HAMMOND — Artist Bird Marie is using her skills at the potter’s wheel, as well as her love for sharing the secrets of the ancient art with young and old alike, while trying to financially survive the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
She has been demonstrating the creation of cups, mugs, vases and other objects to appreciative audiences at the Renaissance Festival, located just east of Hammond. At the same time, her husband, Dalton, is directing the sales of the ceramic pieces that Bird has created.
The duo, who live in New Orleans, are making a living from their ventures to area fairs and festivals, but Bird admits the virus has brought on challenges she and her husband had not anticipated. “Before the virus I was doing well selling my pieces through various outlets, but a lot of that has been shut down along with fairs and festivals. When people buy artistic objects they want to see them in person and to touch them and feel them. To be able to sell my mugs, vases and fine pieces I have had to rely on selling things through the internet. It has been a different experience,” she said.
Additionally, she said, she has lost teaching opportunities. Bird said, “I can survive off of what I have had to do for the past several months, but it has become much more of a challenge. I am grateful that there are still those who appreciate my work and are willing to purchase items online as well as at gatherings such as the Renaissance Festival.”
Bird explained that the use of a potter’s wheel to create works of art in porcelain and other materials dates back to the Egyptians. Potters of old used wheels that were powered by pedals and other devices. Modern wheels are electrically powered, affording the artist the chance to be creative without so much physical effort.
Bird makes creating a mug, for example, look easy. She uses a wire to cut a chunk of clay she then places on the center of her wheel. She wets her fingers, starts the wheel whirring, and in minutes her practiced fingers are forming a mug that seems to rise magically from the spinning wheel.
Once she is satisfied with what she has formed, she cuts the piece from the wheel with a wire and the basic mug is ready for the kiln where it has to bake for many hours. She said forming an object on the wheel is just the start of the process. After the creation she is working on is basically formed, the process of adding color and such things as handles for cups and decorative additions to larger pieces begins.
Bird said she does not bring a kiln to the festival because it is a very expensive piece of equipment and the festival grounds can sometimes have problems with flooding. However, festival patrons can see the scope of her talents by perusing the collection that she and her husband have brought to the venue. “We have a small car and it took us several trips to get all of the pieces here,” she said.
Three times a day, Bird offers classes for $5 a person. “The children really love it, and the adults show a great deal of interest. Most have seen something of a potter working at a wheel in movies or on television but this is the first time they have seen it in person. It’s nice to be able to connect with others once again even if we have to practice social distancing and everyone has to wear a mask,” she said.
Bird learned her skills as a student in the art department at Southeastern Louisiana University. She has done some graduate work to help her prepare to possibly become a teacher at some point in her career. Her husband has a degree in graphic design and he was employed in his chosen field but lost that job because of the coronavirus. Dalton has mastered the skill of attracting visitors to the Bird collection. Dressed in a Renaissance costume, he has a polished greeting that he uses to lure potential customers to the booth he and Bird have rented for the duration of the festival.
Bird said that she hopes to continue selling her creations and for the time being will continue to work out of her home where she has a studio. She added she hopes to someday have her own working studio where she can give lessons and have room to show and sell her pottery.
For the time being, she is pursuing her talents and sharing her creativity and love of beautiful things with appreciative audiences who have been coming to the Renaissance Festival for educational experiences such as the one they get from Bird Marie.
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December 02, 2020 at 04:00AM
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Potter Bird Marie brings talents to Renaissance Festival in an attempt to financially survive pandemic - The Advocate
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