Adam Hutchinson Apprentices, Assists at Clay Bay Pottery

“Working with David and Jeanne [Aurelius] – there’s a quality level I’m trying to achieve, because of their standards and also my own” says Adam Hutchinson. “Working with people who have been making pottery for 40 years is humbling.” Photo by Len Villano.

It’s a busy day at Clay Bay Pottery – owner David Aurelius hovers over a tall, large pot while his wife and co-owner Jeanne Aurelius adds minute details to an angel figurine. The kiln is firing ceramic mugs, bowls, and pots.

“I help with whatever they need help with. Today I’m helping Jeanne with coils,” says apprentice and employee Adam Hutchinson, a 26-year-old who, even in his young age, has gone off on multiple artistic forays – from filmmaking to furniture making to winemaking to pottery.

“I didn’t have art classes until late in high school,” admits Hutchinson – the son of a police officer, now turned insurance salesman, and third grade teacher. “My parents don’t know where I get my talent from. When I first started going to college my mom was like, ‘I don’t understand how your brain works.’ To me it makes sense. They’ve always been supportive and want me to do what I’m interested in – that’s always been a problem,” he laughs. “I’ve always liked learning about everything.”

A native of Monroe, Wis., Hutchinson attended the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and enrolled in a ceramics class. “That was when I knew I had this attraction to it,” he says. “I just found a joy in it that I hadn’t found before – making things with my hands means a lot to me; I value things that are made by hand.”

Hutchinson transferred to the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, which did not have a ceramics program. “I didn’t know that, but had already decided to go before I took the ceramics class [at Whitewater],” he explains.

Hutchinson studied sculpture and furniture making; he graduated with a BFA in filmmaking. “I’ve had a hard time choosing a discipline just because I like learning, and I like learning processes. I like learning the different ways of making things.”

After graduating from college in 2010, Hutchinson moved up to Door County. “I knew there were a lot of artists up here,” he says. “When I moved up here I was hoping to be an artist’s assistant. That’s what I had in my head.”

A sampling of Hutchinson’s current body of work. Photo by Len Villano.

Hutchinson found a place at Plum Bottom Pottery, working with potter Chad Luberger. “I worked one day a week or two days a week for Chad, as much as I could,” says Hutchinson. “I learned what he was doing in the studio. I wasn’t making my own work, I was learning his process – that was what was interesting to me.”

He also worked full-time at Stone’s Throw Winery, first in the tasting room and then as assistant winemaker. “That kind of took over and I wasn’t able to work for Chad anymore. After awhile, I needed to make a change. It wasn’t that I was bored at the winery, I really enjoyed the winery – I was using my hands, I was making wine – it just wasn’t fulfilling me.”

Hutchinson approached his girlfriend’s parents – David and Jeanne Aurelius. “I ended up talking to them and asking, ‘What should I do? Where should I go?’” he explains. They suggested he contact Matt Ruud – a former employee who is the head of the University of Iowa’s ceramics program. “I sent an email that said, ‘If you have any suggestions about who I could talk to about apprenticing with, let me know.’ He said, and David said it too, ‘You need to find someone who you enjoy their work and want to make stuff similar to theirs.’”

“Martha [his girlfriend] and I had been talking to each other about me working for David and Jeanne and they had been talking to each other about me working for them,” laughs Hutchinson. “I think we were both nervous to ask each other. Then one night we were all having dinner and we asked each other: ‘Can I work for you?’ ‘Will you work for us?’”

Hutchinson has been employed at Clay Bay Pottery for a year. He mixes glaze; throws mugs, bowls, and pots; glazes pieces; and more. “Whatever they ask me to do I do,” he says.

This pot by Hutchinson displays characteristics of David and Jeanne Aurelius’ work. Photo by Len Villano.

The accomplished potters also teach Hutchinson their techniques, lessons from their internationally renowned ceramics teacher, Marguerite Wildenhain, and encourage him to create his own original designs to compliment his pottery.

“This past January I started doing ‘The Steps,’ which is how David and Jeanne learned from their teacher. The steps are 13 different shapes – it’s a progression,” explains Hutchinson. “You learn a dog dish, then you learn a flower pot. We mixed it up a little bit. I’ve gotten so much better in the last seven months. I’m probably on step 10 or 9.”

The couple has also influenced Hutchinson with their own unique techniques. “I work in similar styles of both of them, it’s a cross between the two,” says Hutchinson. “Jeanne does more realistic pieces where you have a scene or her lady heads. I have pieces that I started making – bird pitchers. I was putting wings on the side and the spout was the beak. David works more in abstract shapes.”

One lesson Hutchinson applies to each piece – “You want a beautiful shape first, a decoration that fits that shape and a glaze that works well. You want all three things to work well together – that’s when worlds collide, that’s what you’re striving for.”

“Working with David and Jeanne – there’s a quality level I’m trying to achieve, because of their standards and also my own” says Hutchinson. “Working with people who have been making pottery for 40 years is humbling.”

Hutchinson created a body of work he showcased this past July at a Clay Bay Pottery group show featuring work by David and Jeanne, Hutchinson, and fellow Clay Bay employee Abigail Olson. “That body of work is now gone,” laughs Hutchinson. “So I have to make a new one.”

Between assisting David and Jeanne Aurelius and bartending at The Waterfront, Hutchinson works on his own pieces, and making them better. “It doesn’t end, that’s why I love it. You’re always kind of hoping to make that perfect piece and never really achieving it.”

Clay Bay Pottery, open daily from 10 am – 5 pm, is located at 11650 near Ellison Bay. For more information call 920.854.5027 or visit claybaypottery.net.