Daily Inspiration: Meet Jacob Krieger

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Krieger.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My first serious experience with creating art was in college. I always had this love of tea and I always enjoyed tea-ware, but there was very little I was able to consider about handmade pots until it was taught to me. In my junior year of undergrad, I had a feeling that the hand building ceramics class my university offered would be a fun way to get my art credit — and it really was! It was the first time I felt a part of a creative community. I felt so fortunate in that I was surrounded by passionate people who were hell bent on making new, meaningful work. It was transformative to what I thought possible in craft and showed me how impactful supportive environments can be. Since that class, I have become more interested in space and community making. I have been exploring what it could mean for my tea-ware to be used as tools for anyone to take home and create new communities with.

To me, the act of making tea creates an inviting space, the act of inviting people into that space, helps create community.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think I’ve had it particularly bad, I still have my health and in that regard I will always be thankful for things could always be much worse. I do think life has still happened to me all the same, I have experienced sudden loss of friends and family, and I struggle with serious depression that will debilitate me for months at a time. Like many people, grief has found a way to eclipse large portions of my life and you can find memories of these experiences in my work, not because I wanted to make work about grief, but because I made the object and I was in a state of grieving. I think to be a maker means there is a kind of transparency you will offer with your work that you cannot avoid but I cant imagine the goal should be to avoid it anyway.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Overall, I would call myself a maker. Exploring different ways of making my own clay and glazes has turn into a love of process. I also have a love of firing atmospheric kilns, like a wood or soda kiln. This makes the firing process more labor intensive but it also invites a lot more variability and visual interest into my work. It takes a lot of honest attention to get the most out of atmospheric firing, there are a lot more chores to do like chopping wood, grinding shelves, or preparing the kiln itself. You also cant leave the kiln during firing which usually span multiple days, it needs to be fed wood constantly and you cant always do it alone, you need help, you need community to make the art and there is a lot of magic there. Atmospheric firing has been at the heart of my process for as long as I’ve worked with clay. I value the extra time with the kiln because it acts as a bridge between old and new work. It gives me a life and a path.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’ve always liked the artist documentaries Goldmark Gallery produced on youtube. They are a great insight into some of the many directions an artist cant take with clay.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dirtkettle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirt_kettle/

Image Credits
Images by Jacob Krieger