Bea Willemsen, EMERGE AIR Clay 2024-25 Session I

Interview with Katie Bonadies, March 2025

Pictured: Bea Willemsen in the EMERGE clay studio. Photos courtesy of Bret Woodard and the artist.

Bea Willemsen (she/ they) just completed the RWS EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay program this January.* Bea has been a member of RWS since September 2022. They were previously profiled for the February 2024 RWS newsletter.

With this residency, Bea has taken the opportunity to grow their practice through scale and theme. Having access to the EMERGE private clay studio space, they can leave their work out and come back to it without the extra time it takes to set up and clean up. This has allowed for more productive use of their time. Having space has also allowed them to work on a much grander scale, and it has sped up their process because they can work on multiple pieces at once. Having space with close proximity to a kiln has mitigated the risk of transporting their work from offsite and allowed them more flexibility while working with a delicate medium.

EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay '25, Bea Willemsen works on a large seltzer can sculpture.

EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay '25, Bea Willemsen works on a series of clay vases.

The large pieces that Bea has been focusing on during the residency have shifted, somewhat, thematically but still retain the playful nature of their production work. Bea works seasonally in that from spring through fall they are in production mode and create work that is life-size and functional, like vases and trinket boxes. During the winter months, Bea focuses on challenging themselves through experimentation. The larger sculptural fine art pieces they have been working on during the residency is a continuation of their prior experiments while pushing the boundaries of the hierarchy of art and what the term ‘functional’ means.

The large sculptures they are working on now they label 'pop art furniture-scale' sculptures. Bea is currently working on twin seltzer cans that are about two-and-a-half feet high. Their purpose, or functionality, is to serve as side tables. Functionality aside, the seltzer cans are stunning not only for their size but for how well-crafted they are, which is purpose enough. They are objects that push the boundaries of their technical skill with porcelain. Creating in this size brings life to these everyday objects through the absurd. 

EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay '25, Bea Willemsen poses with their large lighter sculpture.

EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay '25, Bea Willemsen wears their ceramic boots.

Visual language has always been a way for Bea to put a feeling into the world without having to struggle to find the right words. Other themes in the work Bea has created during their residency have a deeper connection to their identity, “For me it’s exploring both how I have come into my own queerness and have experienced that, and tying it to the history of the folks who have come before and this larger idea of queerness within culture.” The other series of sculptures Bea has been working on are vessels covered in queer signaling objects. One vessel is covered in Subaru keys, another vessel with carabiners, and a third with bandanas. Making these objects has been a way for Bea to take ideas and feelings and put them into the world in a way that they can look at them and understand them and better understand themselves as a result. 

Bea’s practice is a way for them to play and a joyful expression of self that has not always been joyful or accepted. “When it comes to queerness in my work, I find the expression of queer identity is so vital. There can’t be enough of it.” One cannot separate the identity of queerness from the art because there is no interacting with their personhood without their queerness. If you are, Bea says, you are not getting them. 

Pictured: animation of Bea Willemsen and their ceramic work. Photo and animation credit: Bret Woodard.

Bea is currently developing new thought lines with Medieval art and queerness and the intersection of Renaissance fair imagery with more modern vessels and shapes. Bea hopes to participate in more residencies in the future because they are a great way to delve deep into work and focus. They would love to see their work in more galleries and shows and fine art spaces because of the deep appreciation for art and recognition of the labor that goes into it.  

Bea has a show of her work this March at 33 By Hand on High Street in Portland. Contact them via email (beawillemsens@gmail.com), on Instagram (@moltenmud), or through their website (moltenmud.com). 

* EMERGE recipients are chosen by an outside panel of professional Maine-based artists.