Meet Annette Janelle Provenzo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Annette Janelle Provenzo.

Hi Annette, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I discovered my interest in ceramics in high school, but never had the opportunity to explore it more deeply until I attended Paradise Valley Community College and took Ceramics 101 as an elective while earning my Associates of Fine Art degree. During that formative semester, I rediscovered the joy of creating something tangible in three dimensions. I developed the early iterations of my first successful design which would be the basis of my first business venture – my Happy Kitty Mug and the Happy Kitty Ceramics brand I built around it. After the semester ended, I retained some extra clay from class, a rustic brown earthenware, and brought the materials home with me and began to explore ceramics further on my own. I attended my first ever art show in Phoenix and nearly sold out of my first batch of Happy Kitty Mugs offered to the general public. Shortly thereafter, I decided to give porcelain a try. It has a reputation of being one of the more difficult types of clay to work with, and it has been my favored material ever since. Since I’ve still only had one formal class in ceramics, I consider myself mostly self-taught in ceramics, and entirely self-taught in using porcelain.

Early last year I knew it was time to rebrand my business. Happy Kitty Ceramics no longer describes the breadth of my work, as I’ve added many new designs that have nothing to do with cats to my repertoire. These days, my nude people pots and mugs are bestsellers. I also make pieces that focus on illustrative surface decoration, create variations on celestial themes featuring the Moon and Sun that explore textures, and a collection that focuses on movement with free-hanging shapes that excite the senses, as well as various custom pieces upon request. I’m always exploring ways to connect the themes and elements in these distinct design directions while refining my skills and exploring new techniques. Lately I’ve been a little obsessed with a finishing technique that emphasizes the tactile and visual beauty of unglazed porcelain. Whimsy will always be a hallmark of my work, but as I’ve matured in my artistic aesthetic and my skills have grown, so has my design sensibility and the whimsical is more blended with refinement these days. Rebranding my business to Atelier Annette Janelle has given me license to freely explore broader ideas and what I want to really represent with my artwork now that I am untethered to a particular subject matter or theme, and that’s allowing me growing room.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No road is truly smooth. I’ve had great high points at art shows, like the Tempe Fall Festival of the Arts in 2018, when I won Best in Show, and I’ve had terrible shows where I lost money and left feeling incredibly discouraged. I’ve encountered blinding sexism and entitled cheapskates demanding discounts at events over the years. As an independent artist, nothing is ever guaranteed, but I love my work and I’m determined to make a career of it. The pandemic has certainly complicated things for those of us who rely on art shows and other in-person events for the majority of our income. I held a part-time job with a marketing company for just shy of six years in addition to my ceramics business which I was forced to leave late last year when my employer decided that he didn’t want part-time remote workers in that department anymore. I’m lucky and very grateful to have an active following on Instagram and some lovely collectors who support my work. It has been a challenge to shift online with artwork that relies so much on the three-dimensional, real-world experience of it, but I’m making it work and taking it month by month. I’m certainly looking forward to getting vaccinated and applying to art shows again in the future! Honestly, I can’t wait to share some of the new things I’ve been working on in person.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a ceramic artist specializing in mid fire porcelain. I’m known for my undeniably joyful naked people pots and the design that got me started in ceramics, the Happy Kitty Mug. I’m most proud of creating my nude people pots. You might be surprised at the amount of courage it actually takes to create a thing that has genitals sculpted on it and then show it to strangers in public. It was so worth it and makes a lot of people smile. Now they’re my bestseller!

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I think Phoenix and the surrounding cities have a surprising amount of variety and a lot of hidden gems. I wish it wasn’t all so spread out though.

Contact Info:

• Email: ajporcelain@gmail.com
• Website: https://annettejanelle.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajporcelain/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annettejanelle

Image Credits:
Annette Janelle