Q&A:

1. Please introduce yourself!

Hi there, I’m Jenny Flack. I’m a closet creative with a day job as a fractional Chief Revenue Officer. My work in business strategy, go-to-market execution, and executive operations for tech and nonprofit companies keeps me busy by day. My husband, my fluffy dog, and my energetic daughters–ages 8 and 6–keep me busy the rest of the time.

I was first introduced to pottery about 20 years ago, when I took a single class in college. I loved it, but never found my way back to it. Then, about 6 months ago, my husband gifted me a 6-week beginner’s wheel course at NAPS. The practice and the studio space totally captivated me. I haven’t stopped coming back since.

A smattering of wares

2. Your clay story: when and how did you first get into pottery? Can you remember your first pottery experience? Do you have any first memories that stick out?

When I was first introduced to wheel throwing in college, the thing I cherished the most was my keycard to the studio on campus. Any hour of day or night, I could access the wheel. I favored going late at night when no one else was around: I would pop a CD on my Diskman (haha) or simply create in complete silence with only the rhythmic whir of the wheel as company. It felt like such a grounded haven of stillness in contrast to my busy campus life and hefty class load. During my studio sessions, all 5 senses were engaged through the coolness of the clay, the damp smell of earth, the sight of graceful form and the sound of the wheel. (Ok, that’s 4 senses. I can’t say I ever tasted the clay.)

I didn’t leave the class having made many functional pieces at all, but the feeling of rightness I got when working with my hands in that way stayed with me.

3. What forms do you make most, and what’s your style or go-to techniques/materials?

I live for classic-with-a-twist: rustic, neutral-with-a-spash-of-bold, super textured, highly tactile. So, for example, you won’t see many classic shiny glazed, handled mugs coming from me; instead you’ll find a handleless mug with a speckled clay body where the grit is seeable and feelable. You’ll see travel tumblers with a half-top to take your coffee game on the road, or you’ll see a “finger handle”–a horizontal ledge that slides between your fingers for a little extra cozy hold within your cupped hand. You’ll find pitchers with the handle attached inside for a little twist on the typical. You’ll find mostly thrown pieces, with handbuilt flourishes to keep things original, functional, and distinct.

4. What appeals to you about clay and what lessons has it taught you?

When I’m at my best, there’s something about throwing that feels almost sacred. Its lessons are tactile, kinetic, embodied.

As a teacher, clay is both generous and uncompromising. Throwing is a technical craft involving a delicate dance with physics. Work against these natural laws and your piece will wobble, collapse, or fly across the room. Learn to work with them, and you can make something of purpose and beauty. The parallels to life are rich and undeniable.

As the potter’s wheel spins, centering is the first and most critical skill required to turn a lump of mud into the piece you envisioned. The larger or faster you go, the more critical it is that the clay is centered.

Centering cannot be taught purely academically; it is primarily kinetic. You must do it, feel it, fail, and try again until, slowly, your body learns what alignment feels like. Once it does, it holds onto that awareness, ever honing it with practice. It is the body that learns, knows, and remembers how to center.

To me, the pieces I create are symbols of the ongoing practice of centeredness; an acknowledgement of both the limitlessness and limitations of humanness; and a celebration of the remarkable everyday beauty that can materialize in the dance.

Emmylou

5. How did you find Not Another Pottery Studio? Do you have any special moments, or favorite memories with other members / students?

I didn’t realize a studio had opened near my home until my husband gifted me the beginner course about 6 months after NAPS had opened. After that, word go out–so I’m grateful he jumped on it when he did. 🙂

There’s an authenticity at NAPS that is so welcoming. As a beginner, I felt like I could ask my (many) questions to genuinely invested and helpful staff who wanted to see me develop and succeed. Other, more seasoned members were also encouraging and enthusiastic as my pieces began to grow in size and complexity.

Being in the studio space is a joy. It is totally normal to pop in ear buds and retreat into your own bubble of creative output. It is also normal to ask for input, learn from a fellow member, or just catch up with others in the studio. The community of makers NAPS has attracted are genuine and generous. Staff and ownership do a lot behind the scenes to maintain this tone and model a community of respect for the space and its members & students.

In my happy place

6. What advice would you give to someone starting out in pottery?

There are two ways to approach wheel throwing: Hellbent on making a certain form, or hellbent on learning the mechanics.

You’ll get to mastery of form much faster if you give yourself over to mastery of the mechanics first.

You’ll make many things you like and many things you don’t like. Try not to get too attached to successes or failures early on. Seeing each piece as an experiment with something to teach you–about centering, pulling, shaping, drying, trimming, glazing, tools, process–that will be your most efficient path to mastery.