Olivia Propeck, EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay 2024-25 Session II

Interview with Katie Bonadies, May 2025

Pictured: Olivia Propeck working in the EMERGE clay studio. Photo credit: Bret Woodard.

Olivia Propeck (she/ they) is the 2024-25 RWS Session II EMERGE Artist in Residence in Clay. Olivia makes illustrated vessels that depict quiet domestic moments of queer relationships. They also practice photography as a form of documentation. 

Olivia holds a BFA in Ceramics from MECA&D and has spent the year since road tripping to different artist residencies around the country. The first residency was a two-week stay in Patton, PA. It’s a smaller residency that Olivia describes as ‘mom and pop’ style with a strong community focus among ‘claydies’. “It felt very meaningful because the locals there were invested in what you were doing and learning from you.” After that, Olivia traveled to the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana. They were there for a month with a cohort of four other ceramic artists. Olivia went into the residency with a strong basis of techniques but found that they learned how different artists approach the medium. It was a great opportunity to experiment and have time to explore a new idea that they wouldn’t have considered on their own. 

Pictured: clay vessel by Olivia Propeck.

There is a good amount of improvisation in Olivia's process. Their aim is to make forms that are full or soft with a lived-in feel. They're open to opportunity and allow things to change along the way. "I think you can discover new solutions that way and it prevents me from getting bored." Even though having a plan is comforting, Olivia enjoys little imperfections and changing the plan because they don't like to make the same thing twice. There's a lot of trial and error that goes into making new things all the time. Things can go wrong in the kiln and letting go is something they are learning to do. It's necessary to have a certain level of detachment to the work because a lot is out of your control and things don't come out how you anticipate. When a work is too controlled it can look stiff. Olivia is excited by the challenges of working in ceramics because it keeps them from getting bored.

Olivia spent last summer working at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts as a part of their seasonal staff, which felt like a working residency. Now that they’re back in Portland and in the EMERGE program, settling into being a working artist where they live feels new. Their biggest takeaway so far is the strong sense of community. “When you’re in a foreign space you have to be alert all the time. I can really relax in Portland and to have community support is wonderful.” Their friends and ceramics connections are here and they feel motivated to work harder for the people who support them. Being home in their apartment with their partner has also been rejuvenating. Balancing multiple jobs and maintaining an art practice is a labor of love. “It’s tiring but it’s so worth it when you are able to accomplish something after a double shift and you’re exhausted.” Eventually, Olivia would love to have a full-time studio practice. They’re trying to embrace where they’re at and keep working toward that goal. 

Olivia’s practice is organized usually with a timeline and a sketch as well as a research component. When Olivia thinks about ceramics they think a lot about lineage. Ceramics is a material and medium that is one of the most archival. We learn about ancient cultures through their ceramics. When Olivia thinks about representing queer culture they think it’s important to portray it in a very honest way. “Ceramics last way longer than you ever will, so thinking about what you want to leave behind and how you want your community to be remembered is overwhelming.” They put out a call to interview and document the spaces of local queer couples and were overwhelmed with the amount of responses. They interviewed about ten couples and they’re trying to include everyone because one couple's home can’t be representative of the entire community. Olivia is cognizant of making each vessel and their illustrations feel unique and loosely representative of the couples they interviewed without turning them into caricatures. Working in a medium that lasts forever and abstracting the space a little bit allows for more fun and play and freedom. 

Pictured: ceramic wall hanging by Olivia Propeck.

Pictured: ceramic work by Olivia Propeck.

The illustrations depict colorful furniture or objects or clothing, personal items that hold meaning for the people Olivia interviewed that tell the story of who these spaces were made by. The illustrations do not usually include figures because Olivia wants the spaces to be the point. This is important to Olivia because, “Queer people, especially, like to nest and collect objects and things they feel represent a part of them so that their spaces become a visual representation of who they are and what they like or the people they love. You don’t often feel accepted in the world, so your personal space is the one thing you can control and insert yourself into and express yourself there.” It’s about claiming space without feeling judged. Olivia grew up in the midwest and didn’t have any exposure to queerness. The interviews have created a stronger sense of community for Olivia, which can be comforting in a world that often feels chaotic and out of control. 

The symbols they use in their illustrations are symbolic of queer culture, such as a UHaul moving truck. A ‘UHaul lesbian’ is a stereotype wherein queer women fall in love faster and more intensely and move in together quickly. “I think Sapphic people often make emotional connections a little bit quicker and more intensely, I’ve noticed.” Olivia believes this is because you can exist freely with someone who understands the basis of your lived experience. One of the couples Olivia interviewed rented a UHaul on their second date to move one of them to Maine from Virginia. The couple wrote each other love letters before moving in together. “The great thing about it is when you’re queer you’re inherently existing outside of heteronormative life, so you can make up your own rules. You don’t have to follow the status quo and that’s really freeing sometimes.” 

Pictured: Olivia Propeck working in the EMERGE clay studio at RWS.

Olivia’s partner is their biggest source of inspiration. “Finding your person who is home to you, that was really huge for me. She’s the person that makes me the happiest and when I’m happy is when I’m most excited to make something.” Olivia wants to continue the series of illustrated vessels after the EMERGE residency and is considering putting out another call for queer couples to interview later this year. Home life, being in a space where Olivia feels totally like themself, is what helps them come into the studio to create. 

Olivia Propeck will have four works in MECA&D's "Collect Art Sale" in June. Olivia will also be at the markets in Congress Square this summer. Contact them via their website Oliviapropeckceramics.shop and follow them on Instagram @livpropecceramics to see what markets and other events they’ll be at.