A couple of years ago I was trying to figure out how to merge my two loves... ceramics and drawing. I majored in Art Studio with concentrations in ceramics and drawing and after years of exploring both mediums, it dawned on me that I should look for ways to bring them together. I then got online and typed in "drawing on ceramics" to see what kind of techniques and options were out there for incorporating drawing on my pottery.
As I was researching, I came across the talented Molly Hatch, who does this very thing. She too found a way to merge the two together and I was interested in her technique. I decided to email Molly to find out more about what she does, and It turned out that she was more than just a studio potter, she was a surface designer. Somehow I went my whole life up to that point never hearing the term "surface designer" so when she began to explain what that was, I was intrigued!
After years of browsing Anthropologie's isles admiring the beautiful ceramics there, I never knew who the face was behind those pieces and how they were made. Molly brings prototypes to Anthropologie's production teams and then the product is manufactured. Their design team also use her paintings on other things like tea towels and drinking glasses, etc.
Last week I decided to take an online class through a website called www.creativelive.com ( https://www.creativelive.com/instructor/molly-hatch) where Molly taught a class called Pattern Design: From Hand to Screen to Surface. It was so great to see her working on her designs as she talked about her process, her story, and answered questions!
I was talking with a friend the other day and I was telling her how awesome I thought it was that Molly was openly sharing her techniques and was not hoarding her process to herself. I love to see a generous artist who delights in sharing her story and her process! Too often artists miss the mark when it comes to generosity. Usually, anything that we learn as artists comes from some other artist that has paved the path before us, and many forget that truth. Art is to be shared, and we are to help each other along in these artistic journeys that we are on. I hope I always remember to be artistically generous.