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Last Updated on 02-27-11
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About Common Ground Pottery
My name is Eric E. Olson, and I love to work with clay. In 1994, I owned a greenhouse business, growing gourmet bibb lettuce and sweet basil. That February, several weeks before the planting season, I signed up for an Introduction to Wheel Pottery class, held at the Craftshop at the student union, on the campus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The first night of class I was able to throw a respectable pot, and was immediately hooked on the versatility and feel of the clay. The class lasted 5 weeks, during which time I was able to be in the Craftshop studio, practicing 6 or 7 days a week for hours at a time. These hours of practice, combined with a strong desire to learn as much about clay as possible, and a willingness to push the clay to its limits, allowed me to progress at a rapid rate, and soon I started to make pots that were worth keeping. After taking an additional advanced throwing class at Lakeside Pottery in Madison, and setting up a barebones studio in a spare bedroom in my house, I decided that I would sell the greenhouse business, and go into pottery-making full time. Common Ground Pottery was born. I started entering juried art fairs in Wisconsin and surrounding states, and was soon attending 15 to 20 quality art fairs every year. Early on, while viewing the slides at an open jury selection for one fair, I noticed that my pottery was the only entry that didn’t have any kind of surface decoration on the pots. I had nice dipped glazes, but nothing to really make my pots stand out among the many entries. The Designs Wanting to create pottery that was special among other pots, I started to experiment with resists, and quickly found that I could leave areas of bare clay designs on the surfaces of the pots in the middle of the glazes. After making a dozen or so pots using this technique, I found that if I was able to make the resist lines narrow, I could get the glazes close together, and make striking, multi-colored designs. Early on there were many failed attempts, as I found that I needed to layer the glazes on the pots, to the right thickness. Too thin, and I would not get good color. Too thick, and the glaze would run over a design during the firing, wiping out hours of work. As more glazes were added to the palette, the designs became increasingly intricate. The aesthetically pleasing forms were also being developed at the same time, and the combination started to win awards, and attract collectors at the art shows I attended. Early in my clay career I threw every form I could possibly throw, and tried them all out. Everything from casseroles to teapots. Eventually, I settled on the vase form. It is a timeless shape that is very versatile. It can be rustic or elegant, functional or decorative, large or small. Recent Developments I recently relocated my studio to Vero Beach, Florida. I am very excited about making pottery in this new environment. I have also switched from gas reduction firing to electric. This change will allow me to make even more striking designs as my color palette has expanded from about 30 glazes to over 200. The design possibilities are endless. I am very pleased to be offering this pottery for your consideration. Eric E. Olson Common Ground Pottery
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