Today we’d like to introduce you to Billy Ritter.
Hi Billy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Twenty-four years ago, as an undergraduate student at Slippery Rock University, this was the first time I experienced clay and pottery. Our class traversed the banks of Wolf Creek in Western Pennsylvania and foraged some wild clay to use in our projects. The projects we created were fired outside using the raku technique. If you have never see this process before there is a lot of fire and smoke which are two things that I love. After the first time I felt a strong connection to the entire process and experience of this and knew ceramics and pottery would become a guiding force of my creative practice.
After my bachelor’s degree and the course of life happening, I found my way back to graduate school at Kent State University and returned to clay in 2008. During my graduate studies at KSU I had to the fortune of studying under the tutelage of Kirk Mangus and Eva Kwong. After graduate school, I began working and volunteering at several art centers in Cleveland, both as a teaching artist and as the ceramics studio technician. In 2014 I was hired by Cuyahoga Community College, where I’ve been teaching (part-time) for the past eight years.
In January of 2015, I opened the doors to Billy Ritter 77. Located in Hectic Studio, in the historic Hildebrandt Building, in the Clark Fulton neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. At the Hildebrandt studio, I craft one-of-a-kind functional ceramic tablewares and vessels. In addition to my work, I offer: an apprenticeship program, one-on-one instruction and small workshops.
Over the years, I have made so much work, traveled to hundreds of shows, met so many wonderful people, and made so many new friends. I’m eternally grateful and thankful for all of it and looking forward to see what 2022 and the future holds.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think the learning curve of starting and operating a “business” as a creative person has presented some challenges for me personally. As an independent artist working alone you are all the departments, and there are a lot of “hats” you get to wear each day. Sometimes you may not want to, but you have to when you’re starting out, especially if you are on a budget. Sure, money makes everything easier, though I think our most creative inventions and responses are often born of necessity.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I make functional pottery, decorative vessels, and sculptures from clay. All of my work is fired and vitrified in our studio gas kiln in a reduction atmosphere to a hard cone ten.
I specialize in a lot of different functional forms: bowls, cups, plates, serving trays, jars, vases and vessels. My glazes and clay bodies are all crafted and blended in house from tried and true recipes that are food, dishwasher, and microwave safe, though I encourage hand washing and avoid the microwave as I just think the science of cooking with radio waves seems unnatural.
I am known for my work and the community of people I have stitched together through the ceremony and ritual of sharing a meal and providing sustenance. Restaurants, photo studios, home chefs, coffee shops, and just regular folks are all part of this story. Beyond the community scope of my work I have been also teaching small workshops as well for the past couple of years.
I am most proud of my sobriety, which at first glance may seem unrelated to my vision as a maker. Though without finding a life beyond the coping mechanisms of drugs and alcohol none of this story would have ever been written. In 2013 I got on the right path, and honestly it almost killed me. Though by the grace of a higher power, the support network of an AA, and my own determination, I’ve been sober for a long time now.
In regards to my pottery and art I am most proud of each and everything that I have to opportunity to make. Nothing is more special than the other, I love them all equally as they represent me and have my aesthetic.
My materials and process of firing set my work apart from the majority of artists working in clay and firing in oxidation atmosphere in electric kilns. Beyond this, my visual philosophy and artistic choices embody the elements of play, chance, and wabi-sabi. If I had to label my style, I’d say it’s “primitive-modern.”
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Presently there are more people working with clay and starting small-batch craft pottery shops than ever before. I attribute this to Instagram, social media, the Whitney Biennial, and the Great Pottery Throwdown on HBO. Though with anything fads come and go. Pottery however has been around for 18,000 years and it’s here to stay in whatever capacity that is. Over the next 5-10 years, I don’t know what the world will look like, which I feel is a fair and accurate answer in consideration of the past two years.
For me, I will continue to grow and search and adapt, staying curious and embracing the joy I find in my creative practice.
Contact Info:
- Email: billy@billyritter77.com
- Website: billyritter77.com
- Instagram: @billyritter77
- Facebook: @billyritter77
Image Credits
Photography by: Billy Delfs, Jeani Brechbill, Heidi Robb
