Meet Joanna Kramer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joanna Kramer.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
About 16 years ago, I was living in San Francisco and looking for an art class to balance my work life. Welding, stained glass, and ceramics were my top three and I went with the cheapest class; I’ve been working with clay ever since.

My love of art, and especially ceramics, led me back to school to study Art Therapy to add to my Masters in Social Work degree. My Social Work experience was with adolescents and art became a powerful therapeutic tool to help clients access parts of themselves they could not easily verbalize or identify.

I eventually left my therapeutic practice, but since I always loved working with groups, I wanted to continue to bring people together through clay. I started offering one-night workshops for women called Wine, Women, and Mud (www.winewomenandmud.com) as a place for women to create, try something new, and meet others. (Can you believe that domain name was still available?). I also offer kids classes, host occasional private events, and workshops at my Evanston studio, Ware.

I sell my work in local stores in Evanston and also directly to buyers out of my studio. Having a dedicated commercial space for my work has allowed me to pursue events with my community in new ways. Most recently, I’ve created a collaborative series, working with other local artists, who work in different mediums. The goal is to create something new together while pushing each of us beyond the familiar within our respective art. My first collaboration was with Letterpress artist Ben Blount (http://benblount.com/). The process and final work was very exciting and I think we were both surprised how much we loved the final outcome. The opening night show was a great success. Upcoming collaborations include 2-D artist Dana DeAno (http://www.danadeano.com/and photographer Vanessa Filley (http://vanessafilley.squarespace.com/)

Please tell us about your art.
All of my ceramics are functional; to be incorporated into everyday life. I want to see people interacting with my mugs, bowls, and vases. My website has a page dedicated to images of my pots in “real life” and I am delighted to see the different ways in which they land in people’s environments.

My approach is very “wabi-sabi” – beauty is in the imperfections. We are inundated with perfectly round and unmarked ceramics. The fingerprints, brushstrokes and marks left by the maker are missing. But it is those imperfections that tell a story. I appreciate when process has a final voice in the piece. I usually work in a series and follow my intuition with images and colors. There have been times when I have no idea what the outcome will be and it reveals itself to me through the art-making process.

During the sickness and eventual death of my father, I was drawing lots of ladders down the sides of my pots, underneath, and up the other side. I realized that ladder was symbolic of my mourning process; I had to go to some dark places and then climb out to the other side.

My pieces are sometimes marked with messages and images of female empowerment and frustration in reaction to current politics. I often use humor and imagery as an axis point for people to connect with the handmade.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing artists today?
Money and time……we need more of both!

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work can be seen and purchased at my studio by appointment. On my website I have a list of retail locations that also carry my work. Sign up on my mailing list for notifications about upcoming shows.

Contact Info:

• Address: Joanna Kramer
• Website: www.joannakramer.com
• Email: joanna@joannakramer.com
• Instagram: joanna.kramer
• Facebook: joannakramerceramics

Image Credit:
Joanna Kramer, Andrew Kerr

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