Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Potter crafts art at college, sells online

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

How would you like a nice jellyfish for your house? No, really.

The creatures are ceramic with ribbon tentacles, though, instead of the actual stinging sea dwellers.

At the Socorro Farmers Market, Colleen Villanova sells her handmade pottery, including bowls, ornaments, magnets, necklace pendants, coasters, multi-purpose curved tiles, vases and, yes, hanging jellyfish.

Villanova makes her pieces in New Mexico Tech Community College classes with instructor Loretta Lowman, but she pays for her own materials. She sells under the business name of Star Shine Ceramics.

"I'm always bringing out new items and trying new techniques all the time, and I even do custom orders," she said.

The potter is even working on a mortar and pestle for a couple in Holland. She met them in Socorro and kept in touch.

Villanova sells her work online at www.starshineceramics.etsy.com, although she updates the Web site more in the winter after the Farmers Market closes.

Many of Villanova's creations are safe for use with food, the microwave and dishwasher.

Crystalline glazes have become Villanova's specialty. Glazes are chemicals potters paint onto clay before firing it to achieve a surface of a particular appearance and texture.

With crystalline glazes, the crystals grow on the clay during firing, and Villanova has no control over where or in what amount they appear.

"I can never make two crystalline pieces identical," she said. "It's impossible."

Few potters use that type of glaze, and when they do, it's usually on a small vase worth $100, Villanova said. Since not everyone can afford such items, she puts the glaze even on things she sells for less than $10.

The inspiration for the jellyfish came from the moon jellies at the Albuquerque Aquarium.

"And, no, I've never been stung by one; people always ask that," she said. "That's probably why I like them so much."

Villanova's husband, Tom, normally attends the Farmers Market with her.

"He is definitely an inspiration to me, and he supports my hobby 100 percent," she said.

The journey of Villanova's artistic career began when she was young.

"I was very creative as a child," she said.

At age 9, Villanova took a pottery lesson and made a red pot.

Although she's from upstate New York, Villanova came to the College of Santa Fe to study studio art after high school. However, she didn't want to teach or work in a studio.

At one point, Villanova went to a meteor shower star party near Santa Fe and "fell in love with astronomy." She returned to New York to see if she could handle the math and science to work in the field.

There, Villanova met her future husband. They came to Socorro to earn degrees from New Mexico Tech five years ago, and married in a New York planetarium three years ago.

Now, Villanova works as an administrative assistant in Tech's Earth and Environmental Sciences Department, and Tom is employed at the university's Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center. Villanova has also worked at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory and published a research paper with Interferometer Project Scientist Michelle Creech-Eakman.

Four years ago, she began taking pottery classes with then-instructor Andrea Holson.

Last year, Villanova started selling her creations because her small apartment couldn't hold everything she'd made and she didn't have enough relatives and holidays to give them away.

Villanova doesn't make a lot of the same things, so her offerings constantly change. Custom orders take a month because of the time required for molding, drying and firing.

Although she still enjoys astronomy, Villanova expects to continue with pottery indefinitely. She intends to one day have her own studio.

"It's inevitable," Villanova said.

In pottery, she enjoys experimenting and make a variety of things. Villanova tells people developing skill with clay just takes lots of time and practice.

"Anyone can do this stuff," she said.

It took her three years to feel like her work was good enough to sell, Villanova said, and it's great to know people like it.

aduncan@dchieftain.com

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