CHERYL GUNDERSEN
CERAMIST
CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONALAGE: 33
STATUS: American married to a Norwegian
CHILDREN: two aged seven and nine
COUNTRIES OF RESIDENCE: In California USA until 1984 when came to Norway. Since then moved from Trondheim to Bergen, to Stord, Haugesund, where she was for seven years and now in Stavanger. Soon due to move to Vietnam.
NUMBER OF MOBILE YEARS: 12
WORK
ORIGINAL CAREER: Has been working as a ceramist since having her first child in 1986.
CURRENT EARNING POTENTIAL: Subsequent to initial investment of £4,000 for kiln, clay, wheel, glaze and materials. Charges from £10 for a candlestick, £70 for a fruit bowl, £125 for larger sculptures and tiles.
BRIEF EMPLOYMENT DETAILS: Has been working self-employed since 1986 in each area of residence. In Haugesund for seven years when had own gallery, but now spends most of her time making stock for annual craft fayres.
CAREER PATH
COLLEGE: Completed pre-requisite for degree course in psychobiology with options in massage therapy and ceramics, when her love for this was born. Came to Norway to study in 1984, met Atle and married him the following year, never completing her degree. Has been a ceramist since 1986.
INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY JOANNA PARFITT
JP: Do you think your life would have turned out like this should you never have fallen in love with a Norwegian?CG:I doubt it. If I had stayed in California the competition would have discouraged me from pursuing a career as an artist. When I first arrived in Norway, I was amazed at how little ceramics there were here. I am very lucky to be a big fish in a small pond.
JP: What made you come to Norway in the first place?
CG: I am a quarter Norwegian and my grandparents had always encouraged me to come and learn their language. So I think it was not such an accident that my life turned out this way.
JP: It must have been quite a step leaving your homeland for somewhere so utterly different from California.
CG: California is sunny, while Norway has long winters, but it is a really safe place to bring up children and so beautiful. I am very inspired by nature and so it was not such a hard decision to make. However, making pots has been great therapy in my lonelier moments. Earning a few kroner has helped my self esteem too.
JP: A case of 'do what you love and the money will follow' then?
CG: I am very lucky to be able to have made a career out of my hobby. But it is far more than a means of existence, it also gives me a source of challenge, personal development and the chance for success. When I had small children ceramics were my escape, it gave my life balance.
JP: How did your husband take your decision to run your own business?
CG: He wasn't particularly supportive at first. In fact his first words were 'how much will this cost us?' but once he saw that I could make it a success he began to have faith in it. Now he is my greatest supporter. I think it is easy to expect too much from your husband. To presume their enthusiasm will equal your own. But I always tried to remember that Atle had a full-time career to worry about and couldn't be expected to think about mine as well. Not only that but his experience did not lie in ceramics, as mine did. He could not be expected to see the market potential here. He knew little about it.
JP: So you were really alone at the start?
CG: Of course I had little support from family, they were too far away. The children were small and Atle had little time. However, it was very important for me to make my own decisions and then take the consequences. People are only too ready to tell you how hard it is to run your own business. They give you lists of potential problems. I believe that those problems can be turned into possibilities.
JP: Have you been able to study much about ceramics here in Norway?
CG: My mother always says that a vacation is just a change of work, so I have always made a point of visiting all potteries and galleries wherever we have been on holiday. I have also spent several weeks taking courses in places as far away as Wales and for up to two weeks at a time. They are really inspiring. But, as part of my degree pre-requisite I studied under Jim Danisch, one of the world's fine potters. I was lucky to have three hours a week there and soon progressed from making the kinds of ashtrays and doorstops that only a mother could love.
JP: What do you enjoy making now?
CG: I have made some large fruit bowls, covered with layers of scrapings in all kinds of heathery colours. In fact one of these featured in a local exhibition. I take my inspiration from the beach and sea, the mountains and fjords. These colours are reflected in the glazes I work with as well as some of the rougher, more rugged materials. I have also enjoyed experimenting with oriental glazes on porcelain bowls, placing oxides on top of these to colour the cracks. Sometimes I pour three different glazes on top of each other. I usually work with porcelain or stoneware.
JP: So tell me how you found your market.
CG: I networked. I joined the Women's International Network and booked tables at local craft fayres. In fact the American Women's Guild Christmas Fayre in Stavanger is the largest in Norway, with visitors coming from all over the country. First of all I just told my young daughter's mothers, showed them my work and they asked me if they could buy it. I enjoyed having my own gallery in Haugesund. This is a small harbour town, famous for its art, jazz and film festivals. It is an artist's paradise. In Norway many of the larger companies have what are called 'Art Clubs'. Employees subscribe to a fund every month for four years at the end of which time they can select a piece of art.
JP: Now you have no gallery do you find your customer base has shrunk dramatically?
CG: Not really, I have always chosen to work part-time so that if fits around my daughters. Just working towards three craft fayres a year keeps me busy enough.
JP: How did you feel about your first show in 1988?
CG: I was so nervous and had planned it very badly. When you move round Norway you usually need to take a selection of ferries as well as roads and I mistimed the ferry. In the end I arrived just 15 minutes before the show. My baby was four months old and I had to keep abandoning the stall to feed her in private!
JP: So now you have an established career and client base here in Stavanger, how do you feel about moving to Asia? Surely you won't be taking your kiln with you?
CG: I am so excited. Asia is a paradise for potters, the old techniques are being used and I intend to learn as much as I can. The forefathers of pottery come from here and I am really looking forward to finding a different direction, to learning primitive firing and throwing techniques. I may even be able to find some work at a local university. I would love to be an artist in residence.
JP: Do you feel that all your moves have benefited your career?
CG: Going abroad and moving from one part of the country to another forces you to take a look at why you do things and how you think. You have to look inside yourself and find an inner strength. The people you usually turn to for that strength are not around. No-one ever comes to you. You have to go out there and do it yourself. You have to be self reliant. I feel that all these problems have, in time turned into my personal strengths. It has been a totally positive experience.
JP: So, what advice would you give to someone hoping to find a creative portable career?
CG: In pottery there will always be clay wherever you go in the world. There will always be things you can do if you apply yourself. You can take courses when possible and subscribe to international magazines. So many careers are open to the artist. You can teach, you can become tour guide of artistic areas and even charge more because of your expertise. You can also write about your work or the local traditions. Of course you can always produce your art and sell it too, and most expatriate locations have several annual craft fayres. It is a marvellous career. My father says that you can never have too much education, and by that he means that knowledge and experience is totally portable. It can be taken with you anywhere in the world. My kiln may not fit in my suitcase, but my knowledge weighs nothing.
JP: And what of your dreams?
CG: I dream of designing and building my own house and workshop. If I am to be a good ceramist then I expect to work all my life.
Additional Information Cheryl Would Like to Share with You
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