Today we’d like to introduce you to Cora Ingram.
Hi Cora, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started doing pottery in the fall of 2019 and had to take a short break because of covid. But I’ve been continuing steadily since summer of 2021. I have an in home studio as well as belonging to CIY Pottery studio in Ashburn, VA. I believe the beauty of art is not only in the creation of it, but also the ability to share the joy and usefulness of it with people. I like to think of my pottery as whimsically useful pieces that are just waiting for their forever home with their person. From mugs to bowls to spoon rests and more they all used to be mud and they have been transformed into colorfully helpful hard things that make people smile and serve a purpose for them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Centrifugal force is no ones friend and learning to use it as a force for good with the wheel is a day to day battle and understanding that only comes through practice and time. Even now I don’t hold onto hope that every piece I initially make will make it through the whole process of being formed and connected, drying, bisque firing, glazing, and glaze firing. But when it does and when it lights up a potential customers face, even if they don’t purchase it and it is meant for another, that is a win.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a potter, a ceramicist, an artist, and creative. I think of each piece as whimsically useful. It not only brings color and light into the world but usually also holds an every day helpful purpose. I’m proud of trying and finding new things and ideas (because doing the same thing over and over and over again in the same way with the same colors/decorations makes me twitch)- so my pieces are usually one of a kind. Even when I recreate them they won’t be exactly the same because what would be the point in that? I’m not a machine. I don’t want them to be the same. I want them to be their own thing, just like the customer who connects with it and the wonderful moment they find each other. All ceramists have their own styles and that is the beauty of pottery- even those who are similar and have similar styles still have uniqueness to their pieces. In a world where you can be anything why be the same?
I do think the pieces that I am the most proud of are my topsy turvy three stack teacup mugs that are reminiscent of the Mad Hatter’s tea party. I love Alice in Wonderland and that is my most homaged piece to the story.. It is three cups (in which I take the base of of two of them) stacked wonkily together and attached, painted with different designs so they are in essence still three cups, painted with a spiral down the middle (to represent falling down the rabbit hole), and with a drink me bottle stamped in the bottom which has been waiting to take you to Wonderland. If I had to pick a signature piece it would be those.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
The best part of any city is the bustling people in all their glorious differences that make the world alive, constant things to do, new adventures to discover, and places that become favorites.
The hard part of any city is the struggles that befall in unfortunate ways for people in homelessness, sadness, depression, refusing to change/grow, and the loss of direction/jobs/etc.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bottledmadtea/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bottledmadteaartbycoralai/
