County Cork, here we come!
Come along with me as I deepen Kiskapu Pottery’s creative voice and relocate to Ireland.
I have some news to share. Late this August, Kiskapu Pottery is moving to County Cork.
Studying Linguistic and Material Culture at UCC
I’ll be learning languages and archaeology at University College Cork to enrich Kiskapu Pottery offerings. Studying the interconnectedness of and connections between the material and the linguistic is the next phase of deepening Kiskapu’s creative voice. I’m interested in how people have expressed ideas about daily life through language and everyday objects. At UCC, I’ll be looking across cultures and eras for connections and patterns to inspire my pottery design, form and function.
Moving the business to Ireland is as much about exploring cultural expressions of a new coastal landscape as it is about understanding how languages and material culture shape a place. And how a place shapes us in ways we take for granted.
The Atlantic Celtic World and Irish Coastlines
Ireland, as part of the ancient Atlantic world, has cultural tendrils connecting it with present-day France, Portugal, and Spain. Maritime trade and migration of this long-ago world still resonate in everyday life. Connections between words, place names, and objects that we don’t often realize or think about. I’m especially curious about the contemporary impact of these connections, how language and materiality shape our sense of these places. And how a place shapes us through the everyday items we often take for granted.
I will bring what I learn into the studio to develop new forms, designs, and ways of thinking about everyday tableware and kitchen accessories, sharing what I learn along the way.
This is phase two of the overall plan for Kiskapu Pottery. I want to ground my pottery in linguistic and material ways of expressing a sense of place. Coastal places, especially. I ask, “What places lie on the horizon and beyond? How do they connect to the place I am? And what impact does that have on my everyday?”
Workshops and Apprentices: Phase Three
I’m excited for this next phase. Kiskapu Pottery relocating to Ireland is an integral step forward. I look forward to sharing what I learned with you as I slowly work towards this approach to pottery, and Phase 3: sharing that approach through workshops and, eventually, working with apprentices.