Winter Issue — #1
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 “Spotlight Q&A” — Ezequiel Morales Ezequiel Morales is a Calgary potter. He creates a wide variety of pottery such as tea pots, bowls, jugs, mugs and platters. Ezequiel divides his time between a “paying” job and creating his pottery, which he sells from his home and in several stores in the Calgary region. You can view his work at www.members.shaw.ca/ezpottery as well as see some of it on our website.
Heather Yuen of A&CNet recently spoke with Ezequiel in his Calgary home.HY: Tell me about your start in pottery. EM: I was born in Dolores Hildago, Guanajuato, Mexico, where almost everyone was involved in some aspect of making local ceramics. My father worked at a shop and was the “glazing specialist”. In those days, each person in the shop specialized in some aspect of the potting process. The master-apprentice system was in use. After finishing secondary school, I worked for about 1 year in one of the local shops. My entry-level job was buffing pieces prior to someone else glazing the piece. I didn’t enjoy the “factory” approach for creating pottery. I left to pursue my education, ending up in Canada and the US. While pursuing post-doctorate work, I noticed an exhibition of pottery at a local art center and 30 years after my last experience with potting, I signed up for pottery lessons. Debbie, who is now my wife, gave me a set of pottery tools for Christmas that year. HY: What do you enjoy most about potting? EM: I really enjoy the “throwing” process, the feel of working with fresh clay, shaping it to create something from a mound of clay, the idea that the mound of clay can become almost anything. HY: What would you change about being a “creative person” EM: I’m not sure I can change anything about it… It sometimes feels like a devil inside me that I can’t control… Instead it controls me. I think that to a certain degree that is the creative process, which happens without any preconceived direction otherwise art would be predictable. At the same time I must say that once finding an interesting line of exploration, the process takes direction until something new and exciting appears and motivates you to follow that new direction and so on. HY: How do you balance “working for a living” with doing your art, your craft? EM: It is a hard thing to do because most jobs don’t “balance”… they demand first priority, leaving your art or craft to second place. I work on a part time basis to try to create some form of balance toward my craft with the goal of becoming a full time artist. HY: Do you ever experience burnout? How do you handle it? EM: Yes. I find that if I’m struggling with something, I need to STOP rather than keeping going… often people try to work through it but end up making the same mistake over and over; just practicing does not always make the master. For me, it works to STOP, THINK, and CHANGE something… the kind of clay, the shape of the pots, the glazing or the firing process. If someone is really struggling, it’s good to even try a different craft. HY: How did you get started selling your work? Where? How did you know “where”? EM: I would have liked to have had a plan or list of steps but I didn’t have one. So I just did it… I went to a few places that I knew sold pottery and asked if they would sell my work. Looking back I realize it was not the best technique. In my favour I must say I did not try to sell my very first pieces in a store. I waited until I honestly thought my work was good enough which was after a few sales at my home when people started asking me where else I was selling my work. HY: How do you decide how to price your work? EM: I check the prices of others’ work that I think is comparable to mine and price my work accordingly. Labour and materials involved also affects the price since in general it is harder and more expensive to work with porcelain than with stoneware, to give an example. Also the public demand of your product tells you if your pricing is right or need adjustments. HY: Who is the market for your work? How do you reach them?EM: I think there are 2 branches of pottery… the functional and the decorative. Calgary is large enough so there is a market for both types of work. I try to market to both groups by making both types of pieces, that is making functional pots such as casseroles or coffee mugs as well as a vase fired in the Raku style.
HY: Do you have any formal marketing plans? EM: Not really, up to now my plans have been a bit empirical, I try to expand to more stores as my production increases. However, I try to learn from other potters and from information in magazines and I’m thinking of joining some of the provincial and national organizations that provide that kind of help. HY: What, in terms of business insight, have you learned to do or not to do over the years? EM: There are two things that feed each other. One is the need to learn a fair bit about the marketing and the other is the never-ending process of learning. There is always something new you can learn at workshops, reading books, talking with colleagues. That in return gives you confidence at the time of marketing your product. HY: How do you decide which art/craft events to participate in? EM: I like to have my work on consignment at places rather than at a show where I must be in attendance all day… I find it very stressful to be at the shows. However, I do attend them occasionally because it is a good opportunity to talk to customers. HY: I know you have a website. Has your site affected your business? In what ways (good and bad)? EM: It’s been very good… it has definitely affected business and I can’t think of any bad side to it. It offers exposure of my work without being too invasive to my customers or friends, people can look at my work and decide if they like it, and if they do, they can contact me either to buy or to comment on my work. It gives me excellent feedback on what I do. HY: How did you decide to pursue your own studio, and how has it affected your work? EM: Although it’s good to be involved with a group with the same interests and passion, I believe a good part of the creative process happens alone. That’s why I decided to set up my own studio. With it, comes the possibility to put hands to work on my ideas whenever I want. In that way my skills are evolving from merely practicing, to exploring other forms, glazes etc. HY: Are there any drawbacks? EM: You might lose a little of the interaction with others but it’s a small price in comparison to the benefits. HY: What was involved in setting up the studio, both financially and logistically? EM: It’s a big job in some ways. Although a pottery studio can be as simple as having the essential potter’s wheel and a table, sooner or later you want to streamline some of the work involved so you want more equipment and more room. A pottery studio can be as expensive as you can imagine. Whenever possible, it is good to think of a studio that can expand. I have a strong preference for salt and wood firing, but building such “smoky” kilns in an urban setting has several problems. So, my studio was designed to be able to expand to produce ceramics fired in an electric kiln and in the near future in a gas kiln. HY: Do you belong to any professional art or craft organizations? EM: Not right now. Joining these organizations may open new venues for selling my work but I’ve held off for now. HY: Can you offer any advice or tips to artists/crafters who are aspiring to sell their work? EM: The only advice is the one I try to follow and that is to improve the quality of your work first rather than start to sell too soon. In this way your work speaks for itself and will make a good name for you. Editorial Comments:
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