SoWa Spotlight On: Nathan Murrell

Artist and craftsman Nathan Murrell loves to work with his hands.

A native of Belleville, Illinois (just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri), he attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) and eventually landed here in New England for grad school at UMass Dartmouth…both degrees are in ceramics.

Currently he divides his time between his Hijacked Ceramics business and a bookbinding gig with Rag and Bone Bindery. Murrell says his interest in creating things with his hands began after an adolescent spiritual awakening...

Patch: Have you always been interested in history and cultural development?

Nathan Murrell: I never had the urge to make anything until my parents took me to my first American Indian pow-wow when I was about 12 years old. I was instantly hooked and dedicated every waking hour I had to learning everything about native culture and craft. I worked for years on my pow-wow regalia and by 15, was a serious dancer. I was drawn not only to the power of the dance but specifically to the objects I was seeing, using and making. I wanted and still want everything I make to be imbued with a certain amount of “mana” or spiritual energy. This energy comes from the intent and energy of the maker and the object’s history.

Patch: Have you worked in other mediums before? What’s special about clay?

Nathan: I have a little OCD for making things and enjoy many materials: wood, leather, paper, fabric, found objects, metal…anything I can get my hands on. That said, clay is my baseline. I’ve worked with it since high school and I think it’s an amazing material. You can literally scoop clay out of the earth, squeeze it into a shape, get it hot and that shape will last until the end of time. It’s the first material man used to ‘make art’ and yet it is the most humble of mediums.

Patch: When we're talking about pottery vs. sculpture, there's also a side conversation going about form vs. function... do you dabble in less functional art?

Nathan: My pottery’s function is debatable; after all it can’t go in the microwave. My conversation is usually around art vs. craft. I separate those two worlds and consider myself an artist and a craftsperson. When I make pottery I am a proud to call myself a craftsperson. When I make original mixed media pieces I am an artist. When I duplicate those pieces I go back to being a craftsman.

As far as selling what I make, it seems as long as what I make has integrity, it sells. If I make something that I think people are looking for or I get a ton of requests for, it doesn’t. The best advice I give new craft makers/sellers is to only make things you would want to have and only make what you really want to make, not what you think the market wants. 

Patch: Talk a little about surviving as a working artist these days - does it feel incredibly competitive?

Nathan: My survival is piecemeal, but I’m proud to say that I own my own house/studio and make my entire living creating things. I’m lucky enough to work for a very supportive artisan business called Rag and Bone Bindery. Right now my living is 50/50 business/bindery, but my personal work will soon take the lead.  

I think that in this economic downturn people have become very conscious about what they buy and how they buy it. In my experience this has created a boon for our business because folks can buy a product or artwork directly from the maker instead of a big box store or a mall. Many people want to buy less things but in a more thoughtful manner.

As far as competition, it goes back to what I said about integrity, as long as you make an object with integrity and skill you won’t have to worry about the competition—your customer will find you. I always say the more artists in a sale the better since it brings in more customers.

Patch: How do the open markets fit into your business structure?

Nathan: I do the SoWa market almost every Sunday from May 'till October, so it is integral to my business. It’s where I sell 90 percent of my work so without it I would be lost. I love meeting new vendors and gossiping with friends, plus I’m also a total ham and really enjoy talking to people who are interested in what I do and how I do it. It’s really important not hold your customers in contempt, which is another way artists get frustrated with the market. You really have to be ready to engage and answer the same question a hundred times a day with enthusiasm.

I still have a sense of pride and wonder that anyone would appreciate what I make and I don’t ever want that to go away.