Studio Visit: Eefje Theeuws

As mentioned yesterday, I was first introduced to Eefje Theeuws’ collection of handformed ceramics, Materia Lumina, while shopping at Beatrice Valenzuela’s Echo Park storefront. Later, I heard more about her work through Simone LeBlanc – longtime friends, they went to CCA in San Francisco together (Simone for Fashion, Eefje for Architecture) and shared a cool old loft in the SOMA district of the city. Needless to say, the moment I saw her work, I knew it would be a wonderful fit for my Montecito store.

Eefje was kind enough to open the doors of her Joshua Tree studio space to us, and I’m so happy to now share with you. A thoughtful, calming, and soulful space that is deeply connected to its surroundings, it feels much like Eefje and the pieces she creates. Inspirational quotes in ornate handwriting adorn the walls, and her collections of black and white postcards and beautiful fabrics (often used to imprint texture onto her pieces) only add to the warmth. I hope you enjoy this look inside. XXJKE

R+T: How and when did you enter into the world of hand-formed ceramics? What was it that drew you to this art form?

Well, before I got into Ceramics, I studied and practiced Architecture and Interiors in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years. A lot of my focus was always on materiality and really shaping spaces, so it’s not surprising to me I am working with ceramics now. I often used to say, actually, that I didn’t study Architecture to become an Architect; I studied it to learn how to sculpt space.

The actual ceramic work didn’t come into my life till I lived in Monterey, years later, while I was working as a designer for the super talented landscape architect, Bernard Trainor. One day, my neighbor, dear friend (and now fellow ceramist), the wonderful Peggy Alonas, dropped by the cottage I was living in at the time and just out of the blue handed me a bag of clay and tools. She said “Here, these are for you, I think you would really like this.” I started playing with the clay and really loved it, so I decided to take a class to get the basics and from there things just started taking off. That was around 5 years ago.

What I initially really loved about ceramics was the immediacy of the medium in that you can design something, make it and have it completely finished in a matter of weeks vs. the years I was used to in the realm of Architecture, where projects often take many years and many people to complete. With clay, there is a huge amount of gratification for me in being able to produce it all with my own hands and have complete creative freedom around both the design and the production.

R+T: Can you share a bit about your sources of inspiration?

My biggest sources of inspiration are things that are raw, organic and simple with a touch of natural elegance, like long gently curving sun bleached tree trunks washed up on a tropical shore or the fine subtle texture variations in a hand-plastered wall. I love all things minimal and soulful, so anything that is simple and comfortable in form yet full of texture, movement and life is inspiring. Nature herself is of course the biggest inspiration of all…her patterns, elements and energies are simply just unparalleled magnificence. I am amazed constantly at the beauty and brilliance of what is right in front of us if we choose to pay attention.

R+T: Tell us a bit about your process… Do you have a clear idea for each of the pieces that you create, or do they tend to evolve as you go?

It really depends on the project. When I am working on a custom plate design, for example, first there are some loose sketch ideas that get the idea down on paper. After that come a few prototypes to get it translated into 3d and then it becomes a matter of refining the piece till it is done. Most of the work is really in the process of making it and actually interfacing with the clay body and whatever I am using for the imprinting. I do also make things without designing them up front and this usually involves me just allowing the clay to move in my hands till something emerges.

A pretty important part of my process is also really trying to see “mistakes” as something to really work with, since usually there is some new pattern or some new way that emerges through this. The clay can really be a great reflection of your life in that it shows you directly how you operate. If you are rigid and needing perfection, it will show and often create a lot of disappointment. If you are loose and open, that will also show in the pieces and reflect in a more relaxed result and sometimes a whole other piece all together!

Clay is truly one of the most humble materials on the planet, since it accepts our impressions with very little resistance. In its wet form, it is yielding to the utmost…not to mention the amount of water that is present and also receiving energetic impressions. So one can learn a tremendous amount from the materials themselves, if one is present and open to receive the teachings they offer.

R+T: Do your surroundings have a large impact on the pieces that you create? Can you share a bit about what makes Joshua Tree so special? How did you choose this location?

Well, my surroundings have always strongly influenced my personal journey and my life, so yes, I would say where I am living does really impact the pieces I create since they are the context around the creations. When I lived in Monterey and started working with the Post Ranch Inn and Aubergine at L’Auberge Carmel, I was inspired by a lot of the coastal beauty there, so the influences of the great Pacific and the Redwoods, for example, were in my work then. Now that I am here exploring the Mojave desert, there are other influences at play, like the Joshua Trees and the Creosote brush, the majestic mountain peaks, the open vistas and the soil that is really more like coarse sand or fine decomposed granite.

The actual physical conditions of a place, especially the weather, can also really impact the work in terms of dry time and even firing effects too so this can be a wonderful thing in that you get more pieces dried in less time if you live in a hot and dry place like Joshua Tree, but it can also create some havoc if you are working with porcelain, for example, which does not do well when drying to quickly. In general though, I love exploring the land in my work, both via the imprints I often work with but also just in the general sense of working with the actual land in the form of clay that has been around and present inside the earth for thousands of years. It is really such a timeless and deeply rooted art…I feel really grateful to be able to do this work.

And then to answer your question about what is so wonderful about Joshua Tree, I would have to say it is the sense of space and deep spirituality one can have access to here. It really is an energetic and spiritual mecca of sorts where if you know how to work with these forces, it can really help you manifest creatively. There is very little distraction around, and the natural forces are really clear and strong, so there is a lot of clarity available. On the other hand, it definitely also has its challenges in being a bit remote without a lot of cultural events, so this can be not so good. If you can find positive ways to deal with that, though, and you enjoy a lot of peace and quiet, then it’s a great place to be, especially as an artist or creative person with a vision and a body of work.

R+T: How does your role as Modern Medicine Woman affect your work as a ceramist, and visa versa?

It’s interesting, I don’t think of the Medicine Work as a role as much as a Spirit Calling. It’s not something I ever in a million years thought I would be doing although, of course, in retrospect things do add up and make sense when you put them together.

The way the Spiritual work affects the ceramics is that it really is all about infusing matter with light, which is truly, in essence, the basis of all healing. It is also the name of my company, Materia Lumina, which literally means “illuminated matter” or “illuminated earth”. It is a very simple concept…how to actually manifest it is another story, but also not hard to do if one is trained properly with good guidance and practice. It is really just a matter of being well versed and sensitive enough to sense and work with energies. Ultimately, the ceramic work is about infusing the pieces with healing energies and the Medicine work is the same…infusing and connecting the vessel of the human body with the most divine and healing energies possible, so that person can become available to live their best life.

R+T: If you had to, could you pick a favorite piece or collection?

Wow, that is something I have never thought about. That’s a tough one because somehow they all become my babies and I love them all so much. If I had to answer that, though, I would have to say that the Zen bowls are probably my favorite, since that is where it all really started for me. They were the first pieces I made a fairly big amount of and people really seemed to connect with them, so they will always have a special place in my heart. I also really love some of the ceremonial pieces I make because of the healing energies they help bring in for people. All of my work is really geared towards bringing in those higher vibrations, but the Medicine items in particular, are intended for use in Ceremony, when those energies are of course intensely potent. What happens afterward is that the energies stay in the bowls and so start to get programmed directly into the work. It’s a beautiful thing.

R+T: Can you talk a little bit about the materials you use? The textures are so unique, what methods do you use?

ET: Well, I work the ancient way…which means all by hand. I don’t use a wheel, not because I don’t like it, just because it feels more natural to do it all by hand and I like not being dependent on a machine to help me. To shape my pieces, I use different forms, mostly wooden and metal, various fabrics and basic wooden hand tools. I have always loved textiles so it really doesn’t surprise me that they feature heavily in my work. It also doesn’t surprise me that I started making bowls from the beginning as opposed to sculptures or more geometric forms, for example, since I just discovered a set of 2 very simple, textured bowls I bronze cast during my second year in college in San Francisco. I had forgotten I made these but in finding them again, I realized the “nourishing vessels” theme has been around for a very long time…

R+T: What is the most rewarding part of your work?

ET: That is a two-part answer, really, each with equal weight…

The first reward is that I get to work from the comfort and beauty of my own home, have complete creative freedom and make my own schedule. Living a spiritual life often entails surprising and unplanned things like impromptu Ceremonies or Prayers that get called for at whatever time they decide to be called for, so this requires a certain amount of flexibility with one’s schedule. Most of the time, my ceramics practice allows me to have this flexibility. Sometimes I do get really busy with the bigger orders, so at times it becomes all about the ceramics, but typically there is a good amount of balance and flexibility.

And the other reward is seeing how much people are drawn to the work on an energetic level in addition to the physical or formal level. A lot of people tell me the work is beautiful, that they like the textures and the shapes and I take it as a huge compliment, of course. But there are also people who really feel the energetics in work and this is truly the biggest compliment of all. It means I am doing my job well and that the healing work is coming through. I always feel super honored that people actually feel drawn enough to bring the work into their homes…it’s a great feeling.