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

Alright, Kim 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.

The most meaningful projects I work on are always in partnership with florists or chefs. Functional ceramics is inherently collaborative; my finished work is only half of the installation. Vases must be filled with flowers, plates must be lined with food– it is then and only then that my work is “complete” and has served its purpose.

A local chef came to me looking for a single serve scallop dish. We landed on a small, delicate, pedestaled bowl made of porcelain. Porcelain, when thrown thin enough, is translucent, and I loved that it mimicked the reflection of sun on water, and the fragile nature of seafood, when the candle on the table shown through it. It is still one of my favorite projects to date.

Kim, 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 am a potter located in Milwaukee who specializes in wheel-thrown, functional ceramics. My pieces rely heavily on the natural beauty of clay rather than with a created color palette– I always allow glimpses of raw clay to show through on each vessel.

My work is fairly quiet. I never want to overpower the companion my vessel is paired with– be it florals, a shared meal, or the beauty and simplicity of an in-season bowl of fruit. My work is the foundation for small, fleeting, daily art installations to stem from, and I love that my pieces might allow someone to have a moment of calm and beauty in their day.

I became interested in clay at an early age. I grew up in an 1850’s farmhouse in rural Wisconsin that was always under renovation. Upon digging out our basement, we discovered our home had been built on top of a clay deposit. That summer, we had a mound of it in the backyard that my brother and I would play on. We’d make bowls and utensils, dry them in the sun, and lose them when the rains came in. It was extremely charming and romantic! Then going to elementary school and discovering these clay pieces could be vitrified in a kiln to last a lifetime? I was enchanted!

Clay makes me sentimental and nostalgic. It is truly such a magical craft, and makes me feel like a kid again.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The hardest lesson to learn being a full-time artist is that my time and energy is valuable, and I deserve to be compensated for my work. It is exceptionally challenging. I am still learning to value myself, and to have the confidence to charge what my work is actually worth. Lots of childhood unlearning, but therapy sure does help!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I think every artist would benefit from reading Art & Fear, Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.covetandginger.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/covetandginger

Image Credits

Chelsea Matson (All Portraits)