Today we’d like to introduce you to Yvonne Cavanagh.
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?
I started creating art when I was very young and always knew I would somehow work in the arts when I grew up. I took as many art classes in high school as I could. I really loved ceramics and obtained my BA in art with my emphasis in ceramics at San Francisco State University in 2002. I moved home to Bakersfield and began substitute teaching for the high schools and even my former high school ceramics teacher. She then decided to take a sabbatical for a semester and I stepped in to teach ceramics at the high school I was a student at just five years prior. They kept me on teaching art for a year and then I took over the ceramics position when my teacher retired. It was and still is amazing to me that it worked out that way. I am the only full-time ceramics high school position in the largest district in the state. I’ve now been teaching there for 19 years. I earned my teaching credential and master’s degree in education from the University of La Verne and I earned my MFA from Azusa Pacific University in 2018. I absolutely love teaching high school ceramics and it allows me to create my own work without the pressure of sales. I do sell my work but I have the support of my steady income to keep my energy on creativity and not on paying the bills. Additionally, since obtaining my MFA, I teach adjunct ceramics at Bakersfield College. I have a pottery studio at my home that I share with my husband and I teach private pottery lessons when I’m asked. In Bakersfield, there is not a local pottery studio so I am often called on to share my expertise.
I consider myself a multi-disciplinary artist as I draw mixed media pieces on paper as well and do pottery. In 2019, I had a solo exhibition at the Bakersfield Museum of Art that was a showing of both my ceramics and drawings. I am still very proud of this exhibit and look forward to future gallery and museum exhibitions at other institutions.
I recently applied for and was accepted into a 3-week residency at The Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Greece in June of 2023. I plan to work on a new body of drawings while I am there while also absorbing all the Greek pottery history.
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?
I would say, yes, it’s been smooth but I would like more opportunities to show my work to a large audience in person. I think the struggle is that I am located in Bakersfield, CA but with social media, I have been able to reach far and find others to follow, too.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Everything I do is one of a kind. As far as my pottery, lately I am interested bright colors, contrast, simple shapes with a vibrancy about them. Life has been so heavy the last few years I want to put my energy toward brightness and beauty.
I am most proud of a body of work I created for my MFA thesis and shown in a solo exhibition The Bakersfield Museum of Art. It included large (for me) mixed media drawings as well as 68 porcelain pieces that, when shown together, spoke to the powerful, intimate struggle of recovering from tragedy and moving forward to create new memories. You can see this exhibit on my website.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I think pottery has really gotten more exposure in the last few years. The appreciation for handmade anything has really increased.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yvonnecavanagh.com
- Instagram: @yvonne.cavanagh
- Facebook: Yvonne Cavanagh
