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

Stephen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The first moment that solidified the idea of being a creative/artist professionally was in 2011 when I won 1st place for the Mississippi Collegiate Show in the category of Ceramics. This accomplished gave me the courage and made me want to pursue the path to see how far the God given gift would take me.

Stephen, 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 grew up as a kid playing in the mud and the first time I ever took a pottery class was in Junior College at East Mississippi Community College. My first class brought back fun memories of my childhood and I immediately made a connection with clay. I explored the medium even more once I transferred to Mississippi University for Women. MUW started accepting men in 1982 and they provided a great art program which gave me the support and encouragement that was needed to strengthen my skills in ceramics. The work I create are one of a kind functional pieces from dishware, vases, and lidded jars. In my recent work, I have been exploring with the juxtaposition of textures and colors. I use underglazes as the base color and gloss glazes on top to give a differentiation between the textures and appearances provided by both glazes. I use electrical tape to create patterns and geometrical shapes. When the tape is removed revealing the underglaze surface, these pieces are fired at cone 5/6 (around 2167 or 2232 degrees F oxidation). Every piece created becomes as an
individual that belongs to a large family or collection. My main focus is to produce work that are gallery worthy and exhibition qualified.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the fact that I get a chance to see my work in various galleries and having my work apart of different exhibitions.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

One of my particular goals is to be able to have my work in an exclusive gallery space in New York. Another goal of mine is to be able to make large scale pieces at least 2 to 3 feet tall.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stephenspotterhouseproductions.com/
• Instagram: @sphouseproductions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sphouseproductions
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenphillips6953

Image Credits
All the photos were done by me, Stephen Phillips.