Ceramics was not something Tracy Navratil had planned for the future. 4 years ago (25 years old) she worked for a rug company as a buyer. The job became tremendously stressful giving her very little time for herself. Her boyfriend at the time suggested the idea of finding an activity that would put her mind at ease. There, in the ghetto and masked by a vintage pharmacy sign stood one of L.A.’s hidden gems and Tracy’s therapeutic outlet: Eco Ceramics Studio. A Japanese long gray haired man, who holds the world record for throwing – on the wheel – the tallest thing with the smallest amount of clay, became her mentor on the wheel and all things pertaining to ceramics, including the Japanese history.
In the moment and given the opportunity, Tracy was very thankful for that stressful job, because out of it came an instantaneous love affair with clay.
Tracy’s life, from the time she attended Savannah College of Art and Design, to grazing the moist surface of clay for the first time, until now is evidence so far that every experience has been a building block subconsciously supplementing her refined skills for envisioning one of a kind ceramic pieces.
Studying fashion design, especially pattern making, aided Tracy with learning the art of hand building. Being self taught, her obsession for negative pattern making – making designs around the garment instead of the actual piece of clothing – allowed her to manipulate 2 dimensional shapes and seeing the effects of thinking in repetitive sequential forms to build 3 dimensional figures; such as: Vases. Although her teenage self saw a future piecing together lace and spandex into delicate bras and panties, her present self is molding, carving, smoothing, throwing, and glazing fluid table settings for your eccentric dining room table or flower vases as your living room accents.
Her Japanese mentor influenced her hands, her degree influenced her shapes, and Mother Earth influenced her designs. Tracy didn’t just see clay as a medium by which she could mass produce pretty pottery; she saw it as an element naturally yielded by our land with a unique texture and malleable qualities. In creating with raw clay, she didn’t want to mold it so differently that its earthly attributes would be unrecognizable. She is borrowing from the Earth. Why extract it from what it is? Or as Tracy puts it, “Why would I paint it pink?” From her perspective, Mother Earth is doing her a service by providing her with the means to release her creative desires. Tracy wanted to honor that gift by reflecting where it comes from.
With that being said, ceramics is an unpredictable process where anything can go wrong. So many variables have to be taken into consideration. There can be numerous explanations as to why the intended result is not the actual product. In throwing clay on the wheel, it can collapse. In trimming, the wall of the piece can tare. During its drying process, a crack could generate at the bottom. In firing, air bubbles can appear causing the creation to explode. In glazing it and firing it a second time, the piece can stick to the kilt. Finally, after the product is all done, Tracy can accidentally drop it or she might not be satisfied with the final color and shape. From there it is back to square one.
Therefore, the method of building pottery is a series of actions mimicking the journey of life and an emblem upholding quite a marvelous history. It carries an aspect of imperfection that reminds Tracy she is truly human capable of making beautiful mistakes. Mistakes that on occasions can end up being unexpected and favorable surprises. Her travels to India are a testament of the latter, because in admiring all her surroundings – the ancient temples, pottery, rugs – she feels that they have been touched by someone’s hands giving them life!
Check out Tracy’s online store and treat yourself to one or two original pieces through her website: www.themoonchildren.com
Cheers,
~M