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

Ted , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

I found this to be the most interesting question and it made me think about a few things. Ever since grade school I knew my gift was creating art. At age 16, I started working in a professional ceramic workshop called Eucalyptus Stoneware in Del Mar and improved my skills through ceramics and painting. At age 18, I moved to San Luis Obispo County to attend Cuesta College and it was at Cuesta that I experienced a tremendous act of kindness. Up to that point, my life had been very challenging because of difficulties reading and writing and persistent migraine headaches. During my second year at Cuesta, I joined the AD Program. The wonderful teachers in the AD Program noticed the challenges I was having and suggested an eye tracking test. As soon as I started the test it was obvious that my left eye would start reading while my right eye would scan the page for information. Halfway through the test my right eye would start reading while my left eye would scan the page. The teachers explained that my unique way of reading created a mixed signal in my brain. It turned out that this mixed signal had a name…Dyslexia! After years and years of struggling in school and believing that I wasn’t as smart as the other students, I finally had a name for my disorder. Not only did the teachers at Cuesta explain that my different way of processing information was not a reflection of my intelligence, they informed me that Albert Einstein and Michelangelo, two of my personal heros, were also dyslexic. My teachers described this condition as my “Super Power”. Dyslexia meant that I would excel in the physical world but struggle in the two dimentional world of academics. These women empowered me in a way that changed my entire life. I went on to become a professional artist for 45 years and enjoyed a rich, full career. I was always conscious of how the mind can perceive information and create different pathways. I spent many years donating time to coach soccer or to teach ceramics or just lecture young people on a new way of thinking. I’ve lectured at Cal Poly in material science, taught classes at Cuesta, and donated many years of service to my community. In 2017 Cuesta College named me Alumni of the Year! This was one of the great honors of my life to be recognized by the school where I received the kindest gift of my educational career. I gave a speech at the ceremony where I was able to thank everyone for the the recognition but I will always regret not being able to thank the teachers in the AD Program for empowering me in such a positive, strong way that I was able to do the same for dozens of other students.

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

Creativity was always my strong point. I excelled in anything that combined physical materials and creativity. Ceramics, shop, welding, photography and filmmaking enabled me to express myself creativly. I started at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo in 1980. Cuesta had a very strong art program at the time and I was so grateful to work with talented, loving teachers. I was a voracious art student taking 16 to 21 units at a time. In 1984. I received a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute. Empowered by all the skills I learned at Cuesta, I then began a deep dive into contemporary art. The instructors at the Art Institute quickly learned about my filmmaking work and put me in charge of guest lectures. I also got a job as an Sculpture Technician because of my background in tools and machinery. Because I had multiple jobs, in addition to my full time course load, I needed to have a set of keys to the school. Access to studio time, enabled me to work as many hours as I could and led to an highly productive time in my life as an artist. By the time I graduated in 1985 I had work in the Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery and multiple other shows throughout the city. My client list included Apple Computer, Merv Griffin, and the Nico Hotel . It was hard to leave the city with all the great art and galleries, but my heart was still in the Central Coast.
When I returned to my home town of Los Osos, I started a gallery and studio. Most of my work ended up in other states and countries where there was more appreciation for Contemporary Art. Right around this time, I met Art Clokie, the creator of Gumby and Pokey. Art was an amazing person as was his son Joe. We embarked on a five year partnership creating clay animation for ABC, the network that carried Gumby and Pokey. Even though I became a successful artist and was able to contribute greatly to the Central Coast community, I think the thing that makes me most proud is raising a wonderful daughter who now inspires others. My daughter Sierra Emrick works with the central coast state parks Association. Sierra also started the Diva Cup Surf competition where she inspires young women to be their best. I think that the most important part of my life is the opportunity to inspire others, especially my own daughter, and then watching them go on to do great things.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This question reminds me of one of the most harrowing art installations I’ve ever attempted. Years ago, I headed to Aspen Colorado to deliver a sculpture to the Habitat Glass Gallery at the Wheeler Opera House. This one ton sculpture was made from multiple interesting pieces of glass, fossil stones, an antique metal press from the Panama Canal and a piece of the last redwood bridge on the Big Sur coastline. It was a beast.

After driving for two days, I arrived in Aspen and assembled the piece in the gallery. Sandy, the gallery director, noticed that I looked exhausted and offered me my usual accommodations. I was able to sleep for about three hours before a phone call woke me up. Sandy asked me if I wanted to meet the new owner of the sculpture. The piece had sold after just three hours in the gallery.

I threw on some clothes and ran down to the gallery to meet Jon White. Jon was such an amazing and interesting art collector but he was flying to France on the Concord Jet the next morning from his home town of Salt Lake City, a six and a half hour drive from Aspen, CO. I knew what I needed to do.

I dismantled this one ton multi media culture, loaded it back in to my truck and drove to Salt Lake City, UT. I met Jon and his family the next morning at what first seemed like a modest house in a beautiful setting. Jon wanted this sculpture on the second floor of his house near a baby grand piano up a flight of slate stairs and over pristine hardwood floors. A look of dread came over my face. This would be a harrowing installation and had the potential to damage this man’s home.

Jon recognized the look on my face and sprang in to action. He immediately asked his son to go for help. After about 20 minutes, I looked up and saw a what seemed like a Dr. Seuss book coming to life. All the Whos from Whoville came out of every house in the neighborhood and walked towards the house. Somewhere between 20 and 30 people had arrived for a good old fashioned barn raising. This was a Mormon community and they were there to raise a house/assemble a monster of a sculpture. They lifted up each piece with such care and reverence and assembled it piece by piece until it was completed about 30 minutes later. I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed.

Once the sculpture was in place, I checked in with Jon to make sure his family would make their flight to France. Jon assured me that they had plenty of time and promptly invited me to play a game of pickup basketball. When I agreed, Jon led me down the central staircase of the house that led three floors down to a half basketball court that was somehow built underneath the house. I realized that this was an anything but a conventional home. Sometimes you gotta just trust the process.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I find myself in a transition. I retired in 2024 after a long and productive career. But being an artist is different from having a job. When you find yourself no longer creating art, you wonder about your identity. It’s a weird sensation. Thanks to my artistic career, I can live comfortably for the rest of my life. But, it’s hard to imagine that I’m done creating. I did a series of work about our political environment, which I thought it was important. Unfortunately, thinking deeply about the state of our country and world, made me feel physically ill. So now, I’m thinking about trying to make sense of the world by creating smaller pieces that tell stories of community, collaboration and compassion. The urge to create is still inside me. I feel like I’m gonna do work that tells a story about who we are and who we can be. The ability to tell stories through artwork was my way of turning my dyslexia into a strength instead of a weakness. I have that super power inside of me and the world requires all of us to use our super powers to repair civilization. I believe that I have more to contribute.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.Tedleeemrick.com