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The art of clay

Local ceramic artist Jose Avalos remembers the exact moment he knew he wanted to be an artist.

He was 10, and was watching an episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” — the beloved PBS children’s program — showing how a potter throwing his pots on a wheel.

“I thought to myself, ‘I could do that’,” said Avalos, now 32.

A native of Chicago, Avalos began molding clay in high school where his passion led him to the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

He eventually received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art with a concentration in ceramics at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Most recently, Avalos also earned his teaching credential in November from Cal State Bakersfield.

Avalos came to Bakersfield in 2002 to marry his wife, Senaida. The couple met on the Internet while both were involved with Messengers of Peace, a youth group for the Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus.

As an accountant, Senaida, 31, admits that her personality is the opposite of her artistic husband’s.

“I grew up in Visalia (Ca.) in a real conservative family. I told my parents I met someone online, then I told them he lived in Chicago, then I told them I was going out to meet him,” said Senaida. “My parents were surprised. His art is really different for me, but I have an open mind, and I appreciate what he does.”

Now a resident of east Bakersfield, Avalos’ sculpture of choice is a vessel, a hollow ceramic piece that is shaped using wet clay and can either be more basic, like a vase, or more complex, like a teapot.

“The teapot is the hardest piece to make, because it has a handle, a spout and a body. You have to incorporate the three things and make it look whole,” said Avalos. “The teapot is the ultimate serving vessel.”

Avalos is initially inspired by texture, he said.

As he works with the clay, Avalos decides how the texture in his piece flows, how it feels and how he should form the surface — and all of these decisions are accentuated by the glaze, the coloring added to the sculpture, according to the artist.

After Avalos decides on a texture he likes, his lets his creativity guide him to do the rest.

“I do what I think will look best, what will work and stay,” said Avalos.

About as humble as an artist can be, Avalos said he’s not interested in making money by selling his sculptures or owning a studio. He also rarely mingles with other artists and prefers to work completely alone.

“I wouldn’t sell a piece for $500, if it only took me a day or two to create. I’d rather give it away,” said Avalos.

His carefree attitude may be due to the medium that he chose to take on — clay.
Clay, when wet, can be formed and sculpted to the artist’s liking and is limited only by their creativity.

But clay dries, and it cracks and breaks all the time, Avalos said.

When an artist is satisfied with his/her piece, it then must go through two burning processes in a kiln, which is an oven used to dry the sculpture.

Trapped liquid can cause a piece to explode, and it is not uncommon for a piece to break once it has been fired in the kiln, Avalos explained.

If a piece survives the first firing, then the glaze is added and it has to be fired a second time. Wax is put on the bottom of a sculpture because the glaze can stick to the kiln, which would essentially damage the piece.

“With the media I have chosen, that’s the process. It breaks at any time, cracks, gets dry — you just learn to toss it and move on,” said Avalos.

Though nonchalant about his art, Avalos is serious about where he wants his art to take him. His main goal is to become an art professor at a university. He is currently seeking a graduate degree and has applied at the University of Dallas, New Mexico State, CSU Long Beach, San Jose State University and Northern Illinois.

In mid-March, Avalos will find out if he has been accepted to a graduate program.

“In high school, some kids take art only to fulfill a requirement. I would rather work with students that are committed to being there,” said
Avalos.