Meet the Maker: Justine & Grant of Tandem Ceramics
In this series of features, we catch up with the ceramic artists we work closely with and share introspections into their creative processes.
Justine & Grant of Tandem Ceramics are a wife-and-husband team based in Western Massachusetts, and they create sustainable, small-batch ceramics meant to be loved and used in the home.
Justine and Grant of Tandem Ceramics.
How did you get to become a ceramic artist?
JUSTINE: I actually thought I would end up a painter when I went to art school. But in the end, pottery felt like less of a blank canvas for me. When a ceramic comes out of the kiln, it's done, like it or not. And if you don't like it, you make another one.
GRANT: I came to ceramics much later in the game. I studied printmaking and photography during my undergrad. I took a ceramic sculpture class while I was trying to figure out what mediums I wanted to focus my attention on. Ultimately that was a humbling experience of trial and error and a lot of frustrating days. Ceramics is a very challenging and demanding medium to work with. After that class, I put clay on the back burner and focused on my 2D work instead. When Justine did her apprenticeship in Virginia, I started to take a real interest in the medium from afar. I watched potters making functional work with interest, and I started to fall in love with the clay community. Good people are in the clay community.
After that, we moved to Western Massachusetts and started our business. I jumped back in headfirst. Slipcasting and working with surface application was something that interested me the most, so I started there. I put my woodblock images and drawings on the forms that Justine had designed and we began our line of work together. I had no idea I would be working with clay if you’d have asked me 10 years ago.
What is the most exciting part of your work?
JUSTINE: It often feels like a miracle that I get to make pottery for a living. Knock on wood, we haven’t had a day job in years! It’s a thrill to be able to sustain ourselves from the work we make. We just bought our first house on the income we’ve created for ourselves. We’re not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, and there have been some very lean moments on the way. But it is exciting to pay your bills with money you made from your work.
GRANT: For me, it's the making of our forms through slip casting, which allows us to make multiple pieces of various shapes and sizes at the same time. And the second half of that process is spending the day cleaning up the pieces and working them to completion. It's meditative and takes a real attention to detail.
An assortment of the tabletop planters that Tandem Ceramics creates (and that we love to carry in our shops!)
Were you born and raised in the Massachusetts area? If not, how did you end up there? What are your favorite parts of living there? Is there a certain neighborhood that you love most, and why?
JUSTINE: I grew up in upstate NY, but strangely enough, I was born only a few miles from here. I did a two-year apprenticeship in ceramics after college in the tiny mountain town of Floyd, Virginia. Grant and I wanted to come back to the Northeast after my apprenticeship, but not necessarily back "home.” We knew there were lots of potters in Western Mass, so we came to explore it one weekend. This area has a lot of what we loved about Floyd: makers and artists, a focus on food and farming, a community that supports craft and art, and a lot of natural beauty. I doubt we will ever leave.
GRANT: I was born in Winter Park, Florida and was raised in upstate NY in a town called Queensbury just south of the Adirondack Park. Justine and I ended up in Massachusetts by word of mouth. A couple potters we met at the St. Croix Pottery Tour in Minnesota told us about the valley. Sam Taylor was one potter that took us under his wing and let us crash above his studio showroom loft so we could explore the area and the surrounding hill towns. Like I said, there are good people in the clay community. We fell in love.
Western Massachusetts has an amazing art, music, and food community. Basically everything I love is a stone's throw away. I’m a passionate fly fisherman and the rivers out here caught my eye as well. There’s so much water and a lot to appreciate in a place like this.
Grant in the process of slip casting planters.
What are your biggest influences when creating work? Is there a certain culture or art movement that you mainly look to when drawing inspiration?
JUSTINE: The simplest way to answer this question is to say: we are inspired by ordinary life. We make objects we want to cohabitate with and enjoy. We make pieces that solve simple problems.
There's a big conversation around what is "art" and what is "craft," and recently, I've been thinking about "manufacturing" versus "handmade" and questioning why we make a distinction between the two. It's great that STUMP classifies what we do as art, because I think there is great value and beauty in the objects makers create. Of course I draw heavily on long-standing ceramic companies like Heath Ceramics and the way they've created meaningful, utilitarian work out of light manufacturing processes. And I am certainly inspired by Scandinavian and Japanese design. But quite honestly, the forms and the way they are made here often dictate a lot of the design decisions. The triangulated pieces are a nod to my early career as a studio potter and how to take something round that's been thrown on the potter's wheel and give it a bit more interest.
GRANT: My influences range from observing texture on rocks in a river to appreciating beautiful artwork like a woodblock print to playing music with friends. But, I can clearly remember the moment I felt the tug towards pottery specifically. The Artstream Cup Library came through Alfred, NY while I was in school (like a library, you can sign out a cup for the week). I took home a cup made by Mary Barringer. Her work inspired me: its attention to surface and form spoke to me. That was a connection with a functional pot like I’ve never had before. (Side, note… she lives in the valley here as well. Lucky us!)
One of Tandem’s hanging planters with a neon Pothos planted in it.
What are your favorite words to live by?
JUSTINE: “Reality is kinder.” - Byron Katie
You can't solve big questions or meet life's challenges if you're not first honest about them. There's so much focus in our culture of staying positive and releasing negativity. But sometimes life is hard and there's no shame in feeling that. Anyone that has worked with clay knows it doesn't start out all rosey. It's cliche to say but it's very true: you put literal blood, sweat and tears into this. Clay can be your constant mirror if you let it. And the success that comes from all of the hard work is very satisfying.
GRANT: “Eat, Laugh, Love” ….nah just kidding.
Here's a quote that always comes back to me.
“Eventually all things merge into one.” - Norman Maclean
What projects are you currently working on? What are your future ambitions?
JUSTINE: It’s long overdue that we make room for our individual art practices and more one-of-a-kind pieces. Running a business has a tendency to cut into your time as a creative. We’re reclaiming that this year and we can’t wait to see what comes of it.
GRANT: Current projects start with a studio renovation that will enable us to make creative work independent from our business and even host workshops here in the studio. We had a successful crowd-funding campaign to build out our attic. We’re very excited to expand our creative space. We will continue to push forward in making new and exciting functional pieces for our line, especially planters. But personally, I’m looking forward to making sculpture again. I see myself getting back into the fine art world and want to create a body of work that could be shown at different galleries around the US. One day at a time.
Tandem creates other beautiful homewares, such as candles, plates, mugs, and more!
What would your advice be for anyone interested in making ceramics?
JUSTINE: Everyone starts at the beginning, so just keep going! You will be discouraged when your work doesn't match your expectations. Learn to accept the process. Stay curious. Don't give up. Keep looking for what distinguishes good work and hone your skills until your expectations match the reality. Its a life-long pursuit, and you'll be excited to see you master it much sooner
GRANT: Go for it!
Photos provided by Justine and Grant.