Living today feels like swimming in a sea of synthetics. Everything is plastic and feels designed to break or wear away or crumble to bits almost immediately. Truly, it is such. a. massive. bummer. Which is why coming across an artisan like Natalie Pellegrini of NP Clayworks and her beautiful ceramics this summer felt like a breath of fresh air. I stumbled across her charming collection of mugs, soap dispensers, and other home goods at a local market this summer, and as we were chatting she told me that she also participated in her very first renfaire this year as a vendor! So meet Natalie, who has so many wonderful insights about the craft of ceramics and the unique world of renaissance festivals.
Tell us your origin story – how did you become a ceramicist?
I took my first pottery class in September of 2020 when the restaurant I worked at was still closed due to the lockdown. After painting most of the furniture in the house and running out of puzzles to do, my fiancee suggested I find a hobby. I happened across a show called “The Great Pottery Throwdown” (highly recommend) and after the opening credits I signed up for a class. I was absolutely hooked and the next day I signed up for a membership. The rest is history.
What was your initial learning process? Were you taught by any mentors or teachers, or entirely self-taught?
My early steps in pottery were mostly self taught with a few classes from the studio and some advice from other members there. I consider myself primarily self taught as I’ve never had a mentor or been in a class or program for a long period of time. Early days off learning pottery for me were just a lot of practice, practice and so much trial and error trying to learn the steps of wheel throwing.
What was the most fun about learning this craft? Conversely, what was most frustrating?
Learning pottery is such a fun (and frustrating) thing to do. What I love about it is it gives people an avenue to fail and try and literally smash things if they aren’t working out for you. It’s building something with your hands and seeing progress in real time, which for someone who had just set down acting as a career choice was such a wonderful thing. To go from an isolated, hard to hold art to something tangible from the beginning was something I didn’t know I needed.
Alternatively, the most frustrating thing about pottery is pretty much the other side of the coin. It really requires you to fail in order to learn. Most of the early stuff is wonky, heavy and once you get past the first firing it all gets stuck to the shelf in the glaze firing anyways. Every step has a learning curve, every step is a potential way to destroy something you’ve spent hours on. But that’s also the joy in it, it’s why so many people fall in love with the craft and spend their lives perfecting it.
Learning pottery is such a fun (and frustrating) thing to do. What I love about it is it gives people an avenue to fail and try and literally smash things if they aren’t working out for you. It’s building something with your hands and seeing progress in real time.
Tell us about the first thing you ever made.
Technically the first ceramic piece I ever made was a little santa hat for my parents in middle school, I think? But that feels like another lifetime so I would say for this part of my journey the first thing I ever made was the most perfect bowl in my first class and I have been trying for years to make another one like it!
Do you have a favorite piece?
I honestly don’t think I have an all-time favorite thing I’ve made. I have things that I am wildly happy with for a moment and then a few months go by and I have something else that I say is my favorite thing I’ve ever made. Top contenders would be a silly little bathtub I made for my business cards, an oil bottle with tentacle wrapping around it and my little tiny cauldrons because they are just so cute.
What are you currently trying to master?
Currently I am in a place with my business and craft that I am trying to blend the two things together. I’m working on production flow, how to balance my love for making pottery with being business minded for bigger and bigger shows.
As far as the actual art of making goes, I think I am just always working on making my technique and quality of my pieces better. The weight, the execution, the design, the functionality. It’s hard to track sometimes but when I look at things from a year or two ago I can really see a difference.
Talk about your creative process over the years. Where do you find the most inspiration?
I’ve always led my creative process with the idea that I want to always enjoy doing pottery. The way that manifests has changed throughout the years but I have done my best to allow myself to get excited about making rather than having strict outlines for what I have to do. This year I’ve gotten a little better at blending that with having more of an outline of what needs to be made and when.
I honestly think I find inspiration everywhere, which feels a bit cliche to say. It can come from people I meet at markets, I feel I’m very inspired by the communities I’m in. It can also come from being in the studio with friends and talking about different projects or getting input on things that I already make. Sometimes I’m just driving and something creeps into my brain and I have to just make it.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
I think lately one of the most challenging aspects for me is the marriage between my art and business and using social media as a tool to boost them. There are so many incredible, talented artists in the world and online and finding a place and a style on the internet in which to stand out and drive traffic to a website or events is proving to be the biggest puzzle for me.
What do you love most about ceramics and pottery? Where do you find inspiration?
Honestly everything. Except the part where it’s one of the most fickle art forms I’ve done and truly doesn’t care about your feelings. All jokes aside, I truly love it. I love how playful it is and how many things you can do within the medium. It feels like there are no limits to things you can do within it.
Teaching people continues to inspire me. It is so incredible to see people come into the studio for a 4 week class, regardless of experience, and see them learn and improve and then become incredible artists in their own right. All of my students challenge me to try new things so that they might be able to try them as well. One of my favorite moments is just when someone has an idea and I get to say “We’ll, I’ve never tried it but lets see what happens”.
You recently did your very first RenFaire! How was that for you?
Amazing. Dusty, tiring and the best experience of my pottery vending life to date. I have gone to RenFaires since I was in high school back in Connecticut. Being able to vend at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire always seemed like a dream opportunity and I’m so glad I had the encouragement of my fellow makers to finally apply this year.
It was so incredible to be in such a fun, creative space for a full month. Not just the other artists who were vending but also everyone in attendance who just brought so much joy with their outfits and characters, I missed it so much when it was over.
Doing the RenFaire was also a huge eye opener in how to approach my pottery and business for future events. It had been the biggest event I’d done in the 4+ years I’ve been doing makers markets and it was definitely a different kind of beast.
Renaissance Faires as a whole are a really unique thing to me, no matter which one you go to they have this sort of magic around them that sucks you in. Being invited into a community for multiple weeks at a time was the most unique market experience I’ve had so far.
What surprised you about the Faire experience?
I think what surprised me the most was just how much everyone in attendance really cared about the artists who were there. I had expected the long days and big crowds but hearing how many people were excited to see hand made, unique artists was really incredible.
Renaissance Faires as a whole are a really unique thing to me, no matter which one you go to they have this sort of magic around them that sucks you in. Being invited into a community for multiple weeks at a time was the most unique market experience I’ve had so far.
What is your favorite thing about being in the RenFaire world?
The community – without a doubt. I was so nervous as a first time vendor and I was so lucky to have the neighbors I did. Everyone took care of everyone else. I had new friends coming by on their breaks, helping me watch my stall and just keeping the energy alive throughout the day. My days could be as long as 15 hours so to head home at 9pm and just be so excited to go back and do it all again is really a testament to the kind of environment it is there.
Visit Natalie’s online store here and follow her on instagram to be the first to find out about new products and collections, or if you are local to LA, to find out what local markets NP Ceramics will be posted at next!