Rising Stars: Meet Lee Minton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Minton.

Hi Lee, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My formal training in art began with a BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where I explored many areas of the arts including ceramics, photography and design. I then received a MFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. I worked for years as both a fine artist and as a designer but always yearned for a pursuit that brought these skill sets closer together.

I rediscovered ceramics in 2012 and finally met the medium through which I could incorporate my fine art and design education while using my sensibilities to create objects that were functional, tactile, and elegant.

As a ceramicist, there are always new things I can learn and explore using the earth’s materials to produce work that has beauty and is also utile, and this keeps me inspired every day.

I currently sell my work online at mintonceramics.com, at a few local brick & mortar shops, and at in person markets throughout the year that I share on my IG @leemintonceramics

I live in Los Angeles with my husband, two daughters and two huge cats.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There were many years when I put my creative work on the back burner because I was on a new adventure of being a mom. As my daughters got older and more independent, I was slowly able to carve out time for creative exploration, which eventually led me back to ceramics. Now that one of my daughters is off to college and my other daughter just started high school, I am able to work on my ceramics nearly full-time. This slow progression has also been a gift. Learning the skills around working with clay comes through trial and error, and many of those happy accidents led me to the work I make today. I still get excited about all the possibilities to expand and grow in my chosen medium. I am proud of the unique line of ceramics I have created and know that I will always be learning and exploring ways to evolve as an artist and designer.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My ceramic work is a combination of wheel-throwing, slip-casting from molds I make and hand-building. Whichever technique I use, I focus on geometric forms, textures, patterns and intricate details. I tie different techniques together with an earthy palette of glazes, clay bodies and surface textures that all have a common thread of delicacy and elegance.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
It has always been a dream to have my own cone 10 gas kiln and in 2022 the stars aligned and an experienced ceramic teacher, Mike Flowers (Flower Pottery), offered me a used gas kiln that needed repairs. He generously offered to assist with getting this 1,200 lb beast back to being functional. I am deeply appreciative of the amount of time Mike has put into teaching and helping me with the kiln as I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.

Another hurdle for me was setting up a ceramic studio. A local potter, Alice Fujii (Alice Fujii Ceramics), graciously opened her studio to me and shared many creative money-saving tips that she implements at her studio. She built a spray booth made from a recycled dishwasher, built a DIY slab roller and DIY outdoor sink with a clay trap/ glaze filter. Opening up a ceramic studio can be costly and Alice generously shared her creative solutions with me about how to make a ceramic studio affordable. Alice has been a great resource and made setting up a home ceramic studio possible for me.

2023 will be a year of moving my practice out of a membership studio where I have been working for a number of years to my home studio, but because I enjoy being part of a creative community of artists, I hope to share my kiln firings with fellow potters in the years to come.

Contact Info:

• Website: mintonceramics.com
• Instagram: leemintonceramics

Image Credits
Portrait by Krista Ebert All other photographs by Lee Minton