about it. I like that. I like the idea of people finding art in unsuspecting places, and then questioning it. Or just liking it. Or not liking it and in the unfortunate case of the many that have been taken down and then just the outline of its remanence remains, or they’re painted over (a collaboration in my mind). There’s no question to the benefits in the ability to earn a living making art, even only knowing it at the smallest scale possible, but there’s also something to be said in creating art for people who don’t normally have the ability to view art, at any level. I love graffiti and it’s history and the blending of street art and murals, but I’m a huge Keith Haring fan and really the only reason I started doing “street art”, was mostly because of him and his influence on how I viewed art at that point in my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: RoddyCeramics / Couchesonsidewalk

Image Credits
photo credit is myself