Today we’d like to introduce you to Em Harris.
Em, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started ceramics when I was a freshman in high school. It was a great creative outlet for me since I was never any good at music and I had to stop playing soccer. I ended up taking every art class my school offered, including AP classes. I was the first person in my school’s history to get a 5 in AP 3D. When it came time to apply to colleges, I only applied to one, Reinhardt University, and decided to pursue my talents with art. It took me six years, transferring to another school, transferring back to Reinhardt, and a lot of hard work, but I got my Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art. My senior art show was titled “Nature Strikes Back.” I made a series of sculptures that showed the human form being taken over by different aspects of nature.
After college, I began working full time, cramming in all my free time with ceramics. I took some sculptural classes at the Johns Creek Art Center where I made my first “GrumpMug.” That’s when I started making mugs and selling them on Etsy. A relative asked me one day if I could make a mug that looked like his father and I said, “I’ve never made a face meant to look like anyone specific before, but I’ll give it a shot!” The mug came out great and I started taking commissions for custom mugs!
About a year ago, I moved to Woodstock and became an apprentice for Betsy Oh Art. She has been teaching me so much about making sculptures and I am in her studio almost every day after work. When I’m not making GrumpMugs or commissions, I like to make sculptures that are dark and whimsical.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has never been a smooth road. Especially right now. I am trying to balance a full-time job and my ceramics business and just life in general, it’s a lot! Ceramics is a very tricky thing. The whole process of creating a piece takes a long time. Plus, pieces break, glazes run, things explode in the kiln. I had one commission mug go into the kiln pink and it came out a nasty green color. I’ve had to redo the entire mug. But getting to create unique pieces out of clay makes it all worth it.
Please tell us about Em Harris Ceramics.
I mainly make GrumpMugs (coffee mugs with grouchy faces) and custom mugs. I’m really proud of my commissioned mugs. I love seeing someone holding up one of my mugs that looks like them! But I also have a lot of fun experimenting with figurative sculptures. My mentor, Betsy, is always teaching me different techniques and challenging me to make bigger sculptures.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have applied to more colleges and gone to a state school. The only thing I regret is going to a private college and racking up ungodly amounts of student loans that are now suffocating me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/emharrisceramics
- Email: emharrisceramics@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/emharrisceramics
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/emharrisceramics
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