qiki with jorge barbosa
For our most recent merch drop, we collaborated with Jorge Barbosa of JB Cerámica, a Brooklyn-based ceramic artist who also works as a technical recruiter. Like many New Yorkers, Jorge balances his professional career with his creative pursuits, bringing the same dedication and craftsmanship to his handmade ceramics. With COVID offering a chance to slow down, he was able to shift his focus and further explore his expressive interests. Drawing inspiration from Seth Rogen’s Houseplant and the artists selling pottery in Washington Square Park, Jorge dove into the world of hand-building with clay, creating functional everyday pieces in unique and funky shapes.
Shop one-of-a-kind handmade JB Cerámica x Quell ashtrays.
———————
SATURDAY 1PM DEC 7, 2024 @ BUSHWICK CERAMICS
[JB] I spend a lot of my weekends here, and when I'm not in the studio, I'm at home thinking of new ideas of what I will be throwing next or creating with clay. I do a lot of sketches as well. So, yeah, it's definitely become a big part of my life, from a hobby to something I'm really passionate about, and obviously would love to continue for many years.
[QC] What's your favorite piece to make?
[JB] Probably ashtrays. I like to make something that's functional, something that someone can use every day. I like to kind of play around with different shapes or how the ashtray would be formed. I don't necessarily like making the same design or shape style over and over. I like to go off a little bit on a tangent and make my pieces slightly different, and sometimes that's how I discover completely new approaches to designs or maybe different styles of pieces.
[QC] How do you feel like the concept of playfulness plays into what you do here in your studio that maybe you're not getting in other areas of your life?
[JB] Working with clay is very much something a lot of us experience as kids. I mean, I definitely had Play-Doh sets, and I remember spending hours, you know, building, creating stuff, and I think when we become adults, sometimes that imagination might be lost, whereas children, we could create anything with whatever's in front of us, and clay being one of those things, I think, yeah, there's definitely the outlet to be playful and just have fun with it.
It’s one thing to have it go into production and have a business and be able to sell pieces, and that's all great, but at the end of the day, it's not fun, and if you're not really doing it for the enjoyment of it, then for me, that kind of takes away from, again, the process and why it is I'm doing it in the first place. So, yeah, ultimately, the pieces I make, selfishly, I make for myself. If I don't like it, then that's not something maybe I want to sell or even gift, so I'm always coming in with making something that I'm going to like, and, yeah, just have fun with it.
[QC] If your ceramics could talk, what would they say to each other?
[JB] I don't tend to make the same thing over and over, so I'm sure you'll get maybe different personalities from each piece. Some may be more quiet than others, some may love to chat about, I mean, I don't know, maybe talk about the weather, maybe talk about their favorite movie or just complete and total nonsense.
[QC] Do you name your pieces, or do you think that just gives them too much power?
[JB] I don't name my pieces. I think I started to, but I just lost track and there's just too many. I think when I started out, I had like 60 pieces in total, so I didn't have any children. It's just easier to call them by pot one, pot two. No, I don't name my pieces.
[QC] If you could create any random piece that wouldn't break, what would you create?
[JB] I mean, I think for me, I'm always amazed by artists that sculpt clay and create big, hand-built sculptures. I tend to gravitate towards throwing on the wheel and not a ton of hand-building, but I think that's an area that I'd like to explore more. I mean, creating just a huge sculpture piece would be awesome. I like animals, so probably a sculpture of some type of animal, like a wolf or an orca.
[QC] So you know a lot about animals?
[JB] I grew up watching like Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, and I'm very fascinated by nature and animals. I'll tell Caitlin, my girlfriend, just random animal facts and show her like videos on Nature's Metal, Instagram, or Reddit, and just pretty gnarly animals.
[QC] Are you more on Wikipedia or Reddit?
[JB] Oh. I mean, I would say both, but if I had to pick one, Reddit for sure.
[QC] How many hours a week do you think you spend on Reddit?
[JB] I mean, daily, I'm probably like on there at least three hours, so times seven, what is that? Yeah, anywhere from like 10 to 20 hours a week on Reddit.
[QC] What's your favorite sub?
[JB] Um, fuck. It's hard to pick one. I like Damn That's Interesting, Nature's Metal. I also like the house plant and Betta Fish subs, because it helps me figure out what I need for my plants and my Betta Fish.
[QC] What's the last thing you googled?
[JB] Oh, shit. Can I look? That might be dicey, let's see. Oh, okay. Legos, Lego sets. I love Legos, what can I say? I think it was for like a gift idea, so I was looking at different Lego sets to buy for a gift.
[QC] What do you think tastes the best out of a homemade ceramic piece?
[JB] I love coffee. So for me, drinking coffee out of something I've made is definitely more satisfying than going out and buying something from the store and like, you know, or like a plastic or paper Starbucks cup, for example. Like, yeah, I love coffee. I've made mugs. I still make them. I really enjoy making them and yeah, drinking something or having somebody drink out of one of my mugs is more fulfilling for sure.
[QC] What's your coffee order?
[JB] If I order coffee at a shop, I definitely like espresso drinks. So either, you know, cortado or macchiato, cappuccino or espresso shot. One of those four. I rotate, so.
[QC] So you're like, a hot coffee drinker?
[JB] Hot coffee, yeah.
[QC] Wow. Even during the summer, like. That's crazy for a Brooklynite.
[JB] Yeah, I guess maybe it's the Florida in me. I just like it hot, so. I like that.
Jorge is currently hosting evening mini wheel workshops to make teeny tiny ceramics. Check out his work on Instagram: @jb.ceramic or his website www.jbceramica.com.