Interview: Martha Sink on making pots

Inspire • Create • Serve

Interviewed by Moristotle

I became acquainted with Martha Sink in her role as a librarian with Alamance County Libraries. Questions would arise when I tried to use the libraries’ website, and I was directed to Martha as the person who could answer them for me. Indeed she could, and she was also quick to act on suggestions I made for improving the website. My wife and I even made a special trip to the libraries’ main location so we could meet her.
    When I emailed her recently just to say hi, she told me that her 37 years as an employee of the Alamance County Libraries system had been “a long time” and she had “a new career lined up and underway.” She said that she “figured that when [she] was more interested in throwing pots than coming to work, [she]’d know it was time to retire!”
    I told her I thought my readers would like to hear about her plans, and she agreed to do an interview. My questions are in italics.
    Photographs of some of her creations are interspersed throughout the questions and answers.

Martha, I understand that you took a pottery class around 2015. What inspired you to do that? Did pottery win out over something else you considered taking up?
    I actually took my first pottery class a LONG time ago, maybe 1990 or 1991. I would like to say it was wonderful and it changed my life, but it wasn’t and it didn’t. It wasn’t a very good class and I really didn’t learn a lot, but it planted the seed that would sprout much later in life. Fast forward to 2014…I found myself with the time and the means to start looking at life after raising children and possibly retiring from a very fulfilling career as a librarian. I wanted to make a gift for a friend and had been toying with the idea of trying out pottery again. So I gave it a go and after about 3 or 4 classes finally came up with a worthy gift and a new artistic passion.

You began selling your pottery before even one year had passed after those classes. Starting to sell one’s creations so soon after learning a craft seems unusual to me. How did you manage it?
    That’s an interesting story and you are so correct that it was very soon into the process to start selling. I tend to learn best by producing a lot of work. So after a year of learning, I had a lot of pieces on hand and was beginning to think about the possibility of selling some of them. At the same time, a small consignment boutique opened up in Burlington, very close to the main branch of the library. I met the owner, she loved my work, and I began selling through her shop. In retrospect, it may have been too soon to start selling, but it gave me the confidence to purchase equipment, set up my home studio, and look at it as a viable business pursuit.

You formed a company to do business as “Inspired Artifacts.” Your website isn’t up yet, but I gather from a statement on your business Facebook page that “inspiration” is core to your philosophy or vision: “Inspire” is the first of three words in what I take is your company motto? “Inspire • Create • Serve.”
    Because the consignment opportunity came up so quickly, I had to come up with the business end of things very quickly as well. I have a friend who is experienced in marketing who helped me with some of those elements. We brainstormed the broad concepts of my life and my art and what elements were most important to me, and then we put together the business name and core values.

Your vision statement speaks of your “life-long passions of art, spirituality and charity.” Do “inspiration” and “inspire” derive from your interest in spirituality? What is spirituality for you?
    Yes, inspiration and spirituality are definitely connected. The “Inspire” part of the catch-phrase, or motto, is two-fold in that I receive the inspiration to create from the creative forces that exist all around us. But I also have the desire that WHAT I create, the end product, will also provide inspiration to those who collect it. The creative forces can be God, energy, The Force, or anything else that one believes. For me, spirituality is that part of our human selves that connects us to everything else in the universe, including the creator/creative force. And I believe that it permeates everything we are and everything we do.

Tell us about “life-long.” Can you remember the earliest manifestations of art in your life?
    That’s an easy one! It would be hard to pinpoint the earliest manifestations, but I have memories from the time that I was 2 or 3 years old and vividly recall the joy of a new box of crayons or paints, and how my very favorite “toys” were Play-doh, Silly Putty, and modeling clay, anything I could squeeze in my hands and mold into something new. I took oil painting classes when I was in the 4th grade and have always – as a child, a teen, and an adult – been involved in creative pursuits, everything from drawing & painting to stained glass, origami, needlework, and more. It is an essential part of who I am.

And at what point did your passion for spirituality arise? Has the passion followed a straight line, or have their been arcs?
    My father was a Lutheran minister, though – despite his profession – we weren’t an overly religious family. But I believe that the greater than average exposure to organized religion set the stage for an interest in both religion and spirituality. To say there have been arcs is a gross understatement! I’ve been relatively consistent throughout my life in my religious practice, but my underlying beliefs – my spirituality – have changed enormously over the years. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more and more interested in the variety of spiritual experiences of people and in exploring my own beliefs, practices, and manifestations. My art is an integral part of that exploration.

What influenced you to be  p a s s i o n a t e  about art & spirituality? Did each have its own separate influence?
    Both of my parents were extremely creative people, something I don’t think I recognized until I began to seriously pursue my pottery business. So between the creative and the religious/spiritual forces surrounding my childhood, I don’t think I could have possibly ended up any other way. While each influence was separate to an extent, they were also inseparably intertwined.

Your third listed life-long passion is to serve. I myself was particularly moved by your vision statement’s mention of your commitment “to helping those less fortunate” and volunteering for “feeding the hungry” and supporting the charitable activities of churches, including CROP Hunger Walks. [“CROP” is an acronym for “Christian Rural Overseas Program.”] When did your charity work begin?
    As a child, I always felt I was very fortunate in where and how I lived. Through the church, I was exposed to people living in less fortunate circumstances, and so, by the time I was a teenager, I knew that whatever career I chose, it had to be something that helped others. I spent two years as an education major, then made a change and ended up with an undergraduate degree in Sociology, planning for a career in social work. But life took me down a different path and I ended up with a degree in Library Science, which proved to be another way of serving others. I’ve always tried to be a generous giver and volunteer. Once it became apparent that I could actually make and sell pottery, I knew I wanted to give a portion of the income to specific causes. Because pottery is frequently associated with food and food preparation (bowls, mugs, pitchers, plates, etc.), I thought that focusing on hunger related organizations and charities would be appropriate. Honestly, it has never occurred to me to do anything other than be of service to others.

“Inspired Artifacts” is a catchy name. Both “inspired” and “artifacts” grab a person’s attention. I even looked up “artifact” to check its definition, since it is so unusual as part of a business name. But the definition hits the bullseye: an artifact is “an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.” Does the “typically” part of that definition apply in your case? How?
    Again, I had to come up with a business and a name for it in a really short amount of time. My marketing friend also helped out with the naming part. Early on, I made a few necklaces or medallions. To decorate them, I used some stamps I already had and a technique that left the pieces somewhat rough and “old” looking. Someone had commented that they looked like artifacts, or something you’d find on an archaeological dig. “Artifact” resonated, and then “Inspired” just fit perfectly to describe what I was doing. Pottery lasts a long time. Early pieces have been found that are around 20,000 years old. So yes, I hope that some of my work might be of historical interest many years into the future!

One sentence in your vision statement calls out for elucidation: “Creating art is a magical and spiritual practice.” “Magic”?
    Sure! I start with dirt. Plain old ordinary dirt – with a few added chemicals and elements. I play with it, throw it around, smash it, form it, decorate it, and cook it at a very high temperature. Then I take some more dirt (well, mostly sand and other chemicals) and paint all over the cooked dirt with it. And I cook it some more at an even higher temperature. And out of the fire (figuratively) comes a beautifully colored bowl, or a vase, or a cup. That’s magic!

You display a keen sense of business acumen, it seems to me. Your Facebook page indicates participation in numerous expositions or events to display your wares. How far from home have you traveled for this?
    Ha ha! I’ve always said I am the worst business person in the world, having never had an ounce of interest in business of any kind until I started doing this! So far, mostly because I still work full time, I’ve limited my events to those that are local. Traveling to more shows farther away is on my retirement “to-do” list.

So, I guess you don’t have any stories of striking occurrences on any of your travels?
    Loads of stories, but none are related to the pottery business! In 2016, my sister and I took our daughters on a cross-country road trip. I blogged about it at The Epic Adventure, if anyone is interested.

I just checked out a couple of entries about that road trip. Your friend JKS’s comment of July 11, 2016 is so funny! Well, I can say  I ’ m  interested!... Anyway, Is there a strong demand for artistic and functional pottery? How profitable do you anticipate your business to be? Not that profit is necessarily a big part of your business plan.
    There are people in this world who LOVE pottery. REALLY love it. They tell me this all the time at shows. So thank goodness for all those folks who LOVE it and want to buy and collect it! I made money (slightly more income than expenses) last year selling my work, which made my accountant happy. But…I have a full-time job and will be okay financially when I retire, so it doesn’t matter in that respect whether it makes any money. As long as I make enough money to buy more clay, I’m a happy girl. But, because of my desire to give to others, I hope to make as much money as possible! I remind myself that the more pots I make, the more I can sell and therefore, the more I can give to others. (Make more. Sell more. Give more. – hmm, that might be my new catch-phrase!)

Well, Martha, I have to ask, since I know next to nothing about making pottery. How do you do it? Take as long as you want to answer; I’m fascinated and won’t go away.
    Choose a clay. There are many different colors and types of clay. I use 5 different clays: 2 white clays, a brown clay with specks in it, a red clay, and a dark, chocolate-brown clay.

    I mostly make pots on my electric pottery wheel. I make pieces using anywhere from 1-5 lbs. of clay at a time. I place the clay on the wheel, and as it spins, I center it so that the piece will be even and symmetrical. Once centered, I open up the center of the clay and then slowly pull the clay up to form the sides of the pot. I make bowls, mugs, vases, pots with lids, candle holders, cups, earring holders, and other vessels using the wheel. It takes me 5-20 minutes to make a piece of pottery on the wheel, depending on the size and shape of the piece.
    Sometimes I roll out slabs of clay and either cut out shapes for ornaments, wall hangings, and necklace medallions, or to lay over a form to create a plate, bowl, dish, or tray. This process may take up to 30 minutes to roll, place, and form each piece.
    Once a piece is made, I set it aside to dry. This can take anywhere from a couple of hours in front of a fan to several days or weeks. If drying will take longer than a few hours, I place the piece on a wooden board and cover it with plastic to keep it from drying out too much.

    Once a piece is dried to a “leather hard” stage, I trim it, usually back on the wheel, to remove any excess clay, remove clay from heavier areas, create a foot ring if desired, and add décor such as carved lines or rings. I also do a lot of surface decoration on my pieces at this point. I have carved stamps of my own design that I use to add texture and interest to the pieces. I even use leaves that I find in my yard to press into the clay and create interesting designs. I also use a variety of tools to carve designs and images directly into a piece. Trimming takes about 5-10 minutes per piece, and decorating with stamps or carving can take from 10-30 minutes each.
    The next step is waiting. All of the newly created, trimmed, and decorated pieces have to dry completely to what we call the “bone dry” stage. Moisture in the clay, even deep within a piece, can cause the piece to explode when being fired. Drying completely usually takes at least a week, and possibly several weeks for very large, thick pieces.
    Once the pieces are bone dry, they go in the kiln for the first firing, called a bisque firing. The pieces are somewhat fragile at this point, so they have to be loaded carefully, but they can be stacked together to get more pieces into the kiln. I have a small electric kiln that I use to bisque my pieces to around 1,950 degrees F. It takes about 11 hours to reach this temperature and another 12-18 hours to cool down enough to remove the pieces from the kiln. Loading and unloading can take from 30-60 minutes.

    The bisqued pieces are now ready to glaze! I mostly use commercially prepared glazes, and I usually brush or paint them on. I may also do some additional surface treatment on the pieces, such as using wax resist or stickers to create places where the raw clay will show through. I also frequently use multiple glazes on my work, either creating a painting-like image, or a variety of color combinations that might run or drip on the piece in interesting or unusual ways. Glazing each piece takes around 30-45 minutes each.
    Once enough pieces are glazed to fill the kiln, it is loaded up. This time the pieces cannot touch each other, so filling the kiln in the most efficient way becomes a challenge, not unlike putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I usually fire my glazed pieces to just over 2,200 degrees F. It takes just over 13 hours to reach this temperature and at least 18 hours to cool enough to open the kiln and remove the pieces. If the kiln is opened too soon, the extreme drop in temperature can cause the pieces to crack or break.
    Opening a glaze kiln is exciting and scary! It can be a wonderful surprise if everything turns out as expected, but a huge disappointment is something went wrong – and there are a LOT of things that can go wrong.
    Once the glaze firing is done, the pieces have to be photographed and information entered into my various inventory systems. I try to post a sample on FaceBook and InstaGram and will have my complete inventory available once my website is up.

Gosh! Before you answered  t h a t  question, I didn’t know what “fascinated” meant! Now I am utterly amazed! Thank you so much, Martha! I just  h a v e  t o  s e e  (and touch and hold) some of your artifacts. Where can I do this?
    I have 3 shows confirmed so far for the fall:

• Burlington Carousel Festival Sept. 21 & 22
• Alamance Artisans Guild’s Oct. 26 & 27 Art Extravaganza
• Alamance Service League Holly Days Bazaar Nov. 22 & 23

    I also have an application in for the Alamance Pride Festival on Oct. 5, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet. And I’m hoping to add one or two additional shows to the fall schedule. I’m hard at work making new pieces so I will have sufficient inventory for what I hope will be great shows this fall.
    I currently have a few pieces (mostly older work) at two stores locally:

• The Glass Angel in Burlington
• Two Krafty in Graham

    And people can always contact me through Facebook, where they can find my email address and my phone number, for a call or a text.

Copyright © 2019 by Martha Sink & Moristotle