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

Julia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful and rewarding projects I have worked on is creating SONIC MUD, my ceramic instrument ensemble that I formed when I wanted to hear my ceramic sculptures activated by musicians.

I have a multi-media art practice, and most of my three-dimensional work grew out of my ongoing exploration of the sonic potential of clay. I consider my sculptures to be fully realized only when they are being played. In my initial research into creating sonic sculptures, I looked to the shape and sonority of traditional udu drums made by the Igbo women of Nigeria and to the ancient indigenous ceramic water whistles, flutes, and horns from Mexico and South America.

To fulfill my desire of activating my sculptures, I started SONIC MUD, a band of professional musicians that showcases my ceramic instruments. The musicians play a range of ceramic flutes, drums, natural trumpets, shakers, clayrimbas, rain machines, xuns, water whistles and more, all hand-built by me. The performances are unique and one-of-a-kind. The music we play is improvisational while we bring to life the richly resonant and earthy sounds of clay. In 2023 we recorded our first album, Above Ground, which was released in September 2023.

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

I grew up in Birmingham, AL and lived in Minnesota, North Carolina and California before moving to New York in 2010. I have always made things and worked with my hands. I took a lot of art classes growing up and studied art in school. My formative art training is in printmaking and book arts, and I taught printmaking for about 10 years in NY and NJ. In 2013 I signed up for some ceramic classes in NYC. I was in a creative rut at the time and wanted to try out something new, and that is when I started making ceramics. Working with clay felt immediate and natural, and it is my primary medium today.

Around the time I started taking ceramic classes in NYC, I met percussionist Kenny Wollesen. He told me he’s always wanted an udu drum, and I decided to make one for him. It was a great project to work on while I was honing my hand-building skills. Kenny’s initial commission was the jumping off point for my 10-year exploration of working with ceramic sculpture and sound. We still use the commissioned drum I made for Kenny in performances and recordings.

In addition to making ceramic instruments and sound sculptures for SONIC MUD, I also have my own ceramics business making and selling unique functional art objects for the home. I officially started my eponymous business in 2016 selling ceramic bead necklaces and wall hooks. Over the last few years I have added vases, candelabras, Judaica and other functional sculptures to my product line. My work is sold online at juliaelsas.com and at various boutiques and museum gift shops in New York and California.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

In 2023 I took my first business class, and it was a life changing experience both for my ceramic business and for my creative art practice. The class was called Plan for Growth, and it was a multi-week in person business management and leadership program designed for manufacturers, makers and creative entrepreneurs in Southwest Brooklyn.

I have had over a decade of administrative experience from previous employment, so I’ve felt comfortable managing many aspects of running a small business, but I was at a point in early 2023 where I really wanted and needed external help to understand how to grow my business thoughtfully with more informed decision making.

The business course I took is Brooklyn specific, but I highly encourage anyone thinking of starting a small business to look into business development courses either online or through your local chamber of commerce. Even though everyone in my class had different kinds of businesses and business models, it was extremely helpful talking with other creative entrepreneurs about their short and long-term business goals and also their business management pain points.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Show up! Support your local small businesses. Share resources and information. Go to art openings, open studios, share social media posts. Be generous, kind, curious and open to new experiences.

Contact Info:

• Website: juliaelsas.com; sonicmud.com; sonicmud.bandcamp.com
• Instagram: @something_elsas; @sonicmud
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCeWsLIzmUI; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BrcVTbU9ds

Image Credits
Black and white images by Weird Hours; Chime Choir installation image by Michael Yarinsky; All other images by Julia Elsas