G
inger Oakes, owner of GO
Art Center, shares her inspiration,
knowledge, equipment and supplies
for private ceramic workshops, parties
and lessons. Located on the South Hill
near the end of a dead-end road, Ginger
herself is FAR from a dead-end in her
talent or passion. A fascinating, warm,
and wisely-aged woman, she’s got plans
for the second half of her life.
Energetic, and quick to smile, she
exudes a generosity of spirit that
immediately puts you at ease. It doesn’t
hurt that as we sit in her studio the
soft, folksy sound of Cat Stevens’ “Oh
Baby, Baby It’s a Wild World” plays
in the background. Settling in over
coffee, I find talking with Ginger is as
surprising, fun, and nuanced as one of
her sculptures.
Art Chowder: Hello Ginger, thanks
for making time for us. Please tell our
readers how long you’ve been sculpting
and what got you interested in it?
GINGER: Thank you so much for coming
to GO Art Studio-GO Art Center. I
started working in ceramics, playing
in the mud, over 20 years ago, but I
was originally interested in the
ceramics of indigenous sculptors and
potters 40 years ago in New Mexico.
I fell in love with black, shiny pottery
and terra cotta earthenware made by
a hand building method called wedged
coils. This wedged coil pottery is also
produced in Asia. It intrigued me that the
same types of ceramic processes were
found all over the world. Ceramics are
some of the oldest relics we find from
our ancient human history. Many times
you’ll see drawings or patterns carved
by the artists to reveal raw clay or other
col