Life & Work with Erin Pattullo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Pattullo.

Erin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I originally went to RMCAD for photography, switched my major to painting, and by the first semester of my second year found my self spending a lot of time in the ceramics department. At the time I was hungry for a space to call my own, to be alone and think, there was a big push for conceptual art at the school during those years. I found myself just wanting to make functional, well-designed pieces for people’s homes. I didn’t have any desire to see my work in galleries and, at the same time, was falling in love with the mundane parts of the craft. I began to look for studio space in the area, with no money and not really anything to show for. I met with a friend who told me she knew of someone staring at a coffee shop in Aurora that had some extra space in the back. I went over to Jubilee Roasters (in Aurora) that next week and met Peter (the owner) who was down for the idea of a ceramics studio but couldn’t fund the idea, and either could I. There was a month left in the semester, and I just put the idea on the back burner. A few days before the semester was up, I got a call from Peter telling me that a guy Walt Wiegnburg a traditional American potter, wanted to move two kilns and three wheels in and pay for the electrical. I quit school and moved in the following week. I have been at Jubilee Roasters for almost five years now.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Choosing a creative life isn’t as much like being on a road as it is like trekking through the woods. The first three years, I struggled to make rent, to understand what I wanted my work to look like, to price my work with workaholism. There was once in my second year when I had $35 in my account. I wanted to quit so bad. I used it to buy a bag of clay because I knew if I could make something, I could sell it and making it always makes me feel a little better anyway. I learned to photograph my work, build a website, do social media, meet new clients, sell my work, be a kiln technician, along with so many nuances of running a little business. At the same time, learning a craft, breaking a lot of work, making so many mistakes, doing a lot of work I didn’t like and spending an incredible amount of time in the studio. In my 4th year, I destroyed the muscles along with my thumb joint in my right hand and wasn’t able to use my right hand for four months. During that time, I set boundaries for the amount of time in the studio and how much I would work in general, reevaluated what I wanted to be making and who I wanted to work with and understood what it means to honor my body and live the kind of life I want to lead. Now I only want to quit when I lie to myself or don’t honor my boundaries. I l choose to make, and struggle has been my companion.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
Right now, I do functional work for people’s homes, dinner sets, mugs, butter dishes, spoon rests, that sort of thing. I am probably most known for the mugs I make. Mugs have always been the most interesting pieces to me because they happen to be one of the first things that someone interacts with within the morning. I want people to know they are connected to another first thing in the morning. I want people to hold a well-designed mug, to know someone else took the time to make something. There is something humbling about knowing that some of my energy, time, breath is sitting in someone’s cabinet or on their table, somewhere in the chaos or quiet. I’m not as interested in what sets me apart from others.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Get a good camera, take pictures of your work where you want to see it and how you want to see it. It’s important that you see, really see your work too. There are a million things I wish I would have known, but probably one of the more important. Be more interested in your work than other people are.

Contact Info:

• Email: mortarandstone.ceramics@gmail.com
• Website: mortarandstone.co
• Instagram: mortar_and_stone

Image Credits
Mber