Photo: Courtesy of Liz Lauter
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I’ve always been an artist and I’ve followed several artistic paths over my 63+ years growing up in San Francisco, Ca. I was trained as a painter, but also did ceramics on the side from age 11, besides several creative hobbies such as gardening, sewing and baking. I’m the mom of 4 grown children plus 5 grandchildren, so my art making has been interwoven with parenting over the years. Many of my creative adventures involved incorporating my artwork into sellable products, either hand painted textiles or printed for me.
Our family moved to Israel in 1984 where I started a hand painted home textile company called Studio Tavaas with two other artists. I painted from that world—the wild flowers, native plants and fruits, Islamic tiles and ceramic designs, the Jewish holidays became part of my artistic vocabulary.
Coming back home to San Francisco, I continued creating artwork to use on textile and ceramic products. I designed for some manufacturers, while I created my own company, Liz Lauter Designs. My opening in San Francisco was at a famous high end store called Gumps. My work filled the store window and sold out. I began screen printing my designs to product in volume. My designs shifted and were influenced by life in California: gardening, gourmet cooking, folkart from Mexico, Mediterranean plants, fruits and vegetables. My gardening aprons were on the covers of national gift magazines, and my chef’s aprons, tote bags and t-shirts were in 5000 retail shops nationally.
By 1998 the retail economy was shrinking and I downsized my business and got a teaching credential to teach high school art. I loved teaching, and taught mostly Ceramics until just recently—2019 when I retired.
Since retiring I’ve set up a ceramics studio at my home where I am focusing on just ceramics and Judaica.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I’ve only known “being an artist”, since I have been making or studying art since as long as I can remember. I do remember taking an after school painting class when I was age 13 and the teacher and my parents were very excited about the huge painting that I had made. I had Saturday painting classes from age 7 and the teacher wanted me to eventually study in New York. There was no single moment of inspiration. It was my identity. I think that since retiring from teaching, my inspiration to make my own ceramic art has taken off after a trip to Deruta, Italy where I studied the Majolica Ceramic technique.
What is your specialty?
My specialty now is ceramics since I know so much after teaching it for 20 years! I can incorporate drawing and painting on clay and glaze surface, so it meets my urges right now. I’m particularly working in low fire majolica with Italian overglaze colors. Making menorahs and other Judaica pieces flows with my focus in ceramics.
How and where do you work?
I work in my newly created home studio. I love it. I have 5 spaces in my house that I have commandeered. An office corner in the living room for my computer and desk; A sunroom for painting; a downstairs family room for claywork, an old office for a boutique home shop display of finished work; and a back yard shed that I had built for my kiln and glazing. I work in the various spaces practically 7 days a week, and often until late in the evening.
What is the most indispensable item in your studio space?
A good paintbrush is my most indispensable tool. Majolica painting is very dependent on the right brush tip.
Where do you take your inspiration from? Are you pursuing any themes?
My passionate inspiration these days is the Tree of Life from Mexico. Also called “Arbol de la Vida”. It is endlessly a source of exploration of form, design, idea and metaphor. It encompasses figure, pattern, decoration, folkart, flowers, plants, sculptural forms, and wonderful terra cotta clay, all of which excite me daily. It overlaps with my interest in making menorahs too.
Do you do bespoke work?
I don’t do commissions at this time. I’m open to design suggestions though.
What projects are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a group of decorative trees of life. They don’t necessarily have a “tree” form, but they are armature-based sculptures. They have no candelabra function in particular, although some have candle holders embedded. They average about 20” tall. I also have a couple of huge menorahs ready to glaze.
What are your favourite items in your current collection?
Some of my favorite pieces in my current work are some elaborate tree of life candelabras which incorporate semi-precious beads and my own hand made glass flowers and leaves as decorative elements.
How do you know when a piece is finished?
I know when a piece is finished when I leave it alone for a week or two, and then look at it and don’t feel that it needs anything more.
What was the first artwork that you ever sold?
When I was a teenager I used to sell my ceramic pottery pieces to a little nearby shop. The owner loved my work and regularly bought it. The problem was that my mother was upset and she used to go and purchase my work at retail at the shop! She also complained that she also had to pay for my ceramics studio fees and materials on top of paying retail for my work.
Which project have you enjoyed the most working on so far?
I’ve really loved building large menorahs. They are challenging technically and I love the thrill of that challenge.
What do you want to achieve with your work, and what are your wishes for the future?
I hope that my work is discovered and wanted by enough people so that I have a following who buys whatever I put out there. I don’t want to make the same things over and over, so I hope to have followers who want to collect my work as I evolve. I make functional work and decorative sculptures. I hope to have a venue where I can have a show of my sculptures.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work in several places. #1, at my house in my little boutique shop in Forest Knolls, Ca, 45 minutes north of San Francisco; #2 on my website Liz Lauter.com where I have photographs of my work and some work for sale on the site. The site also has a portfolio of my artwork in other media; #3 I set up an Etsy shop, LizLauterHandmade where I’m listing some of my ceramics products for sale.
And in social media, I’m on Instagram as LizLauterDesigns: On Facebook as Liz LauterDesigns
Photos: Courtesy of Liz Lauter
