Louissa Chanin
Artist Statement
Material things alone are not enough to make us happy. But material things can, in moments, contain and reflect the happiness that exists within us and around us. My ceramic work aims to do just that. Seeking to capture and refract the joy within and the joy without, my work is both structured and playful. My style is deeply informed by my base, often simple, aesthetic pleasures: stark contrast, saturated colors, neat geometries, and understated excentricities. My work takes inspiration from Scandinavian decor and modern decorative arts movements such as minimalism, Bauhaus, and Memphis Design. These influences guide me in creating pieces that are effervescent and functional, inviting each user to take pleasure in everyday objects and occurrences. By embracing order and whimsy, my ceramics are an exploration of how simplicity and complexity can converge to evoke untold delight.
Biography
Raised in Jersey City, NJ by a painter-mom and photographer-dad, I have always been immersed in, and obsessed with, all things visual. A long-held love of fashion led me to New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, where I studied Fashion Business Management with a concentration in product development. While in school, I continued practicing my first creative love: baking. However, by the onset of COVID-19, living in a studio apartment in Manhattan with little social contact, daily baking became an unreasonable habit. At that time, I began looking for other outlets and found that hand-building ceramics bore an incredible resemblance to manipulating dough. From there, I built out a “studio” in the corner of my apartment with little more than a work mat and rolling pin and found a studio a short subway ride away that would allow outside firings. I continued my ceramic work from home while finishing my degree and soon after graduating found myself living in London for a brief period with my partner. There, I embarked on a new journey: wheel throwing. I was determined to teach myself after doing the same for handbuilding and spent several hours a day trial-and-erroring my way through the ins and outs of throwing. When my time in London came to a close, I returned to my family’s summer home in Maine which was already equipped with a small electric kiln. I had so enjoyed wheel throwing that I decided to outfit the house with a potter’s wheel. Working there throughout the summer of 2023, I was pushed to develop vital studio maintenance skills like stacking and firing a kiln, reclaiming clay, and managing waste water (without a clay trap). At the end of the summer, I moved to Ann Arbor with my partner for their PhD program and quickly took up membership at Clay Work Studio where I continued my ceramic work. While I greatly enjoyed my time there, I longed to be more immersed in the local arts community and build on my studio maintenance competencies. As such, I applied for visiting pottership here and was thrilled to be welcomed into this warm, collaborative, and expert community in February of 2024. Since then, I have been honored to continue honing my style and craft at the guild. It was here that I fell in love with porcelain, began experimenting with mason stains, and first made glazes. In my tenure here I have had the opportunity to meet and learn from countless inspiring members who readily shared their expertise in both the realms of craft and studio responsibilities. My desire to join the Ann Arbor Potters Guild is fueled not only by an appreciation for the dynamic and engaging nature of a cooperative studio but also by admiration for the members I have come to know who make it possible. If accepted as an adjunct member, I will bring to the guild my eagerness to learn, knowledge gained through training over this past year, unique visual style, and of course, the occasional sweet treat. I believe my previous ceramics experience, demonstrated ability to fulfill studio responsibilities and cooperate with others, and singular artistic style will allow me to be a capable, involved, and enriching member of the guild community as an adjunct member.