All The Things with Emily Reinhardt - The Object Enthusiast
Emily in her shop.
For the love of all things GREAT… Emily has established a ceramics business in Kansas City that thrives on the simplicity of life’s treasures. We caught up with Emily to discuss her “Objects” and how they play a part in her everyday life.
LM
We are obsessed with your ‘Objects!’ What made you start creating through pottery?
ER
Thank you! I took my first ceramics class when I was in college. I fell in love with the material, but most of all I fell in love with my instructors. Between the graduate students who were teaching me, and my professor Yoshi Ikeda, I knew I was in the right place in that dusty studio. My career and the journey to get here would not be what it is without my early ceramic educators.
LM
We know so much thought must go into each piece/collection. What do you do to prepare for a new collection? What has given you inspo in the past?
EM
For many years now I haven’t done much to prepare when I’m starting a new project. I often like to dive right in and give it a try, knowing that I’ll have a few rounds of edits along the way. But lately, I’ve been enjoying sketching in a sketchbook and getting some ideas out on paper first. I received a beautiful, handmade sketchbook for my birthday this year, and something behind its significance has helped me get into drawing. I also splurged and bought myself a set of 72 colored pencils. Having a fresh set of materials opens my mind up in many ways. I don’t often have the opportunity to travel every time I need some inspiration, but it sure helps. Getting out of my routine and seeing something I’ve never seen before helps me process new ideas and new thoughts. I have a trip to Oaxaca planned for October and I am eager to see what ideas come from that trip.
My focus lately is to make sure I’m making my work with love and intention.
LM
Do you feel like art is healing? Why?
ER
I believe it is! I also believe that it can be very hard work when you’re relying on it to heal you. I’ve been trying to work through such a dark time in my professional life right now, and I’ve also been needing my art to be the thing that brings magic back into my life. So, naturally, it’s been harder to find the healing magic - probably because I’m looking so hard for it.
LM
Oh I think many people could relate to that. I think, being able to release yourself into the work is the magic. Being mindful of the process and letting your emotions flow through the work. Do you consider yourself a mindful, centered person? How does that play into your creative process?
I’m actively searching for that mindful, centered space. I don’t think I can say that I am yet. My focus lately is to make sure I’m making my work with love and intention. Part of the production process in my work requires me to make the same thing over and over again. It isn’t my favorite aspect of production and I often feel like a machine just cranking things out. I’m actively trying to switch my thinking, and put loving and thoughtful energy into each piece I sculpt, every stroke of glaze I paint. I think that makes a difference for the person who takes the object home to live with. That feels like the top priority for sending my work out into the world.
LM
That makes sense, I completely understand this as I used to create things as well. I decided long ago that each piece would mean something to the individual and that mass production wasn’t for me. It seemed to slow the creative process down for me. How long does it take for you to make a new collection?
ER
Truthfully, I don’t often see my pieces in collections. I might approach it too casually, but I make one piece at a time. If I like it, I make a few more of it, trying to get it better. I feel like each piece I make is just a rendering of a better piece that awaits. Since I don’t sketch too often, I make a thing, I try to see it all the way through, and if it needs more work, I make it again. I refine and I edit along the way, but I try to keep focused on one piece at a time. I think my collections happen organically after that.
LM
To put one’s passion into something that is made purely by one’s hands is to know what it feels like to be in tune with yourself… to know who you are. That’s the magic!
Gorgeous collection of ‘Objects” at Emily Reinhardt’s showroom.
