Life & Work with Carolyn Fisch of Oro Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carolyn Fisch.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
STORY:
My most impressionable experience with art in my youth was working occasionally with my mother’s fine art curatorial service in Chicago. I gained a better understanding of the art world and a deep appreciation for the artists. It was amazing to see the projects evolve from start to finish, with my mother’s professional abilities serving corporations with their art needs combined with her sincere interest in discovering and promoting artists.
In college, I studied interior design and graphic design. Later in life when my children were in high school, I decided to take a deep dive into three-dimensional art. My experience with clay just took off within an amazing cooperative community in the Chicago area called Clay Space, the absolute best learning ground I could have asked for. Serving on the operations committee was invaluable.

After this experience and a move to Omaha, Nebraska, I was ready to have a home studio in my basement. It was just the right time for me to find a way to bring my pottery to the public. I found the right gallery, but they wanted something different. They were complimentary of my glazed work but wanted to see something no one had done before with pottery. What could I do that people had not yet done with mud that has been here longer humanity? So I dug and found a 12th-century Eastern European practice of sealing pottery. A technique that had been lost once glazed pottery took over the marketplace. This method leaves the ceramics somewhat porous, which is definitely unfavorable for dinnerware. This would be real art pottery! I looked at this as a tremendous opportunity and realized only a few potters were working with this process here in the States. Time to give it a try! I was successful at working with this process and was able to show and maintain a presence in the artist’s cooperative gallery in the old market in Omaha, Nebraska, for a year before I moved to Arizona. Now I’m dedicated to expanding this art form into traditional pottery forms creating one of a kind ceramic art pieces including pottery, sculpture, and wall decor.

We all face challenges, but looking back, is there one challenge in particular that changed your perspective?
Some things you just can’t make up. Last October I suffered strep throat, scarlet fever, pneumonia, and a broken eardrum. People gave me a hard time about taking my medieval pottery too far with the Scarlet fever. That was funny. That was about the only thing that was funny. Just after I recovered from all that I had the worst and most challenging obstacle in my life. On January 21st I sustained a mild traumatic brain injury  with post-concussive syndrome. That means it is taking a long time for my brain to heal. My biggest fear was dealing with vertigo. Could I ever work on my wheel again? Luckily, after a couple of months, yes! Drive again? Scary, but finally, yes. Walk around without the fear of falling and sustaining another head injury because of waves of nausea and dizziness. Not yet; it has been a long 4 months of slow and steady improvement. Never give up! So I have a new brain; deal with it. I have new fears and deal with them. There are upsides; I have new and better ways of doing things and acute adherence to situational awareness. I unapologetically take naps at random (not while driving) when needed. Life is just like this. Use it. I am fortunate to be alive and functioning. Sometimes you don’t know how strong you can be until you have to be. Thriving in my fantastic home studio with my new ways and modified goals is the next chapter of my journey.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I create one-of-a-kind ceramic forms, fire them once in an electric kiln, then carefully take them through a 12th-century Eastern European rare style of sealing pottery known as Obvara. There are no glazes or under glazed used in traditional Obvara. This process involves heating the ceramics till they are red hot, pulling them out of the kiln at around 1652 degrees Fahrenheit, and then dunking them quickly into and back out of a fermenting liquid of water, flour, yeast, and sugar. While the pieces are enduring tremendous thermal shock, celestial surface decorations erupt onto the surface of the ceramics. The markings result from the liquid being “scorched” onto the ceramic, and the liquid also serves as an air resist for a brief moment leaving distinct streaking markings before the piece is quenched into cold water where the markings are “set” or stop developing. This is a swift and careful art form! Every time I take one of my pieces through this process, their ultimate personalities are a complete joy to discover.

I work hard to create each piece to the most masterful level I can achieve. Then the rest is entirely organic and unpredictable. I love that too. This art form is quite relatable to our human experience. We can all relate to some fragility in our lives as we plan and work hard and are affected by or exposed to influence from nature and the greater universe we all share daily. The fact that my pieces are somewhat porous leaves an element of rawness being exposed ( unlike a glazed ceramic piece). We can relate to that emotionally as well;  going through the fire and taking on life’s impressions. The unknown can be a beautiful thing. I am currently represented as a featured artist in The Museum Store at the Tucson Museum of Art & Historic Block. I also have a showroom and gift shop as a resident artist in Oro Valley at the Artists and Makers Studios.

What makes you happy?
I am happy knowing that every piece I create is one of a kind, just like we all are in our human experience. Having control over my process in my own studio in my backyard is incredibly liberating and exciting. Happiness for me right now is being able to continue to hone my craft to the point where it is emotionally accessible and recognizably masterful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blazingcanyonstudio.com