Interview with Katie Bonadies, September 2023
Eric primarily works in clay, though he has a degree in photography and has used textiles for work and does carpentry. He has been at RWS for almost a decade.
Eric’s business, Presumpscot Pottery is named after the Presumpscot formation, a glacial deposit of clay found along the coast of southern Maine. Eric collects the blue-gray clay (it’s natural color when the clay is dug from the ground) as he canoes the Presumpscot River where large amounts of it can be found. He is conscientious about how he is affecting an environment and doesn’t take more than half of a five-gallon bucket from any one spot at a time–an arbitrary but reasonably seeming amount so as to not greatly impact any one area. “Presumpscot” is an Abenaki word meaning “many falls” or “many rough places” that describes the natural landscape along the river. Sourcing his own clay is important to Eric, “I think it’s important for us to remember that we live in a finite world on a finite planet. It’s a good idea to be conscientious of how we use materials and where they come from.”
Eric is intentional about each step of the process, which he thinks is the difference between art and craft, “Craft is very intentional in a utilitarian way, where art is more intentional in a conceptual, intellectual way.” He acknowledges that there’s a lot of overlap between the two as well and, at times, they are one and the same. He’s been working with local clay for a long time and describes his process as being slow because he likes to fully understand something before moving on and he works full time. For Eric, the source of the clay and the process by which it is sourced is a part of the craft, and the materials are part of the process that determines the final product.
Eric was first introduced to Maine clay when he was a kid by a potter named Molly Saunders who used clay from her backyard in the town he grew up in. Knowing that this could be done was a revelation to Eric and inspired him to use local clay. He’s interested in getting better at working with Maine clay and streamlining the way in which he collects and processes it. The clay has a lot of iron and organic matter and non-clay material mixed into it, which causes it to be a low-fire clay. There are a few ways to ‘process’ it, which refers to the act of removing unwanted materials from the clay. Eric’s approach is labor intensive, but he ends up with a uniform clay body, which helps during throwing. After collecting the clay from rivers and streams Eric lets the clay dry completely, breaking it up into small pieces in the process. He then slakes the clay, which is a process of slowly adding it to water so as to dissolve the clay. Then he uses a drill to mix the slurry until it has few lumps and is the consistency of cream. Next, he passes the mixture through a sieve, pulling out the sticks, pine needles and stones. Then he pours it into canvas sacks to dry. Using plaster troughs would be Eric’s preferred drying method, but he doesn’t have the space. When the clay is close to a workable wetness, he starts wedging and kneading the clay and wraps it in plastic to let it sit. He repeats the wedging and kneading process a few times before throwing the clay because it makes it easier to work with. The whole process can take a couple of years.
Most of the work Eric makes is thrown on the wheel and he enjoys ‘throwing from the hump’ where he uses a large mound of clay and throws small pots off of it. He makes flowerpots of different shapes and sizes and the simplicity in form is an appreciation for the clay’s natural beauty; he doesn’t have to glaze it or add a lot of decoration. He is also limited in what he can make with the clay because of its qualities. The clay isn’t very plastic and can only be worked so much before it splits or cracks, “It’s fun to find the limits and work within them and see what you can do.” When the clay is fired it changes color on a spectrum from light orange to a reddish brown. Eric looks forward to getting more into surface decoration and is interested in glazing his work in the future. He’ll need to find a glaze that fits the clay but hasn’t gotten around to mixing one yet.
The majority of the art Eric has made, in its many forms, is a pursuit at noticing–or trying to notice–small things that others might not notice. In his photography Eric looks for patterns and relationships that may not seem connected. He does this by finding forms that relate to each other or by capturing a scene that positions two things in relation to each other that might otherwise seem disparate, such as light that reflects off of a window and creates a shadow that’s similar in shape to a building in the background. Using local clay is an extension of this pursuit to discover and reveal the things unnoticed around us.
If you know of any local clay deposits that are accessible by car or have clay in your backyard or garden and wouldn’t mind someone coming in and digging it up, please get in touch with Eric. It would help to make less of an impact on the environments we are trying to protect, and he will trade you in flowerpots. He can be reached at presumpscotpottery@gmail.com or stop by the Portland Farmers’ Market in Deering Oaks Park on Saturdays from 7am - 1pm, now through November 22, 2203. Follow Eric on Instagram @presumpscotpottery for images of his pottery and process shots of using Maine clay.
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