We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeffrey Siegel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jeffrey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As a ceramic artist I’ve mostly stayed away from creating functional ware. I can appreciate the beauty in high quality, handmade functional ware, but my creative joy comes from making art that is one-of-a-kind. That’s not to say that I’ve never made functional ware. As a young artist in the 80’s, while I was working in art studios, I would practice my fundamentals by throwing mugs, plates and bowls in my free time. I would rarely fire and finish the pieces as I was mostly working on practicing throwing skills. During that time, I only ever kept one box full of unfinished bisque fired work that for some reason I couldn’t throw away but was never motivated to complete. I also kept four small coffee mugs which I glazed in a 70’s abstract art deco kind of way which my children grew up drinking out of and eventually breaking all but two.

Cut to 35 years later – my eldest son is visiting home a few months before his wedding and we’re drinking our morning coffee together from the two remaining mugs that I made so long ago. He makes a comment about how he always loved these mugs and wished I liked making functional ware so perhaps I could make him some to take home with him… Little did he know of the box of unfinished pieces that I’d all but forgotten about, collecting dust in the attic all these decades, never having a reason to complete.

Never had I been more excited and motivated to finish a project. I spent the next few weeks practicing the glazing techniques that I hadn’t used since the 80’s and finding the perfect mix of colors to emulate those two remaining mugs – learning how to step back into the creative mindset I embodied as a young artist. I presented the completed set to my son and daughter-in-law later that year as a wedding gift.

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

Here is my story:

In 1972, I fell in love with clay. It was a time of paisley bedspreads, macrame pottery hangers and worn-out blue-jeans. I was entering High School with no clue as to what to take as an elective to satisfy my curriculum. I grew up as a home builder’s son, always tinkering and creating something for fun, so why not try something I could do with my hands – ceramics. From the very first day of class, watching the advanced kids on the potter’s wheel, I became mesmerized by their ability to create something out of nothing…from a ball of clay. I thought, I can do this. From the first time I sat at the wheel, I strove for perfection and continue to this day with great enthusiasm for creating something out of nothing. The magic of clay had begun to grab me.
It became my goal to find enough time to satisfy my thirst for working in the medium. I continued to take classes and apprenticed with my ceramics instructor during summer periods to gain experience in all facets of working and firing clay. I even borrowed a wheel, ordered a half ton of clay of various types and set up a makeshift studio in my backyard and began to produce pottery and fire it in the school kiln.
Upon graduating from High School, I attended San Diego State University. Although my major was in biology and finance, I found an off campus ceramic studio where I could continue to hone my skills and learn from fellow ceramicists. Once again, I set up a wheel in my backyard and spent any free time I had satisfying my creative yearnings as an artist.

I moved back to the Los Angeles basin in 1980 at the age of 24 to continue my education in graduate school and soon began my career as a CPA. While driving home from the beach one Sunday afternoon I came across a ceramic studio called the ClayHouse. It had everything I wanted in a studio and I couldn’t wait to become a member. It is there at the Clayhouse where some very good things continued to happen for me. I would change out of my business suit into overalls and come to the studio in the evenings. It wasn’t long before I became noticed for my creativity and strong skillset in working with clay. I was asked to teach a few classes in the evenings. I was enthused, honored, and accepted the offer. The ClayHouse became my refuge, my sanctuary, my retreat to do all that my creative mind could imagine in clay – I was home. It was here that I began to work in the more challenging medium of white porcelain clay. I began to develop a unique style and found galleries in Los Angeles and Laguna Beach that took a particular liking to my work. I even had an exhibit in the Los Angeles Museum of Folk Art and Craft.

There was a young gal, named Laura, from Michigan, she signed up to take my class during the winter of 1986 and her ceramic skillset required attention and coaxing. We were married one and a half years later – the champagne flowed! We moved back to San Diego in the Spring of 1989 and now, thirty-seven years later have raised three wonderful children and have two grandchildren. While living in San Diego, I continued to explore my work in clay and participate in workshops around the country from experts in the field. I set up my own ceramic studio. My unique style of work continues to be featured in galleries, art institutes and private collections. 33 years from that fateful day of finding the Clayhouse, I am honored to say I am now the recipient of the Lorenzo il Magnifico Gold Medal award, received from the Florence Biennale art exhibition.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the freedom of thought. I fell in love with clay the first time I sank my hands into it as a young student. The movement of shaping clay into something exciting on the wheel is a series of actions and reactions, like having a conversation with myself. It is common for me to say “the clay speaks to me”. A hike in the mountains or a walk along the shore sets me on my journey to self-realization. I am inspired by nature and it’s the use of natural materials that turned me onto the horsehair style of pottery that I’ve become known for. Using a Raku technique of firing the clay, I place individual strands of horsehair onto the hot porcelain surface and burn them away. This leaves a one-of-a-kind black carbon design that cannot be replicated.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I am fortunate to be both a creative and a non-creative. Although I received an undergraduate degree in Biology, I worked on a business degree as a post grad and carried on a career as a CPA and Financial Planner, yet never gave up my desire for the creative side of life!

One day I found myself complaining to a friend that it’s such a dichotomy for me to be both a creative and a non-creative. Like an internal battle between both sides of my brain. My friend was quick to the punch to tell me I was looking at things all wrong. That I was actually blessed, that this was not a dichotomy at all but a duality and that the sooner I embrace the concept of being both, the happier I would be. This conversation was half a lifetime ago and I never forgot it and never looked back.

I live my life in a world of duality, being both a creative and non-creative. The business side of things help me to grow my art life in an organized and detailed way while the creative side enhances the manner in which I helped my financial planning clients get ahead. As I go through life, retired from office work and now a full time artist, the creative side continues to grow and expand my artistic abilities while continuing to bring me joy. The key to what I would call the happy life I live is to be flexible and not be too hard on myself. I will confess there were times when I just had no time for the creative artistic side, but I always knew I would come back to it.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @jeffreysiegelceramics

Image Credits
Natalie Joy Mitchell