Check Out Carol Aronowsky’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Aronowsky. 

Hi Carol, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Once upon a time, a hospital-based Speech Pathologist moved to Los Angeles from NY and RI for the ‘perfect’ job. Upon arrival for the 1st day, she was told: “sorry, low census means no position”!!! So, she took a pottery class. I made pots, taught pottery, and worked in hospitals with neuro patients for the next 40 years. I retired from Daniel Freeman Rehabilitation and Long Beach Memorial Rehabilitation approximately 5+ years ago. It was a delightful combination and a great career. 

I participated in 2 communities; health and clay. Both are filled with top folks who supported me financially and emotionally and are still my friends today. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t consider that I faced any special obstacles or challenges. It was all just life. The one persistent self-manufactured internal debate pertained to whether or not to go back to school for an MFA so I could teach at the college level. I had a Master’s in Communication and Education, not Art. 

One night while teaching the most wonderful, creative group, in the most supportive studio ever (Xiem Clay Center, now Pasadena Clayhouse), I had an epiphany. 

It would not have been enough. 

As joyous as it was to create and help others create, my hospital work helping to restore communication, cognitive, and eating skills was invaluable. There would always be plenty of potters to replace me if I wasn’t around but quite honestly, that was not the case for my Stroke Rehabilitation skills. 

Once that tension resolved in latter middle age, I was home free! 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been a functional potter for most of my pottery career. I tend to be a minimalist in my decorating style. I like pots to have a purpose and a reason. (BTW, potters will call any vessel a ‘pot’.) Plus, I think food and liquid taste better in a handmade high-fire, stoneware vessel. My mugs are popular. They were honed from selling to my co-workers at the Hospital. The Sisters of Carondolet were at the forefront of realizing the wastefulness of Styrofoam and it was banned. My mugs had to fit many different size hands, be sturdy and keep the liquid hot for as long as possible. My customers worked right next to me and were not shy to critique! 

Prior to working in clay, I relaxed by drawing and painting. It wasn’t hard to consider the clay as my canvas. The glazing part of the process is my favorite. 

Within the pottery world, I traveled a great deal to study pots from other cultures and eras. I have taken multiple studio tours throughout Japan. I have studied American Southwest Pottery via Archeology trips to ancient Anasazi sites and taken Archeology of Ceramics classes. I have taken workshops with numerous local and nationally recognized potters, including living and working with Felipe Ortega, Jicarilla Apache master of micaceous clay. 

I am a voracious reader, lifelong student, and have an outstanding pottery book collection. 

I have had a very varied clay life. I spent a few years as a production potter in NYC. I participated in craft fairs. I have entered juried shows, been in galleries all while working in hospitals as well as teaching clay at many local studios. 

Teaching is a joy and gives me access to meeting so many different folks that I never would be able to meet on my own. It also helps me keep up with trends and shifts in culture, technology as well as even simple things like pottery tools. 

What matters most to you? Why?
In ceramics, I like work that is well crafted, humble, and original. As I stated above, I enjoy functional pottery. I think a bowl can be as beautiful and moving as any work of art in any medium. A beginner’s piece can be wonderful too, as it contains an innocence that is often missing from pots made by more talented potters. 

I’ve read much about the different ways to critique a pot and I have come up with my own formula for what makes a successful pot. I like a pot that is well-balanced in the literal and figurative sense. No one criteria stands out too much. 

Regarding teaching; the post-Covid era brought a huge shift. The business of pottery classes, pottery private lessons, pottery parties, pottery family time, corporate team building pottery parties, as well as studio memberships has exploded. Opportunities to earn money has increased too. It’s fun being a part of it. It was revolutionary to witness the shifts from catalogs to the web and gallery sales to Instagram or Etsy and this has also been phenomenal. 

Historically, in my teaching experience, all sorts of motivations got someone to a pottery class. But just after vaccinations allowed folks out, the “workers from homes”, “the sitters in front of a computer screen 8+ hours a day”, the “20-30 something singles” came in droves. The classroom atmosphere was joyous and celebratory. People could be with new faces (vaccinated and masked!), and they had a blast. They loved the process, and the pot was a bonus. 

I think though, that this year, the old motivator that taking a pottery class will relieve stress has returned. Pottery isn’t easy and it can be frustrating if expectations are too high. 

One interesting trend I noticed just prior to Covid that has continued, is the entry of designers into the pottery field. They use their marketing, production, and business acumen and sometimes achieve success fairly quickly. 

Originality is important to me. I hear folks say about pottery that it has all been done before. I would debate that. Sometimes, a student will hold up something from Instagram and want to make it. It starts a very interesting conversation. (I may have been a Property Rights Attorney in another Lifetime!) 

As I mentioned it isn’t easy to make a pot. I respect when students get that. I enjoy when students are fascinated by the whole field of ceramics and will engage in extracurricular research. It’s so easy now with ‘Google’. 

I am also content if they just answer my emails. 

I started an Instagram during Covid; “I_Crack_Myself_Up_CGA and tell my students that I think I am funny but no worries because no points off if they don’t agree. They usually stare at me for a few weeks and then ignore. I definitely respect that. I had a student 1x who really ‘got me’ very quickly. I asked her, how? She said, she went to Brandeis and took “Carol” in college!!! I loved that except it meant I wasn’t ‘original. She and I remain good friends. 

Humor matters.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carolaronowskypottery
• Instagram: @carolaronowskypottery