Life & Work with Jenn Weede of Carbondale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenn Weede

Hi Jenn, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Many years ago, when I stepped into Taos Pueblo, another world opened. One man sat like a saint in his own glow, throwing earth into vessels of ancient wisdom that you didn’t see; you felt. I was transfixed. I took up clay in Boulder, then built a strawbale studio in Crestone where I played with clay and sold it at galleries, boutiques and studio tours. Life detoured away from clay when I returned to Boulder. But the passion smoldered. When I found the spark again, it became a conflagration that I built my life around, largely because physical disabilities prevented me from doing many of the outdoor activities I used to love. Now based along the Crystal River Valley of Carbondale, Colorado, I create sculptural and functional pottery for the mountain modern lifestyle—which is simply connecting with what is real, authentic and naturally beautiful. I want people who encounter my work to feel that same connection to earth and the spirit world that the Taos potter showed me.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life requires a Land Rover. Not the sexy new ones. The muddy rusted vintage models used in the African bush. The ones that traverse asperous terrain, break down amid thieves and thunderstorms and offer up a puff adder when you pop the hood to fix it. That’s largely because when I left my job as a fashion editor in New York City and moved to Colorado, I stepped squarely off all paths and started bushwhacking. My partner and I moved to a tiny town in southern Colorado to live sustainably, including designing and building our own solar strawbale home from natural and recycled materials, growing our vegetables at the local community supported agriculture co-op, hunting for and processing our meat, chopping our own firewood, and many other lifestyle choices that were idealistic, and hard. The first blow to my ceramics ambitions was that I had planned to study with a master potter when we moved to Crestone. By the time we got there, she stopped taking any new students, so I was left to figure everything out for myself in a town with no other resources—before the internet had access to information, classes, groups that it now does. It really was the school of hard knocks, and my progress was slow because of lack of access to instruction and information. The benefit was learning to trust my instincts in the clay process. That, coupled with little formal instruction, gives me a freedom in clay that I wouldn’t otherwise have. My husband almost died from a rare virus, my health deteriorated significantly to the point I could no longer do my job, the economy tanked and our creative industry jobs went with it, moving aging parents out of their home, con-man contractors…There were so many obstacles, but as I lost the ability to work, ski, snowboard, rock climb, mountain bike, surf, trail run and do many of the activities I once loved, clay offered me a respite from my failing body. Then life yanked the rug out entirely and I ended up back in Boulder with no access to a ceramics studio for 10 years for various reasons. When I finally found a studio, it was like plugging back into my life force. When we decided to move to the mountains, a ceramics studio was essential. It took us nearly a year to find a house. Then, despite having 1.5 acres of land, once we had bought it, we learned we could not build a studio on the property. So, for two more years my studio equipment sat in storage. Once I found a studio space to rent, it took 8 months to clean, organize and set it up into a working space. Everything needed to be moved, cleaned, replaced, repaired, or installed. Less than two months after I finally had my studio up and working, COVID-19 shut down schools and I was a full-time homeschooling parent. What can I say? Now I just pop the hood and greet the puff adder pleasantly with a cup of tea, and appreciate every single moment I get in my studio.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Fireweed is a tall, showy wildflower that thrives in the sun, open meadows, streams and forest edges. It is tolerant of various growing conditions. It grows vigorously. The first wildflower that dares to grow where fires have ravaged all else, it is known for creating beauty in disturbed places. As a flower essence, fireweed brings balance. Fireweed is a lot like me. Clay is my meditation, my inner balance. Hand-crafted in the Crystal River Valley of Carbondale, Colorado, right on the river, backing the mountains, my modern ceramics explores creating beauty, growth, tolerance, courage, nature and how to restore harmony to disturbed places. Sometimes I tackle social justice issues, like my Black + White: Conversations collection. Sometimes I make custom commissions inspired by something personal for the client, such as river-inspired dinnerware for former rafting guides. Always I make with the intention to connect spirit and earth in something tangible, something that is everyday art that carries a quality of something more in it. An ever-so-subtle reminder of being connected to something more. I don’t think I’d use the word pride to describe my work. I take more pride in teaching ceramics at the local clay center to kids and people who might not otherwise access ceramic art. I’m perhaps most proud of writing a nomination for a Colorado Businesses for the Arts award that won a grant for the Carbondale Clay Center to continue more outreach and integrative programs this year. That felt really goods because I know the staff there works hard, and they went so far above and beyond withe COVID-19 challenges this year.

What does success mean to you?
“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.” ~ David Orr

Pricing:

• $15-350

Contact Info:

• Email: jenn@thefireweedstudio.com
• Website: www.thefireweedstudio.com
• Instagram: fireweedstudio.jennweede
• Facebook: Jenn Weede

Image Credits
None needed