Playing with clay at Mud Slinger Pottery
Photos by MANDI BATEMAN Maxien Marcy, owner and artist of Mud Slinger Pottery, numbers all of her handmade ceramics.
Photo by MAXIEN MARCY Maxien Marcy’s current project is building ceramic heads, that double as flower pots, for the garden fence posts. She calls them Mangoyles rather than gargoyles.
A variety of work by Maxien Marcy can be found at Groove Studio. The owls are one of artist Maxien Marcy’s themes that she reproduces in different mediums.
Photo by MANDI BATEMAN The owls are one of artist Maxien Marcy’s themes that she reproduces in different mediums.
BONNERS FERRY — An artist sees the world a little differently. What ultimately determines an artist’s success is how well they can convey that sight to others.
Using different forms and mediums, they reproduce the world as they envision it, evoking an emotion through sight and touch. When their creations reach an audience, causing the desire to take a piece of that vision home with them, then the artist has the makings of a business — combining the joy of creation with the security of a paycheck.
For many artists, that is the ultimate dream.
Maxien Marcy has found that balance with her business Mud Slinger Pottery, but this was a life that sought her out.
“I took a job in the summer of 1994 for a little sign company,” she said. “I didn’t know how to draw, didn’t know how to do anything.”
One day a man came in and asked her to draw something for him. Marcy thought to herself, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t draw anything.“
Marcy loved her job, and realized that if she wanted to stay there, she would need to fulfill a need.
“I started taking some art classes,” she said, “A whole new world opened up.”
Marcy received a formal art education from North Idaho College with a focus on drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking. Although the love of painting came first, Marcy became well known as a ceramic artist.
“I think probably my favorite medium is oil painting, but then again, I can’t decide over clay because I get sucked into that clay,” she said.
“I had taken some classes from 2001 to 2004 at North Idaho College in the ceramics department. One of the people I had taken classes with thought that I should continue to be a ceramic artist. She found an old, antique kiln and gave it to me.” Marcy explained.
She decided to make a commitment to the clay, and bought a wheel and started producing in 2008. Ten years later and Marcy’s work has traveled around the world, wine glasses that survived a hurricane in the Virgin Islands, England, South Africa, and more.
Marcy remembers one of her first sales that she made at the Bonners Ferry Farmers Market.
“It was a beautiful summer day — and this woman was traveling back home to Russia- and she bought six of my bowls to take home to Russia,” said Marcy.
“It blew my mind because there are Russian potters all over and this is not exactly a light item to take with you. This is mostly a boat anchor,” she said with a chuckle. “I have to say, that one really hit me. The clay has traveled amazingly.”
Marcy numbers her wheel thrown vessels, with every piece meticulously recorded, including information such as the type of clay used, the type of glazes used, and the temperatures of the kiln.
“For my clay art I only use products that are made in America,” explained Marcy in her artist bio. “I only use American made products to ensure that all vessels are food safe.”
Marcy considers herself a mixed media artists. Her small studio, originally a tool shed for the Burlington Northern Railroad and since relocated to its new home on Moravia, is a dry studio. Water must be hauled in in order to work with the clay. Because of this, when the weather cools, Marcy shuts down the ceramic production, and turns to her other loves: oil painting, oil block prints, handmade paint brushes, and more.
“As an artist I enjoy creating ‘things’ in multiple types of mediums to observe how people perceive an image or object,” said Marcy. “The human perception can change when the content of an image is put in a different medium. The way a person’s heart opens to color, medium substrates, texture and dimension is what inspires me to create art.”
One recurring theme is a pair of endearing owls, expressive in their simplicity. “My owls exist as oil paintings, and as ceramic images, and as oil block prints,” said Marcy.
Marcy sells her work through Groove Studio in downtown Bonners Ferry, Northwest Handmade Furniture & Gallery in Sandpoint, and at the Bonners Ferry Farmers Market. Although she says that her best sales come from the farmers market, don’t go looking for her on a cold or rainy day.
“I will be there on the sunny days,” she explained with a smile. “I am a fair weather potter.”
Marcy has a passion for what she is doing, and that fact is evident in each and every piece that she creates and shares with the world. For others that share her love of art and are considering trying it themselves, Marcy has this advice:
“Don’t believe anyone who says you can’t draw. Just open up and let it happen. Don’t think to hard about it, just do it.”
Mud Slinger Pottery: 208-267-0102 or MudSlingerPottery@hotmail.com