McDonald Discovers Her Chi Through Pottery

The pathway to an artist finding their inner chi is unique and specific to that artist – occurring only when both time and circumstances are aligned. Such is the case of Cerie McDonald, whose work is being featured at the near the Marietta Square.

McDonald’s journey began in a rural community of south Georgia–Statesboro. Growing up on a farm, her two brothers make five generations of farmers tilling the soil of her parents' land.  She said they grew mostly row crops like cotton, tobacco and peanuts.

“Sure it was a hard life but they [her parents] made a good living at it,” said McDonald.

Southern days were filled with creative play, as kids had to entertain themselves. Absent in the small rural community was exposure to the arts. Consequently, McDonald says her interest in the arts was kept at bay because she wanted to pursue a career that would allow her to make money.

So, she packed up her belongings and headed for the University of Georgia, where she obtained her degree in chemistry.  Even though she married shortly after graduating from UGA, McDonald was determined to make her way in the corporate arena.

After working a short stint as a medical researcher in the University System of Georgia, McDonald went to work as a quality control chemist for a small corporation in the pharmaceutical industry. There she found her first calling to advance through the corporate ranks. Earning an MBA degree from Mercer University positioned McDonald to eventually work her way up to president and chief operating officer of the company she had spent more than 20 years with.

After taking early retirement in 2003, it was time for McDonald to fulfill a promise she had made to herself many moons ago within the confines of her bedroom walls. McDonald says she told herself that she would put aside her creative ambitions while she pursued a career, enabling her to have sustainable income and a lifestyle of her choice.  Later she vowed to return to the spirit of the young girl within her bedroom, exploring the possibilities of her creative talents.

“I have no regrets, I really enjoyed business and what I did with it; this [pottery] is like a second life,” she says with a touch of excitement.

As McDonald attended pottery classes at the Abernathy Arts Center, the hobby quickly became all-consuming. With her chemistry degree and many years working in the pharmaceutical industry, she had a thorough understanding of how the kiln process worked. She says the technical processes of oxidation – abundance of oxygen –and reduction – reduced oxygen levels – affect the outcome of each fired piece of clay. For this reason she says potters can only control up to what they place in the kiln -- when they open the kiln a surprise awaits them every time.

“The hardest part is waiting on the kiln to cool down because you know there’s going to be something that really surprises you,” McDonald said. “It’s like Christmas morning when you were a child and couldn’t wait to go downstairs to open your presents, but it seemed to take forever.”

McDonald gives credit to the kinship of the artisan community of potters for her continued growth and development in the craft. She says they are very forthcoming with their knowledge and most are willing to lend a helping hand or their expertise in finding solutions to problems.

 “With pottery you never master it – there’s always something else to learn,” said McDonald, adding she has worked to find ways to make  her pottery stand out in the art form.

Influenced by Oriental art, McDonald said her work is made exclusively from porcelain, uses light colorful over-glazes and has a feminine touch – but definitely nontraditional. She works to develop her own ‘finger print’ with her glazing style and technique. In addition to the standard method of ‘throwing’ clay – molding it on the potter’s wheel – she designs her pottery in a different fashion using two other techniques.

The first technique McDonald uses is called ‘handbuilding’ where she rolls a slab of clay. The slab is cut and the piece is built by hand. The other technique is ‘extrusion’ where clay is forced through an extruder – sort of like pasta through a pasta maker – making the clay into tube form.

Reflecting on her life’s journey from the little girl on the farm to the COO to the artist, McDonald draws a connection. “Living in the country and growing up we played in the dirt, entertaining ourselves making mud pies -- making my art with clay is like making really, really good mud pies.”

As this month’s featured artist, you can view the latest work of Cerie McDonald at the Avery Gallery located at 390 Roswell Road, Marietta. She can be reached at 770-427-2459 or cerie@comcast.net for additional inquiries.