DECATUR, Ala. (AP) - Mid-morning sunlight streamed through the studio window as Joy Oettel molded and shaped a hunk of clay on the spinning potter’s wheel.
“Clay is the best teacher,” the Decatur woman said. “It will humble you, no matter how many years you’ve been working with it.”
On the shelves of the Southeast Decatur studio, sculpted swans and beetles and thrown mugs with abstract designs and owl faces offered a glimpse of Oettel’s artistic education.
“Clay really teaches you about loss and how to be OK with loss and failure. No matter how much you plan, there are so many factors out of your control,” Oettel said. “Sometimes you open the kiln and it’s like Christmas morning. Sometimes it’s like Halloween.”
Oettel will present some of her “Christmas morning” pieces during Paintings for a Purpose, a fundraiser to benefit the Volunteer Center of Morgan County. The art auction will take place Tuesday to Aug. 27.
Due to the coronavirus, the Volunteer Center, which canceled Taste of the Valley, a major fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, in March opted for a virtual auction for the third annual Paintings for a Purpose.
“We had to figure out how we could make Paintings for a Purpose happen. On top of that, we needed to find a way to make it greater so we could replace the money we lost at Taste of the Valley and the money we may potentially lose if we can’t do our other big fundraiser, Wild West Night,” said Quay Lively, the Volunteer Center’s events and fundraising coordinator.
By opting for a virtual auction, the Volunteer Center expanded the event’s reach.
“We’ve had people commenting on our social media posts that they would be shopping online from Nashville, Atlanta and Texas,” Lively said. “The virtual event not only opened it up to more people in north Alabama, it opened it up beyond Decatur. It opened it as far as Facebook can reach.”
The auction will feature paintings, photographs, jewelry pieces and sculptures from more than 45 professional and amateur artists, including Oettel.
For Oettel, who moved back to her hometown of Decatur from Nashville in December, the mugs featured in the auction represent her lifelong passion for clay.
“There’s something about the tangibility of clay that I’ve loved my whole life. I remember being so nervous my first day of kindergarten and when I walked in the classroom, the teacher gave me modeling clay. After that I was fine,” Oettel said.
Although she studied sculpture at Decatur High under Linda Lee, a woman Oettel described as a mentor and friend, she never considered herself an artist. She never drew or painted, but loved art and going to museums.
After moving to Nashville, where she taught English, Oettel tapped into her artistic side and began pursuing her passion for clay.
“I didn’t know anybody in Nashville and I always wanted to learn how to throw pots on the wheel, so I figured this was a great time to learn. The weekly classes were really therapeutic for me,” Oettel said. “Clay makes me feel grounded. I love that it is a medium that rewards hard work and perseverance. Everyone is awful when they first start. You have to put in the practice and the time to become better.”
As Oettel honed her craft, she participated in art shows around Nashville. That caught the attention of shop owners, who asked to sell her pieces in their stores.
Oettel’s pieces, from her signature owl mugs to swan plant holders to beetle sculptures, celebrate her interest in animals and color.
“Color is a huge part of the way I see the world. I’m very sensitive to color in my everyday life,” Oettel said. “I started making animals because they make me happy. The first thing I ever made, besides a mug, was a little chicken because the teacher brought in little bird figurines. I got such a thrill out of making them.”
Recently, to Oettel’s surprise, she started painting cardinals on her mugs.
“I never thought cardinals were interesting until we moved here,” Oettel said. “We have the coolest cardinals in our yard and they have cool personalities. I wanted to capture that.”
For the Volunteer Center’s art auction, Oettel donated three pieces, including an abstract mug and an owl mug.
Each piece takes weeks to make. After forming the clay, Oettel trims off the excess, adds a handle and allows it to dry for a week. The first bisque fire in the kiln Oettel named Dante - a nod to Dante’s “Inferno” - reaches 1,900 degrees. She glazes the mug, with each glaze receiving three coats, and fires the piece again to 2,200 degrees. The abstract mugs, which feature a gold luster, receive a third firing.
“I lay awake at night with all these ideas running through my head. I get excited about new ideas,” Oettel said. “I love clay because it helps me explore who I am and explore how I’m always evolving, like my work.”
Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Volunteer Center of Morgan County, which provides heat and air conditioning to low-income residents, builds wheelchair ramps, completes small home repairs, distributes Christmas gifts to area youth and more.
“When everything shut down in the spring, the needs didn’t stop. They increased. I can only imagine that we will continue to see an increase. We get calls daily about different needs,” Lively said.
Along with Oettel, participating artists include Christa Anderson, Frances Bowman, Robert Belcher, Tiffany Brightwell, Sheree Brown, Elizabeth Clark, Stevie Coleman, Shannon Fulenwider, Beth Gilbert, Rickie Higgins, Leigh Anne Hurst, Tonya Jones, Tosha Jones, Jess Lovelace, Heather Maples, Joy Martin, Tracy McCann, Melissa McCulloch, DeAnn Meely, Rhonda Mitchell, Ginny Pylant, Maureen Redler, Finley Redler, Mary Reed, Mallie Sedlak, Glenda Sartain, Kristen Shumake, Bailey Smith, Beth Stanley, Betsy Stark, Mike Stallions, Adam Stephenson, Amber Stuart, Amy Tubbs, Abigail Tubbs, Weety Vickery, Alicia Winchester and Marshall Wise.
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