Artist Spotlight: Ann Ruel

About Ann

"I had my first pottery class almost 20 years ago at the University of Texas at Tyler under Gary Hatcher. After that I was hooked and started Little Street Pottery from my garage. Over the years, I taught pottery classes and workshops for the City of Norfolk, VA and even a weekend workshop for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. I have had many articles published in Pottery Making Illustrated."

Q: What inspires your work or keeps you excited in the studio? 

A: "For me, the entire creative process of turning ideas in my head into a finished project that I can hold in my hands is what has kept me motivated over the years. For the YouTube channel, every week I am teaching myself new decorating skills experimenting with construction techniques and utilizing unique pottery tools. In my own personal work, I am inspired by nature and enjoy painting scenes on functional pottery for a particular chosen series of work. Right now, I am working on a series I call “The Pollinators” where I paint scenes on mugs of the little bees, birds, butterflies and other lesser known critters who help to pollinate our flowers and vegetables."Q: What inspires your work or keeps you excited in the studio?

Q: What inspires your work or keeps you excited in the studio?

A: "Drawing and Painting on my pottery is my forte, and I have found the Amaco Velvets to be my favorite underglazes to use for that. I love that the colors stay true from when I am painting them at the greenware stage to the high fire so that increases my chances of success. I'm also a fan of the Celadon series of glazes which I use to pair with my paintings. Amaco seems to be constantly trying to perfect the performance of their recipes and I find them to be some of the most reliable glazes I have used."

Q: Any advice you'd give to someone just starting out with clay?

A: " I have always heard that 10,000 hours of practice is the key to achieving expertise in any field, but there are so many obstacles in pottery that keep people from moving forward and staying motivated. My advice is to set specific goals for yourself and your work so you can stay focused and be able to ignore the bumps in the road that keep you from achieving that 10,000th hour."

Q: Where can people find your work?

A: "You can find my work online in my Etsy Shop. You can find tutorials Jim and I have created on learning to paint with the Amaco Velvets on Vimeo.You can find plenty of pottery inspiration, projects, and tips on the Little Street Pottery YouTube Channel."