Interview with Lucy Springs

Where did you grow up? If from here….have you lived in other cities? I grew up in Laredo, Texas.  

What brought you to SA? My job with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., brought me to San Antonio after the traffic department shut down in Laredo. I was given a choice of moving to Corpus Christi or San Antonio, and here I am.

How did you discover ceramics? I actually discovered ceramics in the 6th grade. We handbuilt a small bowl that our teacher fired for us. I applied a green glaze to it and I thought that was the coolest thing. I gave it to my mother for mother’s day and she still has that bowl today.

What kind of jobs have you had? Ok, are you ready for this? I worked for Southwestern Bell for 25 years, beginning in 1975 and took early retirement in 2000. I was hired on with TXU Communications in 2001 and helped set up their new offices in San Antonio, but it was short-lived, they shut their doors a year later. I then went to work for Southwest Integrators as a Call Center Supervisor. I only lasted there 3 months. It was a commission only job and I wasn’t used to having commission only pay! I left that job to work at Texana Machinery, a construction equipment company. I was hired as an administrative assistant and was promoted after one year to finance manager. The slow economy took me to Holt Cat as a Business Operations Asst. in their Used Parts Division and again, it was so slow I was bored. Lucky for me a friend called and asked if I would like to help her straighten out some operations issues she was having at Dayspring International working for a Doctor of homeopathy so I did.  I left there in Oct. of 2010 and am currently enjoying unemployment . We shall see what 2012 will bring in the way of employment. I am not cut out to stay at home for too long.

How would you describe your voice? Your style. I would say that I am a pretty laid back person. Strong in personality when I need to be, otherwise I go with the flow, enjoy observing people and learning from those around me. In my opinion, my style is a bit eccentric, not conforming to the status quo, but at the same time following a balanced approach.

If you could come back as animal, which would it be? Why. I would come back as a zebra or a giraffe. They are both beautiful, sleek looking, graceful and mysterious.

What kind of future do you see for the Potters Guild? I would really like to see some of the seasoned potters collaborate more with the younger ceramists and shake things up a bit. Maybe have more demonstrations for the membership both from our own experienced potters and some visiting potters. We have such a wealth of experience within our own ranks, I would really like for us to explore that more so we can all learn the different styles and approaches to this medium we love so much.

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be? Europe for sure. I was in Zurich a couple of years ago with my sisters and just loved the scenery, walking everywhere, take the tram or train wherever we went. People walk much more than here in the states to get around. Everything seemed much cleaner and the air seemed much more pure. I could see myself living there.

If you could travel to a different century, which one and where? It would have to be the 16th century in Puebla, MX. The introduction of Talavera, the clays they had access to and the entire Majolica process is so interesting to me. I would love to have had access to this in such a simple environment.

In what ways do you stretch yourself to make your work grow? I really have to be in the mood to stretch myself. Lately, I have been researching alot of ceramist’s work and then attempting to throw similar vessels, but with my own flare. I have also begun to explore glazes a bit more. I took John Britt’s class at Castroville Pottery this past summer and he opened up a whole new world for me. Although, I still find it a bit of a challenge, I know the only way to learn the process is to delve into it and do alot of test tiles, which I will do in my own time.

What are your goals as an artist? My goals as an artist are to keep practicing my forms and continue to explore the alternative methods of firing which I love, like aluminum foil saggar. I have some ideas that I want to explore in 2012, so stay tuned, ok?