Studio visit: potter Darren Emenau
Darren Emenau pottery studio New Brunswick
“It’s fine for me to say I’m a potter, that’s what I am, but I guess I’m just someone who uses clay.” - Darren Emenau
Darren Emenau is a potter of the earth. I see it when looking at his pieces, the earth-tones and flaking textures remind me of stones, moss and lichen; I heard it in our conversation, as he talked of gathering clay in the creekbed and building his own wood kiln from salvaged materials. Mother Nature is both his muse and, as much as possible, his material. His roots dig deep and it comes through in his work like none other. MNO Pottery is well worth discovering, and if you are lucky enough to take one of his pieces home you will sense that connection to the earth every time you hold it. And if you have the chance to get to know the man behind the clay, you'll find he's a really nice guy, very down-to-earth. Or salt-of-the-earth. All those earth idioms come to mind... I count it a privilege to have met Darren, and I hope you will too.
*Note: Since this interview Darren and his family have moved closer to the city, but still own and use this lovely little home in Central Greenwich. *
One grey morning in April, my mom, my two girls and I showed up family style at Darren’s home/studio in Central Greenwich, NB, which he shares with his wife Nora and daughter Lucy (then eighteen months) and his business, MNO Pottery. Sophie and Fiona were two-and-a-half and ten months at the time. I thought they would be too distracting, but Darren said to just bring them along. Our visit was punctuated by diaper changes and nursing, and lots of sh*ts and giggles. It’s amazing how having children around breaks down the we-just-met-once awkwardness. The girls had a great time playing with Lucy’s toys and the dog and cat while we chatted over coffee (his mugs, of course) and homemade granola bars (my contribution). Talking with Darren was fascinating. Both my mom and I had no end of questions for him and were probably more riveted by his knowledge of clays and glazes than is normal. I got the sense that he would happily talk about it all day!
Darren may be a potter by profession, but after two hours of conversation I felt like I could add naturalist, handyman, and experimental chemist to the list. The conversation shifted from how much he loves the outdoors but hadn’t gotten his canoe in the water yet, to describing how he’d built various things around the house, like the counter and baby gates, and of course, the pottery. Throughout our chat he picked up various ceramic pieces around his kitchen and started explaining how different combinations of heat, clay and glaze would give different results. What I found most fascinating was when he talked about sourcing local materials for his work. What started as a chance discovery of clay in the nearby creek led to a goal of sourcing locally all the materials necessary to fire a finished piece, including clay, glaze and the wood to fire the kiln. “In the end I did it,” says Emenau, “but it was kind of brown on brown on brown. Which is ok, it’s what a lot of wood fired stuff looks like.” He still tries to source materials locally when possible, but also uses regular manufactured clay and glazes to create his pieces.
Darren has been learning and experimenting with pottery for 16 years, but he says, “They say it takes 20 years to hone a craft… I’m not there yet”. I think for him, working with clay is much more than a means to earn income, but a part of who he is, an expression of his ongoing relationship with nature and with his creativity.
(Moose skull!)
How did you become a potter?
Well I did all that university stuff, a biology degree at UNB Fredericton and Concordia, but then I did pottery at NBCCD for 3 years. I really liked it there, it was really geared towards production. I managed to become the first technician in the clay studio and therefore was able to get free studio space for another 3 years. I just got so excited about ceramics and the unlimited possibilities of surface textures and colours that you can get. I love the whole chemistry side of it, how it’s like cooking, adding all these new materials. I’ve come up with things that nobody has ever done. I tried to dedicate one day a week to experimenting, although life and trying to make money gets in the way.
Can you describe your aesthetic?
I have several different lines, but my passion these days plays with what the Japanese call “Wabi-sabi”, meaning the beauty of the imperfect. It’s a very new thing, this Eastern influence of aesthetics. We come from a European background where everything is more symmetrical, utilitarian, perfect. My pieces have roughness, unevenness due to elements that I’ve deliberately left there. Sometimes you need a little explanation about the piece to truly appreciate it.
Tell me more about how you got into sourcing materials locally.
Honestly, it started when things were a bit tight, and I found a bunch of clay exposed in the streambed. So I thought, maybe I’ll play with that clay. Sometimes I end up with too much sand and it falls apart, or rocks which don’t shrink with the clay and can cause the piece to buckle and crack, you can get all these structural problems. But it also opens up all these possibilities of working with the impurities which will give new surface effects that I couldn’t achieve with the smooth, buttery man-made clay. The roughness reminds me more of nature, of the clay in its natural state. I’m not trying to mimic nature, but am being inspired by it.
Tell me about your home/studio:
Living out here, it’s like living at a cottage. I had some of the nicest times of my life at a cottage we had in Nova Scotia and that is what I was trying to recreate here, this idyllic cottage life. That might get boring after a while, but this way I can do work, and then half the day I can play cottage. People ask me, why are you in New Brunswick? NB is a tough place to live, the drive-through province, etc. But really it’s inexpensive and a beautiful area. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else. Even though we are buying a house in the city to be closer to things for Lucy, like the Aquatic Center and, I don’t know, trumpet lessons, we will still keep this place.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I don’t keep track of the hours I work, I try not to think of what I do as work. I want to live as though doing the dishes is the same thing as doing pottery, as sweeping and stacking wood and going canoeing. It sounds a little airy-fairy, but it’s really important to me to feel that way. I mean, I don’t know how much I worked today, but I just did what needed to be done. Every day is different. I’ll go and chop wood for an hour, then go do something else. Some days it feels like nothing gets done because I’ve been picking away at so many things, but I prefer this pace. I know I could never sit down in front of a computer all day, like some people do. Although sometimes I envy them; it would be nice sometimes to have continuity, stability and be finished at the end of the day. It takes a lot of discipline to be your own boss.
What is the biggest challenge you face as an artist?
Most people think finances are the biggest challenge and that is something that pops up in my head. But I’ve always just gotten by. I think if I didn’t need money, I probably wouldn’t have progressed to where I’m at. It’s good to have the wolves at your door, it keeps you alive, it keeps you on edge. But there is a point, and I have been there, when it’s just so scary and it completely stresses you out. I think the biggest challenge is that you have to keep hustling. You don’t have this steady income or steady exhibition or roster of activities. You have to keep coming up with new work. I find it taxing at times.
What are you working on these days?
The house. I painted the front hallway. But really, I just got a big order for some mugs, 168 coffee mugs. You can do it kind of fast, I need about a month to get everything together, for all the different stages. It’s a bit tricky, to figure out how many extra you need to make to allow for when things don’t work out, but at least it is a guaranteed payout in the end.
Right now I’m also working with a graphic designer in Fredericton who wanted logo mugs. He has crazy technologies like a 3-D printer to work with, which is fun and making me figure out new materials and methods to work with.
I am also working on a series of historical dough troughs through a grant. You have three years to complete these things, but I try to finish up early. They are based on wooden hand-turned troughs that have been made by Northern European nations over a thousand years. I’m making 20 to 30 forms inspired by these shapes, ranging in scale from three feet to three inches. There will be a few that I’ll keep. I’m not sure about a venue for the show yet though. (Stay tuned!)
Where do you sell?
Tuck Studio, Judith Mackin. One-off pieces, with show September 13th
Botinicals in Fredericton
The Barn in Bloomfield, Brent Rourke
Water Street Artisans in St. Andrew’s
Find out more about Darren on his website:
Website: mnopottery.com