On the Importance of Process: A Conversation with Mary Aldrich

Can you tell me a little about your background?

I started off in graphic design and working at ad agencies, and then I worked in the corporate world, doing the publications, managing all the production. And then the company I work with basically almost shuttered, and so I went into sales and I sold print. The thing I loved about selling print back then, now it's digital so it's different, but back then it was very much about the ink on the paper, and what process worked on the paper and what texture of the paper would work best for what you're doing. I enjoyed that but as it became digital there was no creativity left. It was like, here's the file, and you just output it. So I was glad that at that point in my life I was getting ready to transition out of that. There’s nothing wrong with digital print, but when I went into it there were tons of different papers and textures and so it was like, how do we combine that, die cut, make fold outs– you know, it was much more elaborate print pieces back then.

I'm very visual. When I was little, I would notice the color of the paint in something, or I would notice the fabric on somebody's chair. I don't think I really thought I could have a career in art, so I never really pursued it. As I got older and then actually retired, then I had time to really pursue just things I wanted to do 

What’s the process like for creating the pieces that we carry at Clove & Creek? Can you take me through it from conception to creation? 

For you guys, I'm doing an acorn, a mushroom, a pine cone, and the belted Galloway cow, which we call an Oreo down here. I don't know that all Texans do, but I call it an Oreo. The pieces are very fussy. Because I have to clean each one of those little scallops. The rims are all painted twice. You have to go around two to three times for the rim. So I make the little piece and I fire it. And then I paint on it. And I fire it, and then I glaze it, and I fire it. So, they're very labor intensive.  I've loved the fact that they took my mind and required me to sit and do. I love sitting with them and doing them.  

My friends who are artists have said why don't you hire someone to make the plates for you and then you'll just paint on them? And I said, no, I want to touch the clay. I want to do that. And then as time went on, someone was telling me one day, they said, “I think you can have a decal made. That way you don't have to paint each one.” I was like, you've totally missed the point. It's the process that I love. It's not the mass production, it's the intimacy of holding each piece, painting each piece. That's the way I feel about these. They're something small and intimate from my hands to yours. And I think because they deal with food a lot, there's something about that that's communal. It's not about speed. It's not about quantity. It's about the process.

What does a day in your studio look like?

I love being at my studio. In Texas, not a lot of things are old. This house was built in 1910. It's Craftsman style. And there's 12 women who are all ceramic artists and we share it. So, it's a really nice place to come and work.

I love the other women that are here, but I also love coming in early. I like walking into the quiet and I like opening all the windows working in quiet. And then as the day progresses someone will come and then the next person will come. And then, by like 12:30 or 1 it's like a little beehive. It’s like the day opens up here for me. So for me, it's lovely.

You mentioned before the communal aspect of your work, do you think ceramics have a connective power? 

My son lives in California. He said, I have a friend and she loves mushrooms. Will you do a mushroom? This was a couple of years ago. So I did this little red, almost animated looking mushroom. And years have gone by. She got married, had twins the other day. And she sent my son a picture of the little tiny bowl with both pacifiers in it. For me, it's sweet because people can come back to me and say, Oh, you know, I had my parents over the other night, and I made this homemade blueberry whatever, and I served it on your little dishes.

It's kind of fun, to see what comes back to me. It's like a connection. I was talking to my brother the other day, and he goes, I wish we could put an air tag on your pieces and actually see where they end up, you know?

I love the natural motifs in the work that we carry. Is nature a big influence on your work?

Nature does influence me but I'm not an outdoor girl, you know what I'm saying? I like being out in it, but I'm really a city girl. But I notice everything. I've always come home with seed pods in my pocket, or seashells in my pocket, wherever I am. I did photography for a while, too. The iPhone is a wonderful thing. Like everyone else, I have my iPhone with me, but I use it as an image recorder. So I often am taking close-ups of the seed pod or the way the leaves ended up in the gutter after the rain fell. And I refer back to that. A lot of times if I'm waiting I go back and look at just my images and then I'll get inspired by something off of that. I think for me, life is a progression. And so, the beauty is just to keep progressing through. And to be influenced by what comes your way. I'm just really happy that this is what I'm doing at this point in my life. It's very special for me.