EOT 370- The Pinhook "Blend With Friends" & Laura Casas of "Casas Studios"

Opening the episode is Maha, interviewing Patrick from Durham live music venue The Pinhook. They discuss their open DJ event, Blend with Friends.
Following, Brian interviews Laura Casas of Casas Studios. They discuss their process through art education and inspirations. Laura also cover's establishing a studio space and selling their work.

Show Notes

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What is Eye on the Triangle?

Eye on the Triangle is WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2’s weekly public affairs programming with news, interviews, opinion, weather, sports, arts, music, events and issues that matter to NC State, Raleigh and the Triangle.

00:00
Brian Jurado
The views and opinions expressed on Eye on the Triangle do not represent WKNC or NC State student media. Your dial is currently tuned into Eye on the Triangle here on WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. Hello everyone. This is Brian Jurado, the public affairs Director here at WKNC and host of Eye on the Triangle. We've got two interviews for today's episode. To start us off, Maha will be interviewing Patrick from Pinhook in Durham and they talk about Blends with Friends. And for a second interview, Eye on the Triangle sits down with Laura Casas, a potter and illustrator working out of downtown Raleigh. So stay tuned.

00:58
Maha
Hey everyone, this is Maha with Eye on the Triangle on WKNC 88.1 FM. Catch our show every Sunday from 6 to 7pm on HD1. I'm here with Patrick from Pinhook representing TREEE CITY, who is here to talk about a very exciting opportunity. Hey babe, how are you? Please introduce yourself.

01:18
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Hey, thanks for having me. I'm Patrick, also known as TREEE CITY and I'm a producer and DJ based in Durham. I've been working out of the Triangle for the last decade plus. And yeah, I also help organize a bi weekly open decks event at the Pinhook in Durham.

01:40
Maha
Patrick, define what Blends with Friends is using your own words.

01:46
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
I think the simplest way that I explain it to people is it's an open decks. So if you're familiar with like the concept of an open mic at a bar where people can come and perform, it's like that for DJs and producers. So the Pinhook has a really great sounding sound system and room. And so every other week or the first and third Wednesdays of the month, we provide a free opportunity for people to come and just DJ in front of other people. It's really low pressure. It's not like a super intense club night with like a million people and lasers and whatnot. It's really kind of just a weeknight hangout kind of vibe.

02:25
Maha
A jam sesh.

02:26
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, exactly. And providing people an opportunity to play around on like professional quality equipment and you know, maybe get into DJing if they haven't done it before but have always been curious about it or you know, for people who have been doing it for a while, it's like an opportunity to try out new stuff. Maybe get a little weirder with your set than you necessarily would at like a official kind of gig.

02:54
Maha
Experimental. Cool, cool. How does Blends with Friends create an inclusive space for artists and people who just want to make music?

03:03
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, I mean, that's something that we have talked about a lot, like how to make it as accessible as possible, Inclusive as possible. A big part of that is that it's free, so there's no, like, economic barrier to entry. The Pinhook itself is like, a really rad and inclusive space in Durham. You know, it's been, like, queer owned for its entire existence and really focuses on creating, like, a safer kind of venue, club environment. I feel very fortunate to have, you know, been able to throw shows there for. I think they opened in 2009. So, yeah, a little over 10 years. And, you know, we have a staff of volunteers, basically, who run the vint.

03:49
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
We bring what we call the Synth Petting zoo, which is a bunch of synthesizers that, you know, various people own that we set up that you can just jam on.

03:59
Maha
Is that at Bloodsmith Brands, you were saying?

04:02
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, yeah, we do that.

04:04
Maha
Kind off to the side.

04:07
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah. So there's like, the main kind of DJ setup is on stage. We have CDJS and a mixer as well as turntables, and people can plug in, like, an aux cord to their phone or laptop or controller or whatever. So we really try to make it. So, like, if anyone walks in off the street and wants to make some noise, we're gonna have some means for them to do that. Even if it's just like, let me play my new track off of my phone.

04:33
Maha
That is so cool. That's so awesome. I love that so much. That's. That's very. The way you worded it just really attracts me to it. It sounds exactly like something I'd want to do on a Wednesday. Something I'd look forward to. My next question for you is what kind of artists and mentors attend Blends with Friends, as I've read about on the website.

05:01
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, it's a really interesting mix because there's, you know, everything from people who don't actually even know what the event is and just, like, come in because it's a bar on a Wednesday and maybe are like, oh, this is interesting. Like, I'm kind of into this kind of music all the way to. You know, there's like, a good few regulars who are, like, gigging DJs and producers and are, like, doing the thing, you know, like, professionally and everywhere in between. So it's a really cool opportunity for people of, like, different skill levels and different experience levels to interact.

05:44
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
And because it's, like, really low pressure and low stakes, like, you know, pretty often people are able to make connections with, like, people that Share musical tastes or you know, like someone might come and be like, oh, I saw this one person do like a modular set. And I'm really into that, but I haven't been able to connect with people locally who are also into that. So it's really just trying to create an opportunity for like minded people to come together and like share what they know and just, you know, enjoy the music and vibe out together.

06:23
Maha
Yeah, like. Like a family, like a friend group, like a gay and inclusive YMCA of DJs.

06:32
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yes, exactly. I'm gonna steal that for our.

06:35
Maha
Go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, I think that like, for me personally, as someone who is interested in making music or just experimenting with my sound through different mediums and stuff, all of this is like phenomenal information and makes me feel very welcome just to meet you and talk about this because I think it has like potential to use a platform to bring so many people together who are willing to help one another. And I think that's, that's a community thing. I would say. Community blends with friends is a community thing.

07:10
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, it's definitely one of the main goals is to like build and reinforce, you know, the community that's already here, kind of strengthen those connections and also, you know, provide resources. Like, I think it's pretty hard sometimes for people who are just starting out and are maybe like only making music in their bedroom to have a sense of how they fit into like the scene or like the larger conversation. So yeah, that's definitely one of our goals. And I mean, we've also kind of in the process of doing it connected with other folks around the State who are doing similar stuff. So like in Raleigh, Ms. Ashley runs an open decks night at Clockwork. And we're collaborating next month and doing sort of a crossover event. I want to say that's on the 6th. They do it on Tuesdays.

08:04
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Oh, sorry, that's the 8th of November. And then there's like this thing called Patch and Brew that's in Greensboro that has a little bit more of a focus on like synthesizers and various, you know, like modular companies will come out and like share their stuff. But it's a really similar kind of like, you know, growing a community and sharing knowledge kind of thing. So one thing that's been very cool about, you know, seeing this event grow is that like there are a lot of other people who are on the same page, you know, around the State and beyond. And like we all get a chance to link up and kind of share notes and like, talk about, you know, what we're trying to do.

08:50
Maha
So something I'm interested in. First of all. Do you know that Instagram account Animals with Synthesizers?

08:57
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
No, but I'm immediately following it.

08:59
Maha
Do it. When you say synthesizer, it just automatically, like, triggers my brain into remembering. Animals with Synthesizers. It's synthesizers playing over, like, animals just being animals. And I. I live for it. I'll send it to you on Instagram. It is.

09:16
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Thank you.

09:17
Maha
Yeah. And another thing I was actually going to ask about, so you said that there is Clockwork. Can you tell me more about that? I've never heard of that.

09:25
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, Clockwork is a bar in Raleigh, I believe, and Ms. Ashley is a friend and a DJ who. Who organizes an open Decks night there. I want to say it's every Tuesday. It's definitely on Tuesdays. And they have, you know, like, DJ deck set up. You can sign up online in advance and come out and play a set. I think it's mostly kind of like house music centric. Whereas, like, Blends With Friends, we really don't.

09:56
Maha
It's eclectic.

09:58
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
We don't tell people what to play at all. And that kind of like, for better or for worse, like, it gets really weird sometimes because people will come through and play, like, just stuff you would never expect. Like stuff that's not even dance music. Like someone did like a 90s alternative rock set the other week.

10:15
Maha
Okay, cool. I mean, I love that. That diversity. I love the eclectic ness. That sounds amazing. What kinds of learning opportunities are available for people who attend Blends With Friends? Like you mentioned these synthesizers before, and the DJ equipment and setup. Do you have any more goodies and resources that are brought into Blends With Friends?

10:39
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, so there are a few other things that we do. Sometimes we'll do workshops at the beginning of the night for people who are unfamiliar with DJing on CDJs. And that's kind of like the industry standards, like club DJ Controller, like you would find if you went into pretty much any club anywhere in the world. But they're pretty intimidating, I think, particularly to people who are starting out. They're like, huge and have an unnecessary number of buttons and knobs.

11:10
Maha
How many buttons, Patrick?

11:12
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Oh, at least 10. So sometimes we'll do like a little workshop at the beginning of the night and just kind of get people acquainted with the basics of, you know, how to dj, like how to get two tracks to blend, you know, changing tempos and things like that. We also have a program that we call the gear Library, which is all donated equipment that you Know, generally it's like people are cleaning out their studio and they're like, oh, I don't use this controller anymore. Don't really want to deal with selling it. And so they'll donate it to Gear library and that's, you know, it much like a library. It's free to check stuff out. There's a variety of things from MIDI controllers to mixers to you know, like big Yamaha keyboards, you know, when you're like learning to play piano at home.

12:04
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
And so that's just kind of in keeping with the idea of like getting people resources for free so that people can see like, oh, I've been always curious about DJing, but I don't want to spend a couple hundred dollars on a DJ controller if I don't really know what I'm doing. So it's opportunity to test stuff out or practice or just get some hands on experience.

12:31
Maha
Yeah, thank you. And how can people find out more about upcoming Blends with Friends? Now you mentioned that they're every first and third Wednesday, I believe.

12:43
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, that's right, every first and third Wednesday at the Pinhook in Durham. We also have an Instagram that you can follow that's Blends underscore with Underscore Friends.

12:54
Maha
Nice.

12:55
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
We don't currently have a website. You know, like I said, it's like very DIY and volunteer run. So a lot of the like infrastructure and stuff are still kind of putting together. But definitely following the Instagram is the best way to keep updated about events. And also if you go to the Pinhooks website, we're on there as well under their upcoming events.

13:21
Maha
Thank you, very helpful. So these are free. Free and very public events, correct?

13:28
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, that's right. I think there's like, if you're under 21, you know they'll X your hands because it's a bar, but there's no cover charge to get in. It's really designed to be literally anyone can just walk in off the street and sign up and play a DJ set.

13:47
Maha
And I wanted to know, do you have any words of encouragement or stories of encouragement that can get people to come out to Blends with Friends?

13:55
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, sure. I mean, one of the things that's been most like inspiring for me as an organizer of the event is like seeing that the idea actually works. Like when people have access tools and community, they really blossom and start doing their own stuff. So like, one of the coolest things I've seen is people who started coming to Blends with Friends and either were just starting out as DJs or maybe hadn't even started and were just curious about it and are now like throwing their own shows and like, you know, opening for big artists and kind of building their own events, which is really like the thing that excites me the most, you know.

14:44
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Like some of my favorite, you know, DJs in the triangle are people who, you know, a year ago started coming out to blends with friends and were like, you know, I want to play, I DJ at home a lot. But like, I just don't want to jump into getting in front of a ton of people. And so I think it's really important for like a healthy, like, ecosystem of artists to have just a lot of small opportunities. I try to tell people who are like nervous about playing their first set or whatever, like, it doesn't really matter if you mess up. No one's gonna boo you. Probably no one's gonna stop dancing. Like, and it's very common that like over the course of the night, like, you know, there's like a weird blend or transition or something, or like the equipment will stop working.

15:36
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
But it's kind of just. It's almost more of like, you know, just like a friend party cookout kind of vibe where no one's like, oh, where'd the music go? It's just like, okay, we'll hang out until it comes back and then everyone applauds. Like, so that's. That's really nice.

15:53
Maha
I like that. Yeah, that's really amazing. Is there a specific shout out to any artist or DJ that you can think of that inspired you or has made it big or that you have mentored through this program?

16:09
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Yeah, I mean, shout outs are tricky because there's so. There's so many people that come out that I like off the top of my head, you know, like people that have been coming out a ton, like Isabelle Essence, luminaxc, Smut, Vespertine Ver. Like, I really could go on for probably about 15 minutes. But what I will tell people is particularly people who are interested in getting more connected into what's happening in electronic music in the triangle is just like, come to a couple because you'll definitely meet new people. I mean, I'm continually finding new favorite DJs, like, and finding new tracks that I haven't heard of and you know, like whole genres where someone comes through.

17:01
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Like, you know, like this one artist, Chris Crisp, came through and played like the most high energy trance set at like 9pm and everyone was just, you know, raving super Hard. Yeah, it's. I mean it really is like just so many people, like I have, I save all the sign up lists of, you know, folks that have come through. We have a physical like clipboard where you sign up for a time slot and. Yeah, I mean just like folks like Job and Miss Beats and like Trandle. I mean a lot of the people that come through generally end up getting booked either on, you know, other shows, other events that we're promoting or it's almost kind of like a A and R like scouting opportunity thing.

17:56
Patrick "TREEE CITY"
Like promoters will come through and be like, okay, let me see, you know, who are like the new people that are coming onto the scene, like who's doing some interesting stuff. And there always is, it's always, you know, just like full of surprises. Like it from week to week, it's never the same event twice. And so that like to me always keeps it exciting and engaging.

18:19
Maha
Well, it's been an honor talking with you and I really appreciate everything and thank you so much.

18:31
Brian Jurado
Hey everyone, this is Brian Jurado, the public affairs director of WKNC and host of Eye on the Triangle. And today I'm joined with Laura Casas. She's a potter and illustrator working out of a studio here in downtown Raleigh. If you just want to introduce yourself.

18:46
Laura Casas
Sure. My name is Lara Casas and I'm a potter, illustrator and Brian said the whole thing. Yeah.

18:55
Brian Jurado
So overall my first question is going to be what inspired you to do pottery? Pottery. You've had kind of a lengthy resumes just based off my own research. Just kind of what brought you to like first starting it out?

19:08
Laura Casas
Yeah, it's. Pottery is something I definitely did not see myself doing when I was in high school. My idea of art or going to art school was kind of in the genres of like animation, illustration, children's books. That's kind of what I was thinking. And then, you know, also I thought when it came to fine arts I was, you know, in my head it was photography, painting and only that clay didn't really register with me. In my high school we had like one week of clay and I hated it mainly because it was one week and you can't really get a lot done in one week or you can't really get the full experience of clay in one week. But so I kind of, I went to school to Western Carolina University originally thinking I was going to do art education or music education.

20:09
Laura Casas
Tried out for their band and everything. I thought that was going to be my path was music, professional performance, that type of Thing or art education. I wasn't really for sure. I don't think anyone, any freshman's for sure about what they want to do later. I think it was the end of my first year. I had saved ceramics for last because it was something that was a medium that I was really dreading. Mainly, one, the instructor seemed really intimidating, and two, it was very messy. And I was like, I am not looking forward to this. I am not. Because I was seeing the people who were leaving the classes, and they were covered head toe in, like, clay, essentially. And I was like, I do not. I am not into that. But I took the class, and it was like an instant thing.

21:00
Laura Casas
It was like almost instant that I saw the instructor. I learned that the instructors. The fact that she was so intimidating was because she just exuded passion for it. And I realized I wanted to be like that, and I wanted to be like her. And I was like, maybe clay is what's gonna get me to feel like that. And so it was. I really attest my, you know, journey to clay to her. Heather Mae Erickson. I fondly refer to her. Her as my clay mom because she was a. Or she is a really great mentor and still actively is a really great mentor that I am always referring to. But yeah, in college is when I found ceramics.

21:50
Laura Casas
And she program at Western was really small, so she was able to put a lot of focus on the three students that were majoring or, you know, concentrating in ceramics. We did a lot of. We did a lot of shows together. So I got a lot of experience while I was in college doing markets and shows. And she kind of introduced the idea to me that you don't have to be a starving artist. Like, you can have a. A pretty, like a robust career in art, but it's through different avenues. So I don't just make art. Yeah. So, yeah, I don't. I don't just make art. I do a bunch of different things, like education, freelance illustration, just anything I can get my hands into.

22:45
Brian Jurado
And just in general, in terms of just your art and ceramics as a whole, what did you do to kind of develop this skill? Or was it just something that you've kind of gathered at a young age and just developed over time, or was there a process that you took to kind of be able to keep growing?

23:01
Laura Casas
I would say the art process. I think when I was younger, I knew that I wanted to be in a creative field for sure. I think when I got into high school, I was intimidated by a lot of things. When I was in High school. And when I think back, the idea of being a fine artist or going to art school solely was really intimidating, mainly because I guess you could technically say I'm first generation Mexican American because I was born in Mexico and I grew up here in America. But I don't really feel that way sometimes. Yeah, I don't really feel that way sometimes because I'm like, wait, my first week is my. My dad is fluent in Spanish, but I'm not fluent in Spanish. I barely can speak Spanish unless it's like a life or death situation.

23:58
Laura Casas
But anyway, my art now is inspired by a lot of nostalgic cartoons, that type of thing. You know, I grew up in the early 2000s with old nickelodeon and old Cartoon Network and that type of thing, and those types of animations. Very graphic, very colorful, very. Each style, each art style was completely different, depending on the network, you know, and also children's books. I always have a lot of those images in my head when I'm making art. And so, you know, thinking about those, that's what made me think, oh, I want to be a children's book illustrator. When I was younger, I was like, that's what I want to be. But because of, you know, these outside suppressors and, like, you know, parents, teachers saying that art school isn't a, you know, sustainable career path, I kind of suppressed that a little bit.

24:59
Laura Casas
And I was, okay, fine. I'm going to art. Art school for art education. But, you know, I didn't. I kind of only worked in my sketchbook. For me, everything else that I created externally, like, for assignments, were for assignments. So it was to please professors, so it was to please other people. And so I would say, once I got into clay, I realized two things. I realized that clay was almost genetic for me. After I had done a lot of research on clay and the history of clay in Mexico, and I was like. It all, like, came together for me, and I said, wow, like, this is. This is who I am. This is. You know, it came very natural to me, and I finally understood why. And so I was able to merge, you know, that.

25:57
Laura Casas
That part of myself and also that childlike creativity in my work. And so I started experimenting with illustrations on pottery and so kind of melding those two worlds together. And so I'm still kind of doing that now. My work in college was more comic, like, based, so I would do things in frames and have a very direct narrative. But now the messages and the narratives are more subtle. I've actually just very recently started experimenting back with the Very direct comic book, like, squares on my pieces to make the narrative more direct. But I always keep falling back to that, like, very subtle stories and messages and things like that in my work.

26:50
Brian Jurado
Like you said earlier, there's been a lot of, like, Mexican American influence in your work. I think that's what actually personally drew me to your work a lot. I discovered you through reshare on Instagram, and after that, I kind of clicked and I was able to, like, scroll through. And I really thought your illustrative patterns and illustrations that you draw on your work is incredible. But also I thought it was very incredible how you use, like, red clay. And I saw on an interview that you did earlier this year for Walter magazine that you say that a lot of the pottery that you do connects to Mexico and a lot of that Mexican heritage that you have. In terms of bringing that, like, heritage, how do you represent that in your art?

27:31
Laura Casas
I would say so. When I first started out, I was using a lot of maialika because I. That was kind of. In my first initial research that I had done, I had learned that maiolica, which is a type of glaze, was really popular in the making of talavera tiles in southern Mexico. And also in general in all of Mexican pottery that bright, you know, graphic maiolica colors are widely used. Although back in the, you know, 60s and beyond, it was all lead based. But now there's better recipes out there that are no longer lead based.

28:16
Laura Casas
I still use Maolica, although I have, you know, as I began to research more and educated myself more about my own history and even the indigenous history of Mexico, not my own, you know, acknowledging those indigenous communities later realized, you know, oh, the reason why the traditional Mexican potters use mialika is because it was introduced by the Spaniards in Spanish. So, you know, because I think malaka is kind of Italian or Spanish, and it was used in a lot in. In Europe and brought to the Americas. And I was like. And I. For a while I thought about, stop, you know, I thought I was going to stop using maiolica because I. It felt, you know, after that initial research, it felt really weird.

29:12
Laura Casas
But then I realized I was like, you know, I'm from north Mexico and not of my indigenous history is, like, intact anymore. Despite all the research I could do, I couldn't find any, you know, talking to my parents, talking to, like, my grandparents. They had no knowledge of, you know, they have no knowledge of their grandparents or their past relatives because none of it was kept either that or destroyed. So I was like, well, I'VE got Spanish in me that, you know, it is what it is. I can't. I can't fight it. So I was like, I'll just keep using it like it's who I am. And through those subtle ways, you know, I am in the pot. But, you know, I do keep, like, the pinching. I pinch all of my work.

30:04
Laura Casas
I try to do everything with as little tools as possible and just relying on myself and my fingers and things like that and kind of really simplifying it. So, yeah, the red clay, I try to keep to the red clay, the pinching aspect, and the maolica. Although as unsettling it is, it's still a part of who I am, I guess, and my pottery as well.

30:30
Brian Jurado
Beyond just, like, the Mexican heritage and the cartoons that you've watched growing up, is there any other influences that you say are represented through your work?

30:38
Laura Casas
I would definitely say music has a really big play on how I'm feeling. I definitely go through different. Each season, I feel like I have a different fixation or different genre of music that I listen to. My partner is always making fun of me because he's like, oh, it's September. She's in her Modest Mouse phase or whatever. Because I'll end up listening to the Modest Mouse album for, like, the whole month of September or things like that. And so, you know, if I'm feeling like, really that I'm feeling that day. So I think I actually had. I had someone ask me this, but in a different way. They asked me what genre of music my pots would be, and I think I told them bubble grunge, essentially. Like, I feel like my work is. It's trying to hide.

31:43
Laura Casas
The emotion it's conveying is trying to hide, like, that emo scene kid that's inside of me. It's trying to peek through. So although my work is, like, super colorful and super, like, optimistic, I still find. I still find ways to, like, put a little bit of angst in there every now and then. So that's. That's how I think about it.

32:08
Brian Jurado
That's so greatly put. I enjoy the angst that comes out of your work every once in a while as well. Beyond making your own work, you also teach in person classes at the Pullen Arts Center. How do you go about teaching others or inspiring others?

32:23
Laura Casas
I definitely think it goes back to my mentor, Heather Mae Erickson. You know, she's the one. I think about this a lot because right after I started taking pottery classes, my partner took pottery classes, but not with Heather May but with a grad student. No. Hate to graduate students and their teaching methods, but he was like, I just don't feel it, you know, the instructor, they didn't quite have the spark that you're talking about. And I think about that comment a lot. And I'm like, what? You know, if I'm having a bad week or a bad, you know, time, I try.

33:10
Laura Casas
When I'm teaching, I try to shut that out, because what if that, you know, what if this session is what, you know, this session with me in my class is what allows someone to find, you know, their passion and that kind of thing. So I never want to. I always want to. I always want my classes to be really positive and welcoming and all around. Yeah. I just want them to know that I'm really excited about clay and that they should be, too. Even like, I teach a lot of beginning classes, and this is, like, such a common theme every single class. No, like, no question. There is always one person or more than one person who tries to perfect it on the first night. And I'm like, I put a disclaimer at the beginning of class and throughout the class.

34:11
Laura Casas
It's like, you are not gonna be perfect at this on the first class. Like, I've been doing this since 2016, and I'm still, like, learning, you know, learning everything I can about it. So, yeah, just trying to dispel people's perfectionism when I'm teaching and when I'm teaching, trying to get folks to loosen up and experiment more and take risks, that kind of thing, because that's what clay is really. It's got a mind of its own, so it's good for experimenting.

34:46
Brian Jurado
Do you have any tips for somebody that's, like, interested in pursuing it?

34:50
Laura Casas
I would say start off with hand building. When I do have the chance to teach to or to teach a class where I'm able to do hand building and wheel throwing. So a combination wheel and hand building class. I always start with hand building because you got to think when pottery was first being made, they didn't start off with a wheel. They start off. They started off with their hands. So I always like to start with the very basics because the basics inform, you know, more advanced techniques, like the pinching of a pot. When you're pinching a pot from a ball of clay, you know, you're rotating it in a circle, but in your hand, and, you know, you're pinching up the walls layer by layer in your hand.

35:34
Laura Casas
You know, that's the same concept for wheel throwing, except instead of in your hand and almost horizontal, it's vertical and spinning really fast on a wheel. Definitely take it slow and try hand building first. If you go into wheel throwing first, like beginning wheel first though, just go into it. The idea that you're not going to get it on the first night, really the first night or the first day of a beginning wheel class is really just so you can get the feel of the clay. Like, because you've never been, you know, if you're taking a beginning class, chances are you've never touched a wheel or like never felt the experience of the clay flying everywhere, like that kind of thing.

36:20
Laura Casas
So, you know, the first night you're not going to be perfect, but you know, by the fourth or fifth session, you might have made something that doesn't fall apart. So, yeah, great.

36:34
Brian Jurado
And would you say that teaching in person courses at the Pullen center or just creating amongst others has inspired your own personal creativity?

36:42
Laura Casas
Oh, for sure. I would say teaching in particularly makes me look at my own work not necessarily more critically, but in a different light because you're talking about it so much and you're, you're having the. Do the school still do this that where you have to like present your work, you know, and presenting the work or presenting like your knowledge of the topic helps you kind of fortify that in your mind a little easier. So teaching has definitely made me more aware of what I'm doing and even be more cautious about how I'm doing things now. Like, I don't know, a good example off the top of my head. But I'm definitely, basically, I'm trying to do more practice, practice what you preach. Essentially. I'm like, yeah, I should probably, you know, this is how you should do it.

37:39
Laura Casas
I should probably start doing it like this too, like that kind of thing.

37:44
Brian Jurado
And you sell a lot of your work through your own personal website, as well as just craft fairs throughout the area. Had that always been a goal for you to sell like a lot of your illustrations or just your art in general?

37:56
Laura Casas
Yeah, I would say going into clay, you know, I was just thankful someone wanted to look at it essentially. But because I had the experience in college of making, of participating in art shows, you know, with the encouragement of my professor, that kind of like set me up for the mindset of like, you can have work that's sellable, but you can also have work. There's three, I feel like there's three ways you can have Your artwork. You have your artwork that's for yourself. You have artwork that's sellable, and then you have artwork that's at least. This is, for me, like, research based. Like, I'm putting a lot of time in this. I don't care if someone buys it. If they buy it. That's great. Yeah. And so I definitely.

38:48
Laura Casas
I think that's when I was talking, I think at the very beginning about how I was saying I was an artist and. But I do all these different things, like teaching, freelance, to be able to generate income for myself. I would say I'm an artist, but also kind of like a small business owner. I would still consider myself that. It's just. It's just two different mindsets that I have to put myself. And, you know, the business side of me is like, okay, I have a quota that I need to meet at the end of this month. But then the art side of me is like, can we not do that? Can we just experiment for the whole month? So it's that constant fighting in my head that. That I would say is the most difficult.

39:38
Laura Casas
And I would say the aspect I was not prepared for.

39:43
Brian Jurado
And as you stated that it's kind of two separate mindsets that you have to put yourself into between the business and the art side, just beyond creating and producing, like, your own work, have you faced any. Any challenges kind of establishing that selling platform?

39:56
Laura Casas
Yeah, I. I would say so. Let's see. So I graduated in 2018. Didn't really have a set plan. I did mostly internships and residencies and more internships. But in 2020, when my internships and residencies kind of took a hold, I moved to Raleigh with my partner, who's now my husband, set on making work in the kitchen, you know, that kind of thing. But Mason was like, no, because it's very messy. Not gonna do that in the kitchen. So he encouraged me to look around at the space. The space in particular, the Carter Building. He actually got my engagement ring from the Carter Building. Metamorphosis Metals, right down the. A couple of doors down. And it was like, there's a couple of empty spaces. You should, you know, you should email the building manager. And so I did. I don't.

40:58
Laura Casas
Was like, okay, if he gets back to me within the week, I'll. I'll do it. Or I'll at least start researching and looking into it and taking it more seriously, the idea more seriously. And Chris Carter got back to me, like, within the day. And I was like, shoot, now I have to really seriously look into this. And so that's what I did. And I really, I wouldn't say it was impulsive of a decision because I had experience selling. I had kind of a semi profile on social media, I had sold work online, but I definitely wasn't, I definitely feel like I didn't have my name out there. So this, doing this definitely felt like a jump from community, you know, doing community studio internships, residency.

41:49
Laura Casas
So jumping from that kind of nomadic life to settling, you know, quote unquote, settling down in a permanent studio space where I'm renting and I'm paying to have the studio space was definitely nerve wracking. But I was very ambitious and so I, which kind of, you know, bit me in the butt later, which I'll get to. But I applied for a lot of gallery shows. I applied for a lot of gallery shows and I even did a pre sale for, you know, kind of raising money to put the studio together. I did a pre sale that year. I made so many mistakes. One mistake with the pre sale was I did not set a limit on my pre sale orders. So.

42:42
Laura Casas
I had the space for about a month or two and I realized that I didn't have a set limit on my pre orders. And I, by the time I realized that and shut it down, I had like 90 orders. So I was like, well shoot. So I had 90 orders plus I had all these galleries lined up for the next two years. AKA I am just now finishing all of that work. So that kind of really, that really slowed me down. I would say the gallery work specifically. I realized that I shouldn't have applied to that many galleries and also accepted that many gallery invitations.

43:27
Laura Casas
The gallery work I've learned is not sustainable mainly because, you know, I, I bought this website, I bought this nice studio space, but I was sending everything out so that for the past two years everything that I made went out the door, you know, got shipped away. And so I never had any in store inventory. I never expected this little building to get a lot of traffic, but it surprisingly does. And I'm also right in the front of the building. So I have a lot of people stopping by like, oh, can I buy this piece? I'm like, no, it already has a home. So for the past two years I really didn't feel like I was a part of the Raleigh art community.

44:10
Laura Casas
Mainly because everything, I wasn't able to participate in any markets, any in person events, essentially gallery work and not setting a limit on My pre sales really set me back on selling work for the past two years. But this year I've started, you know, winding down on all my orders and all of my gallery deadlines. And I'm learning how to say no. It's really hard sometimes, but I'm learning how to say no to things like that. And I participated in my first in person event at the Fall Arts Market and that went really well. And so I'm really looking forward to more in person events and having a more in person inventory and also selling more on my website.

44:58
Brian Jurado
Social media has kind of played a big role in the arts as of late, especially applications like Instagram and TikTok. What role has social media played in your art?

45:06
Laura Casas
Social media played a big role when I was first starting out, particularly Instagram. I met a lot of my friends through Instagram. I've never met them in person, but we have these very, you know, close relationships and we're always kind of supporting each other. And there's this annual clay conference called Inseca. The last Inseca I went to was in 2017. I think that was when I was, I had first 2017, I think is when I first made my Instagram. And I remember meeting three of my online friends at that clay conference. I was planning to go to the one in Richmond in 2020. And so many people that I had known or made friends with through Instagram, were really excited to meet each other but you know, that didn't happen. And so this, there's another Inseca coming up. And I think the clay.

46:00
Laura Casas
I found a lot of friends in the Clay community through Instagram and so that's probably has been the most beneficial. I've gotten invites through that aspect. Someone that I constantly supported on Instagram, you know, they could message me and say, hey, can I tag you in this like or I'm gonna share your online sale on Instagram and that kind of thing. So there's like a nice little community of friends and groups who we haven't even met each other in person but genuinely support each other and I think that's really nice. Instagram now I would say social media in general now particularly because I went through that two year period where I wasn't able to really make a lot of, you know, make a lot of work for myself or like in store inventory.

46:51
Laura Casas
Social media just got really anxiety inducing because I was seeing these folks, they're amazing, making a lot of posts and doing a lot of really cool things and I was like, I still have all these orders I need to get through. So I would say my social media has been pretty stagnant for the past two years. But this year I've gotten a lot better about posting again. And you know, Instagram, once you stop posting for like a week, it kicks you to the netherworld. So that's always, that's always really frustrating. But I would definitely say Instagram helps out a lot or helped out a lot when I was first starting out, because you're able to make connections and almost network virtually and that kind of thing.

47:43
Brian Jurado
I guess what have been some favorite moments that you've had throughout your career that just has established that passion or love for like art and this lifestyle as a whole.

47:52
Laura Casas
I would definitely say teaching because I have, I feel like I have a lot of skills to share and then when I'm able. And also I'm really bad with generally really bad with words and generally just really bad about public speaking. But when I'm teaching and when I have that one student who gets it and me explaining to them a process and they get it, there's a lot of like satisfaction through that. And I'm like, oh, wow. I'm actually, I'm actively inspiring someone to like try this out or like to experiment or to take this risk. So that's like, that's been really, you know, start. When I've started teaching in person, that was really interesting to like see people's reaction to like my teaching style. Another thing is like the general community, the clay and the ceramics field kind of generates. It's definitely interesting.

48:55
Laura Casas
I would say the ceramic kind of field has been mostly very white and male for as long as, you know, for as long as forever, I would say. Just. But up until recently, I think it was that 2017 Inseca conference that I went to was when the Color Network was founded. The Color Network is a non profit. Well, it started off as just a group, but now it's a nonprofit of people of color who are generating support, grants, opportunities and a general community for other people of color in the ceramic world. And so I think that's. That's really amazing because, you know, ceramics really did come from people of color when you think about the history of it.

49:56
Laura Casas
And I feel like that's something that folks, you know, need to, they need to find that again and you know, like how I was able to find my own history through clay. I hope that I can meet other people of Color and help them find their own history or, you know, connect with their own history through clay. And that's something I'm really excited about, is reaching other people of color through ceramics.

50:26
Brian Jurado
I always like to kind of ask this question because there's a lot of college based listeners. But if there's any artists that are in like listening right now and they want to pursue a career like in their own personal craft or just in the arts in general, do you have any tips for them?

50:40
Laura Casas
Yeah, I would say be annoying because that's how I was. I. When I first started out, I wanted to know everything there was possible. I wanted to know everything. So I would, you know, be annoying. Essentially. I. I went to school at Western Carolina, so I was really close to Asheville. I remember, I think it was, yeah, when I took my first ceramic class. Spring break is when I went out to the River Arch district and visited every single pottery studio and asked them a billion questions, like, to each person who allowed me to be in their studio and to ask that many questions. And I basically did that like my whole, like when I was first starting out. It was also a good way for me to open up because I was generally very awkward.

51:38
Laura Casas
And so I was like, these people are barely going to be, remember me, you know, and the ceramic thing might not even work out so I can ask questions. So like, when I went to Inseco or like the first ceramic conference when I was in college, I was annoying, essentially. I was asking questions all over the place. I was like, oh, how do you do? Like, oh, how'd you get this? Oh, what do you think about this? Also, my professor really encouraged it too. Although she didn't call it being annoying, she called it networking. But she was like, just email them. What are they gonna say? They're not gonna respond. That's fine. So emailing. I. I remember I sent after that first inseca that I went to in 2017, I remember listening to the keynote.

52:27
Laura Casas
I think it was not the keynote speaker, but one of the emerging artists. It's like an award given out at that conference. Her name was Christina and she was a Mexican American artist and she was one of the speakers. And I remember being so touched by her work and like, so touched by like her message and like, I could really relate to her experience. My professor was like, email her. I was like, email her. And so I did, I emailed her and she got back to me and I think I was so like, astounded that she got back to me that I never responded back, and I felt so bad. But, yeah, just be. Just. Just be inquisitive. Just ask a lot of questions. I don't know. Email me. Like, email. Generally potters.

53:15
Laura Casas
I feel like the potters that I've encountered are very giving with their knowledge, and that's something I strive to also be. Be very giving with my knowledge. I don't want to essentially, you know, it's not mine to hide away. Like, ceramic processes have been around for centuries. It's just, you know, accessing that knowledge can be a little tedious.

53:42
Brian Jurado
Great. And given WKNC's tie with eye on the Triangle as a whole, one of my favorite questions to conclude with is, what. What's your favorite music to work with? Or what music do you have playing in your studio? You said Modest Mouse earlier, but is there any more, like, artists that you like?

53:59
Laura Casas
I would say very recently I've gotten really into Takanaka's work. Are you any. Are you familiar?

54:08
Brian Jurado
I'm personally not familiar.

54:11
Laura Casas
I think the album that I found was. It's actually an album he created for a children's book called the... God, w. hat is it called? The Rainbow Goblins. A children's book about goblins who eat rainbows and how this community of animals who lived in this rainbow forest fought off the goblins. And it was a children's book explaining why the rainbows never touch the ground anymore. Because of the goblins anyway. But, yeah, he made a score for that children's book. Completely random, but I guess that was a thing you did in, like, the 60s because there wasn't much TV or that kind of thing. So you would make a whole vinyl for children's. Children's book. But it's just, like, amazing. It's very funky. Very. Lots of really good riffs. But yeah, like, a lot of funk, a lot of instrumentals. I'm recent.

55:25
Laura Casas
I'm listening to recently. Jazzy instrumentals, certainly.

55:29
Brian Jurado
I feel like that kind of, like, represents your work a little bit, because I would say your, like, illustrations can be, I guess, described as funky. So I think that's really cool that the music kind of ties into it a little bit. And if somebody wanted to, like, find you, what platforms or social media handles would you or do you have.

55:47
Laura Casas
So I. I tried to keep it all consistent. Casas Studios. Casas for Instagram is Casas Studios. But generally you can. If you go there, you can find everything or just generally. My website is lauracarolinecasas.com.

56:12
Brian Jurado
That is all for this week's episode of Eye on the triangle. I want to thank Patrick and Laura for sitting down and interviewing with us. I hope everyone has a lovely rest of their week. Music for today's episode was Tupelo Honey by Chris Hagen, licensed under the YouTube audio library.