Julia Thiel

Ceramics has been a throughline in my life for more than twenty years. In college I took classes with an incredible teacher, and I’ve been making pottery ever since. After college I was part of a studio in Santiago, Chile, for a couple years, and since 2007 I’ve have been living and working in Chicago.

Part of what draws me to pottery is the ever-evolving process (also, playing with clay is fun). I’ve been pulling handles on mugs since I made the very first one in 2002, but each iteration is a little different, and over time my process has changed. In my ongoing experiments with form and surface decoration, when I get a result I like, the next time I’ll tweak the technique a bit. As a result, my work is always changing in subtle ways.

Creating functional art is important to me; I love using the pieces I make and knowing that the ones that are out in the world are being used by other people. In addition to the connections ceramics has given me to teachers and others I’ve met through doing pottery over the years, it’s also created connections between me and anyone who’s using my pieces—whether or not we’ve even met.

In all my work, I’m drawn to fluid, organic forms and simple lines. Experimenting is my favorite part of the process—which sometimes leads to failure, but can just as easily become a new discovery.