We were lucky to catch up with Lyssandra Gallup recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lyssandra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I was first introduced to clay in high school. I loved playing with the material but I also had the desire to make art out of anything. I moved on to getting a BFA in sculpture, taking ceramic classes here and there when I had time in my school schedule. However, it wasn’t till I was taking some elective ceramic classes at the local community college here in Austin that I saw significant technical progress. After those two classes, everything else that I have learned has been self-taught, and it has been a lot! It is gratifying to be self-taught but I think I would have learned faster by reaching out and connecting with the ceramic community sooner. There is no one correct way to work with clay and people have been working with it for thousands of years!
Definitely basic technical skills with the craft like how to work with the clay, glazing, and firing your work but also trusting your own artistic voice and following what you want to make. When you are starting a new business, especially one based on your art, it is hard to say no to prospective clients and commissions. You want to make as much as you can and get your product out there. While I learned a great deal from doing these types of commissions, I realized I can’t say yes to everyone. Sometimes clients want something that is genuinely too far out of your wheelhouse and I noticed it took my artistic voice out of the process too much. They felt more stagnant and decreased my drive to make new work. I learned that it is essential to trust your gut and desire to follow your artistic voice over making something when your heart is just not in it.
There will always be obstacles in life but I think wholeheartedly I stand in the way of myself more than anything. Whether it be doubting myself, or shying away from the community I struggle to put myself out there in a way that comes easier to other artists. This interview has been an important challenge for me that I think will make it easier for me in the future!
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
I am an artist based in Austin, TX, and I currently work out of my home. I was born and raised in Austin and I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from Kansas City Art Institute. I have been working with ceramics for most of my life whether it be sculptural or functional ware. I fell in love with art as a teenager but in the past 6 years, I feel like I have come into my own with my art practice. I have experience working with many materials and processes but my ceramic practice has become my favorite! I love textures and glazes and the way they interact with each other. I love the way we experience functional ware and how it can engage our senses. We don’t just look at a pretty cup but feel the tactile surfaces and temperature on the outside, smell what’s inside it, and hear the sound it makes when we touch it. I mainly focus on functional ware like mugs, bowls, and decorative vases but I really enjoy making full sets of dinnerware that will be used in someone’s home every day. I like to explore different combinations of colors and textures that I wouldn’t normally put together for my clients. It gives me insight into other people’s tastes and usually leads to new ideas for me to explore. I care about making a product that will satisfy the wants and needs of my clients as well as making something meaningful for them.
I am so proud of how much I have grown as a ceramicist as well as an artist that is active in the community. Being active in the community and engaging with other artists has always been a challenge for me. However, I have noticed that the more I enjoy and explore my ceramic practice the easier it is to share with other creatives. I currently have artwork involved in the Group Exhibition show for the Austin Studio Tour this month and another that will be shown in Life of H20 benefitting Art4Water and The Watershed Association. I will also be showing and selling my current inventory during East of the AST where I can share my work, ideas, and passion for art with the community.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Initially, I believed that having my work connect with the viewer, which is heavily taught in art school, was the most rewarding aspect of making art. However, lately, it has been significantly more satisfying to create artwork that feels like I speak through it and comes from my creativity entirely. This past fall I was not accepted into a very popular and large holiday market in the city where I live. I was obviously disappointed about this because my work would be seen by hundreds of people and I would have the opportunity to make quite a profit. That following week I finished up a vase that was to be in a group art show that benefited a local water conservation non-profit group. The contrast between these two events was huge! On one hand, I would have had to produce work in a way that was commercially or factory-made to supply enough for the event. And on the other, I got to create a vessel that had a deeper meaning than being just functional and stood for a cause that I genuinely care about. I couldn’t wait to share the vessel that I made for this group show! I put my heart and creativity into the piece and I could feel and see it in the final work. So, I would say for me, creating something that I feel proud of and that shows my artistic voice is the most rewarding aspect of being an artist.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
About a year and a half ago, I lost access to the studio space and equipment I had been using for the previous 5 years. I shared this space with two other artists and we were notified that the building had been sold to be torn down within a few months. Due to uncontrollable circumstances, I lost access to a kiln and had to move all of my supplies and work out of the studio within a few weeks. Kiln’s are one of the largest if not most expensive aspect of ceramics. It is unlikely someone can financially outright buy a new one and during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic customers had to wait months to even receive a kiln due to supply shortages. I am immensely grateful that the prior December a friend of my aunt was looking to sell an older smaller used kiln in Dallas. I rented a truck and drove up there to buy and take it back home. Now, I just had to figure out how to set it up! For the next two months, I invested in other equipment to get this kiln up and running but I also had to learn how to fire the kiln manually. I had never done this and it was very intimidating. There were so many issues that kept popping up, including equipment failure and a bee infestation. It took me a while and a lot of testing but I figured out how to make this kiln work for me so that I could keep creating. It would have been easier and cheaper to give up and say I no longer could make ceramic art, but I persevered through the problems out to the other side. It’s been over a year and this kiln is still going strong! Now I have a full ceramic studio set up in my garage and I am able to make everything at home.
Contact Info:
- Website: lgceramicdesigns.com
- Instagram: @lyssandragal
Image Credits
Headshot photo: Savanna Sluyter