Meet Stephanie Washburn | Ceramic Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Washburn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, what role has risk played in your life or career?
When most folks think about producing art, usually risk isn’t the first thing that pops in to mind. But for those who live a life that follows a creative path, we are all too familiar with the seemingly ever present feeling. Risk comes in many forms and can feel like a giant or as small as a lady bug depending on circumstance and consequence. Whatever the size, it’s always important to be willing to brave taking risks in order to grow.

In my under-grad experience as an art education major, I found myself less and less interested in our schools failing structure built on assessment and scarcity of resources and more curious about the one class I demanded stay in my schedule each semester- Ceramics. It got to a point where I dreaded heading in to a classroom at the end of the week to teach elementary art. It’s soul-ripping being fed the concept that you’re going to have to fight for class materials and even pay out of pocket for them, just to watch your lesson plan that took you hours to write be completed in fifteen minutes and half the class wants to throw it away on their way out the door to the next class.

One day, after much contemplation and the weighing of consequence, I decided to sit down with my academic advisor and discuss what credentials I needed to finish out my degree as a ceramic artist with a BFA and leave the education department behind. Thankfully, there were only a few courses needed to fill the missing requirements from the overlap of the two majors, and by the end of my junior year, I found myself taking the greatest risk I had yet.

At the time, I had no clue how I was going to monetize being a freelance artist, much less what that could look like, or how much it would cost in the long run. I just knew my soul was at more peace with the ambiguity of the future when I could show up every day and throw myself into something I truly loved.

Over the course of the next two years, I worked to explore the medium more intimately, learning the extremes you could take it to, and the parameters in which it functions best. I first started finding my voice as a ceramic artist when I started dabbling in the idea of combining two materials that once lived in harmony beneath the earth- quartz and clay. One of my cohorts in the jewelry department smuggled me a smattering of clear quartz points out of metal smithing class and I started to play with the incorporation during glaze firings, hoping that the silica in the glaze would bond with the crystal, causing it to fuse to the finished vessel. In this process, I received mixed results as well as mixed critique from my department chairs in our annual review. The quartz adhered in the process, however being changed by the extreme heat required to vitrify the glaze in a firing. The quartz endured a chemical change, causing it to turn from alpha quartz to beta quartz, leaving it shiny and auric but also brittle and easy to damage. My end result did not ultimately reflect what I wanted to accomplish, but it was at least an informative exploration. My department head encouraged me to set the quartz aside and focus on a body of work that took less risk and leaned more into traditional form with sculptural elements.

A short time after graduating with my BFA, I found myself in a position with access to a studio once more. With a little more experience and understanding under my belt, I decided to revisit my dream of combining crystals and clay. This time, being unbridled by scholastic parameters, I experimented with adding the stones post-firing, instead of trying to defy science and nature, and thus, my best-selling product was born.

It’s always an amazing feeling when following your gut and taking risk leads to serendipitous results. It’s a built-in navigatory system we have within us all that almost acts as a scale. How does the risk weigh out, depending what’s on the other side of the scale? It’s a diplomatic decision we make, often times affecting others when we choose to lean into risk, but it would be the greatest disservice to ourselves if we never allow ourselves out of our comfort zone or traditional structures to explore them.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I create ceramics with the intention to elevate your personal routines and rituals and enhance the atmosphere of your home, making it as unique as you are. Most of my work incorporates crystals or coral, 22kt gold lusters, and vibrant, flowing glazes. I source a lot of my inspiration from the coastal environment around me, astronomic cycles, and dreamscape imagery. I have a brick and mortar studio storefront in the Cargo District of Wilmington, North Carolina where you can shop handmade magic, see art in process, and participate in workshops and events.

I have been a full time ceramic artist for two years, and a business owner for six. In total, I’ve worked in the ceramic medium for eleven years. Navigating the medium is definitely a humbling and meditative experience. You become very familiar with detachment and loss throughout the growth of skill and practicing of forms. Ceramics is a beautiful medium, though, because unlike most mediums, the clay can be recycled if it is compromised in the earlier phases of production.

Growing Celestial Surf Studio into a full time job has not been easy. Over the years, I established myself as a business around my work schedule waiting tables. It wasn’t until 2020 when we went into lock down that I was able to go full time as a potter. Thankfully, I had built a beautiful online audience and e-commerce system that had a graceful flow transitioning from doing markets and pop-up events to exclusively selling online during the heat of the pandemic. I am so grateful that I was able to and continue to sustain myself through this medium outside of serving tables. Thats not to say there aren’t difficulties living as an artist. The unpredictable flow of income, and unknown receptivity of new ideas and product launches is always scary, but knowing how to source stable income through workshops and wholesale orders helps bring balance in navigating the landscape of freelancing.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My close friend, Elizabeth Simpson was the one who encouraged my experimentation with crystals and provided the lot from metal smithing for me. Her support over the years has been invaluable, believing in my visions before they took form and functioned successfully.

My photography + drawing professor Jan Downs, has been surprisingly supportive post-grad, recognizing my growth and supporting my business. It’s very affirming, because I’ve always held so much respect and admiration for her as a fellow artist and person in general.

Website: Celestialsurfstudio.com

Instagram: @celestial.surf.studio

Facebook: Facebook.com/celestialsurfstudio

Other: Three of Cups Clubhouse 1901 Kent St. Wilmington, NC

Image Credits
The first three photos: Garion Worldslayer The fourth photo: Billy Logan the rest are taken by me