Meet Julie Anderson | Ceramic Artist and Arts Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
The most important lesson I have learned is having patience and perseverance. When I was younger, I thought I was going to be able to make a living as an artist right away. In reality, it has taken many years and a lot of creativity and adaptation to succeed. Nothing is going to just fall into your lap. It takes diligence and consistence. I like to say that the energy you put out will come back to you. You have to keep following up on every little lead and thinking about what your next job will be even when you are swamped with the current project you are working on.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What sets me apart for many artists is that I actually went to college for biology, although I did obtain a minor in art. I am very methodical and goal-oriented in how I create my artwork, which I think comes from my understanding of the scientific method. This allows me to work on large and complex projects and to communicate my ideas thoroughly before beginning commissions and gallery installations.

I got to where I am today by diversifying my sources of income and not being afraid to work in other mediums as a means to make money. This allowed me to make the artwork that I truly want to make. For a number of years, I made whatever people wanted me to make in ceramics so that I could pay my bills and ended up hating working this way. Then when people asked me to utilize my skills with paint, making one material look like another as a faux finisher, I found it much easier to make money and didn’t feel like I was killing my artistic soul. I was simply utilizing a skill in one medium so that I could be much more creative in another medium that I deeply loved. This allowed me the time to make ceramic artwork for gallery exhibitions and not worry whether or not the work sold right away in order to pay my mortgage. This was very freeing for me.

I want the world to know that nature is my ultimate teacher and the inspiration for my art. Spending time in the outdoors hiking, biking and skiing has given me the headspace to observe nature on intimate level. Being worn down by increasing elevation and unpredictable weather helps me strip away the incessant thoughts of everyday life. I become more focused on the natural environment, observing how plants grow in the sun and how they sway or tremble in the wind. I see the birds fly and memorize their songs to identify each species without seeing them. These small observations are what inspire my work as an artist, creating ceramic wall installations of many small parts that appear to flow, grow and evolve.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Rather than staying in a city, I love to take visitors backpacking in wilderness areas in the Rocky Mountains. I would pull out my library of maps and find a place in the backcountry I have not yet visited. It could be somewhere near where are live or it could be many miles away. It’s even better when there is no official trail and you you have to navigate on your own. There are seemingly endless beautiful and remote places to visit just in Colorado alone. My husband and I usually have enough gear in our closet to outfit 2 other guests with backpacks, sleeping bags, and rain gear. We have a significant cache of dehydrated backpacking meals ready to go at any moment. I would just bring water and a filter for drinking water – alcohol and other beverages are just extra weight and distractions from paying attention to what is happening around you in nature.

Sometimes staying along a ridge line with endless views of the landscape is the best option when the weather is good. However, when the storms roll in, I try to get into the safety of the valleys and continue to hike through the rain. The sound of the rain drops on my jacket or on the trees and plants around me is soothing to my ears. Normally when we are near civilization, we would just opt to be indoors and avoid these moments in a more comfortable and dry environment. When you’re backpacking, you have no choice but to be in it, much like the animals who live in these areas. Being in a harsh environment makes us more grateful for the shelter we have around us on a daily basis.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to thank my mother-in-law, Ann Grasso for her tireless encouragement of finding my own path in the world of art and entrepreneurship as a woman. I also want to thank my father, Larry Anderson for showing me that art-making is in my blood and for taking me to countless museums, galleries and art fairs ever since I was a young child.

Website: julieandersonceramics.com

Instagram: @julieandersonceramics

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-anderson-81ab1637/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julieandersonceramics/

Image Credits
Marianne Brown Photography (only one image) and Nancy Jeffrey (only one image).