Life & Work with Vanessa Beard

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Beard.

Hi Vanessa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.

My name is Vanessa Beard and I’ve been making and selling art in Detroit since 2018. My brand is Porcelinen. I have an affinity for working with the diaphanous clay porcelain and I‘ve been known to illustrate fine textiles such as silk and linen. As of late, I am teaching ceramic workshops in my Hamtramck studio.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ceramics, in particular, is an incredibly humbling art form. A ceramic artist will have their patience and determination tested by the fragility of the clay at its various stages, the unpredictability of the physics in vitrification, and the never-ending learning curve of techniques. Luckily I bore easily and paradoxically it is this challenge that maintains my focus.

Despite my skills and experience, I am still quite friendly with failure! I’ve spent hours sculpting only to have the piece dry incorrectly, develop a large crack, and need to be scrapped. Once, I made an entire custom dish set only to have the glaze run, ruining all the dishes and damaging the kiln shelves in the process.

Frustrations and heartbreaks can occur anywhere in the process when you are working with fragile materials. But as in life, I learn from my mistakes, take them in stride and keep moving.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

For the past year, I’ve been teaching ceramics as a way to supplement my income as a creator and take advantage of my large studio in Hamtramck. Teaching is a reciprocal process for me; I learn from it as much as I teach others. Translating my skills helps me better understand my own practice and my students freshen my processes with their unique interpretations.

As I continue to grow as an artist, I am enjoying helping others find their flow in the studio. Art counteracts the constrictions and stresses of daily life. I love being an artist and am grateful that I get to share the joy of creativity.

Detroit and Hamtramck have a fast-growing ceramics community. It’s exciting connecting with both burgeoning and established artists. There is a large amount of respect within the community and we inspire each other with our unique approaches to an infinitely malleable craft. Porcelinen is known for whimsical yet elegant ceramics. This aesthetic is consistent within my studio as well. I like to feel fancy but in a light-hearted way. I hope you can make it over to visit sometime. Thank you for featuring me!

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

Humor.

Contact Info:

• Website: porcelinen.com
• Instagram: @porcelinen

Image Credits
Lauren Montgomery and Jaimie Skriba