In Conversation with Jeff Vick: Of Mud & Blood
Jeff Vick and Katie Davis combined the talents of ceramic and tattoo artists to make the show ‘Of Mud & Blood’. Jeff is the Clay Studio Manager at VisArts with an MFA from VCUarts in Craft + Material Studies and a history of teaching wheel throwing for over a decade. Both owners of Hand / Thrown have worked with and learned from Jeff. We were so thrilled to hear about his most recent collaborative exhibition. Read below for more details about the process of making this show happen and make sure to stop by to see the exhibition in person this week.
‘Of Mud & Blood’ closes January 9th, 2022.
All images by Ethan Hickerson.
HAND / THROWN: How did this partnership of ceramicists and tattoo artists begin?
JEFF VICK: It started when Katie Davis was taking classes with me. I was giving her some inspiration from other artists and one was an image where a clay artist commissioned a tattoo artist to decorate their sculpture. We collaborated on a small piece together and liked the result and wanted to expand the collaboration to other artists in advance of the NCECA conference that was going to come prior to the pandemic.
HT: How were artists selected to participate?
JV: We each reached out to individuals we thought would be interested in participating…me in clay and Katie for the tattoo artists.
HT: Was there trial and error or every artist’s work was the first go of it?
JV: Each artist was given the opportunity to sit with Katie for a quick demo and we had several practice pieces if they were interested. Some used them, others watched the demo and dove in!
HT: How collaborative are the works? Is there a connection between the ceramic artist and the tattoo artist or more of an exquisite corpse style of making?
JV: It was closer to an exquisite corpse style, there were several bisque fired pots available and the tattoo artists were allowed to look through and pick the one(s) they enjoyed. After they finished decorating they brought the piece back and the clay artists glazed them in any way they wished…there was no real interaction between the two artists other than the piece itself.
HT: What guidance did the tattoo artists receive in working with ceramic materials?
JV: Katie was wonderful in giving them instruction on how underglazes work differently than the materials they may have been more familiar with. But most of them just had a twenty-thirty minute demo and then went for it.
HT: What has been the most rewarding part of the process in bringing this exhibition to life?
JV: For me there are a few things. I love the community aspect of this show…bringing together many different people and different art forms. It was amazing to see how different all the works are. In the pieces that I worked on, the best part was free-ing myself of some of the constraints that I usually have when addressing the glazing part of my work. This collaboration allowed me to experiment with different surfaces and processes which was really exciting!
Ceramic Artists:
David Camden, Merenda Cecelia, Missy Cochrane, Joanna Gragnani, Karen Hull, Dan Kaczka, Paul Klassett, Bernadette Larimer, Claire McCarty, Philip Mills, Christine Orr, Kathleen O’Connor, Al Pellenberg, Angelique Scott, Maria Stone, Kourtenay Plummer, Jeff Vick, Holly Zajur.
Tattoo Artists:
Josh Autrey, Mike Baker, Nick Barnett, Amy Black, David A. Boisineau, Jason Brown, Brian Bruno, Nick Bryant, Andrew Conner, James Cumberland, Katie Davis, Sterling Frost, Timothy Hoyer, Marina Inoue, Willie Kirby, Kpham, Adam Marton, Nate Moretti, Jelena Nikolic, Ian Ó Nualláin, Fred Pinckard, Chris Porter, Daryl Rodriguez, Nicholas Ruffilo, Miky Scheer, Holley Setzer, John Setzer, Rosemary Shackelford, Tim Skirven, Sophie Stell, Beth Stratton, Tannis, James Travis.
All images by Ethan Hickerson.
