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

Xabier, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am Xabier Frank, a wheel potter who has been happily throwing his life away one pot at a time for a total of eight years and is based on Lake Worth Beach Florida. There is much to be learned. This craft of pottery encompasses various areas of study from geology, chemistry, fire science, history, forming of the wares, networking and business management to name a few. All of which I am still learning a lot. The craft of a potter is a marathon.The preparation of materials, claybody along with the forming of the wares, firing and selling of the pieces are all major stages that require various hats to be worn and are regulated by the natural rhythm that evolve in the studio. These rhythms slowly got blended into my day to day and as I expanded my production I started to live a different lifestyle that required my attention from Sunday to Sunday, sunup to well beyond sundown. The chores done to keep the studio running can be monotonous and tiresome but bring a smile to my face when I am able to use what I need later on. The Clay will dry and do its thing regardless of what goes on in your life; the bank is at your heels?, need to pay rent? you are sick?,There’s is a juried show coming up? Too bad I’ll dry as I need to not any faster or slower. Because of this natural impediment there is not really a set day for me as it all depends really on the clays schedule. In the morning it might be glazing wares, in the afternoon I might be trimming, and at night writing emails while the other pots dry out some more. It is because of this I will revolve my schedule around what the clay is doing. At any point things can go south and lead you to have to either backtrack and start again or adapt to what you got and embrace the chaos. Some of the hurdles in this marathon are self-inflicted wounds that may show up much later in the process such as air bubbles, cracks while drying, defects with glaze, dust, over/ under firing, while others are more immediate such as getting knocked, squeezed to tightly and crumble with many many, many more things all of which keep me sleeping with an eye open. Because of this success is not always a guarantee which leads to some low points but when things go right and everything works out it really feels as if you have finished that marathon and can now take a pause to breath and start all over again. I cannot really explain why I work so hard and gamble so much for a work that might yield subpar or no results at all other than that it is all for the love of the clay.

Exploration for my work starts in the nature that surrounds my outdoor garden wheel studio. It is from this setting that notes and ideas are gathered. These notes and ideas inform the development of an overall theme and thus the claybody to be used for the work that will be created. Being in the garden the heat, cold, day, night, rain, mosquitos, and wind all play a role in how I approach the process of making pots as I am placed in different frames of mind with each and adapt to what amount of work I can do that week which varies with the weather. Leaves and ashes along with sand have been used and are currently being used. Amongst the sounds of distant chatter, dogs barking, the song of the birds, or a neighbor’s cat passing through I find myself lost in my thoughts or work. The firing of the works occurs at the bussy kilns of the Armory Art Center where various methods of firing are implemented to fit a current requirement for the execution of the work. Some works are completed with a reduced atmosphere while others are done in a soda or Raku ( all cone ten). The work created by me is stoneware. Slips and glazes are the base for my body of work. As far as techniques go they include distorsion, dipping and brushing. A near future exploration would be to explore the usage of ashes along with slips and sea shells to bring out a bit more ruggedness from the clay making it shine. Thank you very much for taking your time to read this.

Xabier, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am Xabier Frank, a wheel potter who has been happily throwing his life away one pot at a time for a total of eight years and is based on Lake Worth Beach Florida. I make utilitarian ceramic pieces for the everyday use and for the display. There is much to be learned. This craft of pottery encompasses various areas of study from geology, chemistry, fire science, history, forming of the wares, networking and business management to name a few. All of which I am still learning a lot. The craft of a potter is a marathon. The preparation of materials, clay body along with the forming of the wares, firing and selling of the pieces are all major stages that require various hats to be worn and are regulated by the natural rhythm that evolve in the studio. These rhythms slowly got blended into my day to day and as I expanded my production I started to live a different lifestyle that required my attention from Sunday to Sunday, sunup to well beyond sundown.

The chores done to keep the studio running can be monotonous and tiresome but bring a smile to my face when I am able to use what I need later on. The Clay will dry and do its thing regardless of what goes on in your life; the bank is at your heels?, need to pay rent? you are sick?,There’s is a juried show coming up? Too bad I’ll dry as I need to not any faster or slower. Because of this natural impediment there is not really a set day for me as it all depends really on the clays schedule. In the morning it might be glazing wares, in the afternoon I might be trimming, and at night writing emails while the other pots dry out some more. It is because of this I will revolve my schedule around what the clay is doing. At any point things can go south and lead you to have to either backtrack and start again or adapt to what you got and embrace the chaos.

Some of the hurdles in this marathon are self-inflicted wounds that may show up much later in the process such as air bubbles, cracks while drying, defects with glaze, dust, over/ under firing, while others are more immediate such as getting knocked, squeezed to tightly and crumble with many many, many more things all of which keep me sleeping with an eye open. Because of this success is not always a guarantee which leads to some low points but when things go right and everything works out it really feels as if you have finished that marathon and can now take a pause to breath and start all over again. I cannot really explain why I work so hard and gamble so much for a work that might yield subpar or no results at all other than that it is all for the love of the clay.

Exploration for my work starts in the nature that surrounds my outdoor garden wheel studio. It is from this setting that notes and ideas are gathered. These notes and ideas inform the development of an overall theme and thus the claybody to be used for the work that will be created. Being in the garden the heat, cold, day, night, rain, mosquitos, and wind all play a role in how I approach the process of making pots as I am placed in different frames of mind with each and adapt to what amount of work I can do that week which varies with the weather. Leaves and ashes along with sand have been used and are currently being used. Amongst the sounds of distant chatter, dogs barking, the song of the birds, or a neighbor’s cat passing through I find myself lost in my thoughts or work. The firing of the works occurs at the bussy kilns of the Armory Art Center where various methods of firing are implemented to fit a current requirement for the execution of the work. Some works are completed with a reduced atmosphere while others are done in a soda or Raku ( all cone ten). The work created by me is stoneware. Slips and glazes are the base for my body of work. As far as techniques go they include distorsion, dipping and brushing. A near future exploration would be to explore the usage of ashes along with slips and sea shells to bring out a bit more ruggedness from the clay making it shine. Thank you very much for taking your time to read this.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When I hear from someone who acquired one of my pieces for themselves or for some one else and it made them happy when they received it. Also, when the kiln door is open and there has been no flaws in the final pieces.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

There are many way to support the creatives you enjoy. You may purchase their art, attend their shows, follow there journey through social media/website, send them encouragement among others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CeramicsbyFrank?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
• Instagram: ceramicsbyfrank

Image Credits
taken by Xabier Frank