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#81 Being Inspired by the darker side of natural history w/ Em Piscopo
25 Plays3 years ago
On this episode of Shaping Your Pottery I got to interview Em Piscopo. Em makes some really amazing sgraffito that is inspired by the darker side of natural history.
Top 3 value bombs
1. Being inspired by the Darker Side of Natural History
2. Just going with the flow when making your pottery
3. Allowing Yourself time to just play with your pottery
and much more
You can follow Em on Instagram Here @nightshadestudios
Learn how to find what you like to make with your pottery in this Free audio Program by Clicking Here
Listen to other episodes here Shaping Your Pottery
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Transcript
Introduction to Pottery Program
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey, real quick before we get started, if you have been struggling with choosing what you would actually like to focus on with your pottery, I created a free seven-part audio program that will help you find exactly that what you would like to work on with your pottery. Click the link in the description or go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash ace. I'll see you in there.
Interview with Em Piscopo
00:00:25
Speaker
Welcome to Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres where we help you discover your own unique voice so you can stand out from the crowd and have more fun making pottery so you make pottery that is truly amazing.
00:00:38
Speaker
What is up everybody? Welcome to Shaping Your Pottery with Nick Torres. In this episode of Shaping Your Pottery, I got to interview Em Piscopo. Em makes some really incredible graffito design. She makes designs that are very based in the darker nature side of things. In this episode, you will learn how Em makes her designs and how
00:01:02
Speaker
and how to discover your voice as well.
Em's Color Preferences
00:01:05
Speaker
Em, welcome to Shaping Your Pottery and share with me what is one thing people might not know about you. Well, thank you for having me here. One thing is that I love black, but my favorite color is pink. Oh, very interesting.
Pottery Beginnings
00:01:20
Speaker
So can you tell me the story how you got started in clay?
00:01:25
Speaker
Yeah, so about three and a half years ago, I was working on my bachelor's of biology and I needed an art elective and I had always wanted to do pottery. It was just something that I was so interested in. So I took a hand building class and it didn't go great, but I was immediately just obsessed with it. So pretty quickly after that, I'd say six month-ish class, I joined a community studio and I've been there ever since.
00:01:53
Speaker
Awesome, awesome.
Macabre Influences
00:01:55
Speaker
So you are inspired by the darker side of natural history and all things spooky. What is it about these things that you like?
00:02:03
Speaker
I always been drawn to the macabre. I grew up in kind of a spooky household. We always would watch horror movies and read spooky books and try to scare each other. So that's always been deeply ingrained in me as a person. And just when I started doing art, I didn't really realize that that was going to be a style that emerged, but it was just always what I kept coming back to. How does this affect like what you are planning on making?
00:02:32
Speaker
I'd say it doesn't. I kind of let that just all happen organically. If I have an idea that just keeps me up at night, I'll do it. But for the most part, it's not like, oh, I want this to be spooky or I want this to be a snake. It's just I look at a pot and I think that's what should be on that.
Sgraffito Process Explained
00:02:50
Speaker
So can you explain to me how you use graffiti to make your designs?
00:02:57
Speaker
Yes, so I love to use Amaco's Jet Black Underglaze, highly recommend that. So I usually apply two to three layers on, it really depends too, on what detail level you're going for on your piece. If you want it to be super detailed, I'd say almost closer to bone dry, not quite, because then you can get those really nice thin lines. So that's typically the stage that I will start a scroffito at.
00:03:27
Speaker
But I guess if you want thicker lines, you can kind of do it more leather hard. It's just really up to you. But I typically go closer to bone dry, three layers, and then just kind of go in. I freehand everything.
Tools and Tips for Sgraffito
00:03:40
Speaker
Why do you do three layers? I just like that it gets it the blackest black. So you also said that you start you carving in bone dry. How did you figure that out?
00:03:53
Speaker
Um, so it's not totally bone dry, but close to bone dry. And I just figured that out through a lot of experimentation. I started on wetter clay, but I didn't like how the lines were deeper and thicker. So I would just kind of keep edging up until it got drier and drier and realized, Oh, I really like how thin these lines can get and how much more detail you can get. Why don't you like the thick lines when you are curving?
00:04:21
Speaker
For me personally, it's just my style. I like it when other people do it, just I don't like it on mine. Very interesting. So what advice would you give to someone trying to add graffiti to their pottery? I would say definitely get a good underglaze. I do recommend the Diamondcore L1 Tool.
00:04:44
Speaker
You can totally just use a needle tool to start out. You don't need to buy a $45 tool, but if you really want to get into it, I do recommend that tool. And then just a whole lot of practice. It takes a lot of time.
Design Philosophy: Chaos over Blank
00:04:56
Speaker
So most of your pottery has some type of black in it. What is it about black that just kind of draws you into it?
00:05:06
Speaker
I hate negative space. I hate it. I need everything to be chaotic. I need it to just be completely filled. And if there's like a blank spot, it drives me nuts. So black is a really great way to fill that in. And then typically I'll go over the black and carve into it. But if not, that doesn't bother me as much as if I had just left it like white or red. Just so I'm wondering how the green works.
The Joy of Pottery
00:05:35
Speaker
So when you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you need to get back on track? I make a lot of lists. I often feel unfocused and sometimes overwhelmed. So just to put everything into perspective, make sure that I get on top of everything, have a schedule, that helps. And then I really do allow myself time to play because that's why we do pottery, right? We want to have fun with it. It shouldn't be overwhelming.
00:06:04
Speaker
You know, we do it so that we can shut our brains off and enjoy the process. So I definitely give myself room to do that. How does allowing yourself to play just help with the process? It gets you back into it and it helps you remember, oh, this is why I like doing it. I don't have to meet this deadline. It doesn't need to be about that. It can just be about what clay means to you. And I really enjoy that. I mean, like I said, that's why we all do it. We love what it does for us.
00:06:34
Speaker
I love it. I absolutely love it.
Challenges of Glazing
00:06:36
Speaker
So over the last three and a half years, what would you say has been your biggest struggle for pottery? All of it. Glazing for sure. I'm getting to a point where I don't dread it as much, but it still is my least favorite part of the process. I think a lot of people can relate and that you put so much time and effort into a piece.
00:06:59
Speaker
And then, you know, you glaze it. Thank God it's gonna be great. And you come out and you're like, what? That still happens. I wouldn't say a lot, but a fair bit. So that's where I struggle. Yeah, glazing is one of those things that are just hard to figure out a lot of the times.
Creative Integrity in Commissions
00:07:14
Speaker
It is. And, you know, there's so many variables. It's always a mixed bag. What, over these three and a half years, what would you say you've gotten better at saying no to so that you, your process has gotten better?
00:07:28
Speaker
For sure, commissions I don't want to take. I love commissions and everything, but if there's one that is just not going to align with where I'm at creatively, I just have to say no, because then I don't really give it my all, and nobody's going to be happy that way. What do those typical commissions look like that you say no to? They can really be anything. Sometimes they're things I'm really excited to do.
00:07:58
Speaker
But I just I can't give myself that focus at the time. Or it's a piece that I haven't made for six months or something and somebody wants one. And, you know, if I'm on to something else, I just can't go back. I'm always kind of trying to move forward and I don't know improve. So sometimes it's just hard to get into that headspace when you're somewhere else.
00:08:24
Speaker
So you mentioned always trying to improve.
Reflecting on Pottery Progress
00:08:27
Speaker
What does that look like with your pottery? It's so funny. I'm working on Halloween and holiday stuff because of course that's the season. And I was looking at my stuff last year right when I started Nightshade.
00:08:44
Speaker
And it's just wild, you know, I'm revisiting certain things, but the way they're done is so different. How they look is so different. The tools I'm using are different. It's just, you know, it's a process. So it takes a really, really long time to start honing that. But once you figure it out, it's so fun to see how far it goes. What is your pottery like used to look like before you started improving it further?
00:09:11
Speaker
It looks pretty much the same, just less defined. Explain that to me. So the concepts and the ideas and all of that were still there.
00:09:26
Speaker
It just, like I said, it takes a lot of practice to get the straight lines and to get the definition you want, the shading you want. So I can just see, even though I was really, really proud of all of the pieces that I was making last year, right when I started all of that, I can just see the difference that the year has made. I agree. For those that are listening, it's important to kind of look at your work from past, but try to keep on improving it as well. Exactly.
00:09:57
Speaker
So what are Nightshade's plans for the future? What are your plans for the future for Nightshade?
Expanding the Brand
00:10:04
Speaker
So I did just do a little apparel launch, which was really, really fun. So I'm hoping to keep that moving. Add more prints. I am working on a few really fun, special projects, but you would just have to follow along so you can do that on my Instagram. It's at Nightshade Studios.
00:10:23
Speaker
So can you give me one of those little projects, just a little trailer? OK, I'll give just like a little hint. I'm working on launching a much larger website and platform that way. So how is that going to help later on? It's not going to be just one thing. So it will kind of help with all of my interests and other things that people kind of ask me about.
00:10:53
Speaker
So it's just going to be more of an all-encompassing nightshade type deal.
Design Process and Inspirations
00:10:59
Speaker
I see. I see. Yeah. So when you are coming up with designs, how do you what does that process look like before you start like adding sgraffito onto your pottery? Typically, it just looks like
00:11:15
Speaker
I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep and I cannot fall asleep. It's 3 AM. My mind won't stop going, oh, and then you could do this. Oh, and you could do that. And so it's, it's very organic. It just kind of happens. You can be doing, I can be driving and see a rabbit. I'm like, ah, it'd be fun to add that, you know? It's a, there's really no planning in anything I do. I wish I could say that I am a better planner, but working on that.
00:11:41
Speaker
love it. I love that spontaneousness of pottery. It's just so fun. It is so fun.
Advice for Aspiring Potters
00:11:49
Speaker
So what advice would you give to someone looking to try to find their own unique voice with their pottery?
00:11:56
Speaker
For one, I would say find things that you're really drawn to. Like when you look at art, what excites you? And then kind of compile that list and start, don't copy, never copy anything, but start imitating, start practicing that. And then eventually you are going to start finding your own style, but it's just going to take a lot of time and practice impatience. Excellent advice, love it.
Final Thoughts on Pottery
00:12:22
Speaker
So as we're coming to a close here, what is one thing you want to hammer home with my audience today? Stick with the process. Make sure you get your practice in. But above all else, enjoy it. It's supposed to be fun. That's why we do this. Don't ever make it deeper than it needs to be. We're artists. We like clay. We like playing with mud. Just let it be simple. So it was really great chatting with you today. Where can my audience go and check out your work?
00:12:52
Speaker
You can go to my website, nightshadesstudios.shop or my Instagram, nightshadesstudios. Thanks for listening to this episode of Shaping Your Pottery. If you have questions about developing your voice or just pottery questions in general, send them to me my way. Go to shapingyourpottery.com forward slash contact to send me your questions.