THE HOURGLASS

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Michele Quan of MQuan Studios (an imaginative and modern ceramic line) in her Brooklyn studio where we talked about life, love, business, and artistry. What I got from her is the sense that MQuan Studios and Michele herself are pretty much synonymous with each other. That magnetic & mysterious cool factor that one feels when experiencing her work for the first time and beyond is much the same feeling you get from sharing the room with her - there is such a sense of curiosity about both the woman and the work. Quan is both strongly centered and yet humbly inquisitive.  She is naturally cool with an air of knowing and yet you get the sense that she has lived well and knows things about this life through pure raw experience. Besides the unearthly beauty she possesses by default of her dna, her arms and hands are inked with extraordinarily intricate tattoos which makes it hard not to stare. But by far, the most captivating part about Quan is getting her to open up about her process and hearing what is behind her magical creations, behind the curtain. I have been blessed to know so many strong and beautiful women, and Quan is certainly no exception to the former and the latter of that description. She is truly an intoxicating woman. After we talked about a summer full of day trips to the beach, camping, bike rides, hiking, and our plans to get our daughters outdoors this summer we settled into the topic that surrounded us in the studio, her ceramics….

 1. JUDITH PUCKETT-RINELLA: What was your earliest memory that was the catalyst so-to-speak that shaped the trajectory to where you are now?

 MICHELE QUAN: 1991.  I took a ceramics class at the 92^nd St Y in NYC- just one class. Later that same year I spent 3 months driving all around the states and up into Canada. I had a fantasy while driving that I would have a pottery studio in the desert and I would hold classes- it was an elaborate fantasy…. and that was it.

 2. JPR: What were you doing at that time?

 MQ: I was literally just starting Me&Ro. We were just at the very beginning at that time.

3. JPR: How long were you part of Me&Ro?

 MQ: 12 years

 4. JPR: What happened after you left Me&Ro?

 MQ: The last year before I left Me&Ro I took a ceramics class from a woman, Adrian Yurick.  I went every Saturday and made pinch pots. I just wanted to make something for the joy of making it, to make something with my hands, to work with my hands. Making these simple pots just for the pleasure of it which helped me look and see things again from a different perspective. The size and dimension was also at such a different scale than jewelry.  It affected me in a very positive way. Even just walking around on the streets I would see things differently- the shape of things- I was feeling this sense of newness. The world felt new and full of different perspectives.

5. JPR: What was the first piece you made for yourself as MQuan?

 MQ: At the beginning of ‘05 I started taking a class in the West Village- I had my daughter- and she was about 14 months old. I was thinking to myself oh my god I need to do something. I was torn between starting a cloth diaper business or taking a ceramics class.  I went in with the idea of making garlands (ceramics) that would hang from trees- that was my idea of what I wanted to make.

6. JPR: How was the bell born?

 MQ: I made bells in my jewelry with Me&Ro - they were inspired by the Chinese bells that were tied around the wrist of a baby to ward off evil spirits. I had some bells that I had collected, as well, that were hanging on my studio door.  One day I thought… let me try to make these. After I made them, I had a studio sale and people loved them.  Everyone was drawn to them. Up until then I was only making garlands, but the bell was more universal - it didn’t have a religious connotation- it wasn’t like a Buddha’s Malas- or a Catholic rosary bead- it was much more than that. Everybody had a feeling for bells so I just kind of ran with it.  It’s the core object that I keep reinventing- it’s the perfect object to derive other things from and I can keep resurrecting it into other forms. It is now a living object that I never really tire from- it bridges that function and non function gap.

 7. JPR: Talk about the painting on your ceramics.

 MQ: Often times I sit down to paint….I can sit there and listen to pod casts…..I get into it.  I zone in and paint- it's like weeding a garden.  It’s a repetitive focused task….and I love the imagery and the symbols of what I’m painting. I love to paint.

8. JPR: Do you have a favorite design to paint?

 MQ: I love the Om symbol.  I have favorites that come and go, but it is kind of compact (the Om symbol). It also symbolizes the primal essence of all and everything and it manifests as a sound- so its a sound. The symbol represents a sound– and it has beautiful lines.

 For me all the bells represent sound- I made the bells in homage to the present. Living in NY I remember going online to see the laws about noise in bars and on the street.  The sound (noise) can’t be registered when it occurs- so you can call the cops, but when they get there the sound is gone. The Om represents where everything came from- its primal- and on its own its a beautiful symbol.

 I also love the firefly. This is how I decided to paint the light at the end of the tail on the lightning bug.  When I see it I think of light. I think of it as being everything and nothing at the same time- its all these lines coming together to create nothing.

9. JPR: When I am at the Whisper Lodge in the South Street Seaport– I will often times take a moment to ring all of your bells that hang so beautifully from the ceiling.  It really sets off a lot of good vibes in the space. Makes people smile, including myself.

 MQ: That’s funny- it energizes!

10. JPR: Sometimes people are afraid to touch them. They think they are too precious, but I help them give them a good hearty ring and the looks on their faces are priceless. They really bring joy to people.

 MQ: In Prospect Park I participated in an event- it was a kind of renegade event- this great group of people will find a space and do these cool little events. It was a complete surprise that I enjoyed it so much.  I took my niece and my daughter- they had a performance by the water-and a lot of other amazing artists.  I took 8 bells in graduating sizes and hung them from this huge branch of an enormous tree. They were within ringing access (hung low enough for people to touch them). We watched people ring the bells all day. There was this group of 4 people who walked up and started playing them together like a chorus. We just hung out all day and watched everything happen. That was a great day.

11. JPR: Tell us a little bit about the Birdhouse you designed and made for your Whisper Edition.

 MQ: First of all it’s porcelain.  It is hand painted.  The shape idea came from a Japanese lantern- that came from wanting it to be glazed in a clear glaze - so I thought of it in terms of a shining lantern. The flower came from imagining it hanging from a tree.  It is wheel thrown and gas fired in a gas kiln. I fired in a reduction, which means you basically block oxygen when the kiln hits a certain temperature. This technique pulls out any iron- an atmospheric firing that changes the coloring. There are limitations of how much you can control it. There is depth of color that comes through from this process- that is why and how you get that richness.  The birdhouses have ventilation holes at the top- you are supposed to hang them in ¾ shade- and there are drainage holes at the bottom.

 When I started researching birdhouse- it was a natural progression from the bell- it’s a dwelling for a bird which has its own kind of romantic notion. The rope I used is called an un-hemp rope that will last a lot longer in the elements.

 12: JPR: When you were a young girl- can you remember anything you used to do that perhaps planted the seeds for what you are doing now?

 MQ: I came here (to NY) to go to art school. Though I wanted to be a graphic designer there were no computers when I was at Parsons. After a year I didn’t go into the designing aspect.

 But earlier on I was the kid in high school who spent her lunch hour in the art studio drawing photographs with a pencil. Shading the picture to look just like a photograph- very detailed.

 My interest in cultural symbols and in religion really came from taking a pottery and English class.  I read a lot. And still do.  I find reading really inspirational and I get a great deal of imagery and ideas from reading, like Charles Bukowski. I can’t remember anything from when I was younger other than high school and drawing (1984).

 13. JPR: What’s next for you?

 MQ: That is not written- I don’t know.  I’ve been making a lot of objects lately – who knows what’s next?  I don’t know – that is the process. It kind of unfolds.  I guess you kind of have to trust that- that it’s going to unfold.