Randy and Shannon Bowen came up with an unusual way to meet their neighbors: Have a pottery sale.The two artists have lived in Black Forest since 1992 and love it there ñ- just as they love their “commute,” a short stroll from their house to their 2,000-square-foot studio in their backyard. Still, Randy Bowen said, “We haven’t been that connected with the community until recently.”Connections have been forged since they have invited the community to regular sales at their home. The first studio sale was in 2013 ñ- just days before the Black Forest fire ñ- and was “super successful,” Shannon Bowen said. Since then, they’ve been holding at least three sales a year ñ- Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend and around the holidays in November or December; last year, they added a sale weekend in March. They had a March sale again this year, spotlighting their “Dirty Bird Bird Baths.”The couple have had their pottery displayed and sold in galleries ñ- and still have their work in a couple of places. Randy used to travel and sell his work at craft shows, but he didn’t enjoy being on the road. “It was just a dreadful way to make money,” he said. “So I always shunned retail. Ö And now I’m loving retail, because it’s our neighbors.”It can be tough in a rural community to get to know residents other than your next-door neighbors, Shannon said. With the sales drawing repeat customers, “We see people time and time again. We’ve made so many friends.”And it’s not just during those studio sales that they see those new friends and customers.”We encourage people to call up and stop by in between sales, and we do get that,î she said. People will call with “a pottery emergency;î for example, when they might need a unique wedding gift.While some artists rely on a day job to get by, Randy said they “eke out a living” with their work. However, he does have a night job. He is a jazz drummer and plays with different groups ñ- “kind of like an on-call drummer,” he said.Shannon was a sculptor before she got into pottery. While she and Randy collaborate on sculptural work for occasional group art exhibits, her artistic energy is mostly focused on pottery. “I say I sort of dragged her into the black hole of pottery,” Randy said.Their methods are different, though. “I do anything that is built from slabs,” Shannon said; she joins those slabs of clay together or pushes them over molds to produce her pieces. ìRandy does the thrown stuff,” using a pottery wheel.Randy has an old clay mixer that he said allows him to still ìact like a dinosaur.îìMost potters don’t make their own clay anymore,î he said. But by creating his own clay, he can make it exactly the way he wants ñ- coarser, wetter or whatever. They also make their own glazes.What are their favorite things to create? “The one people are buying,” Randy said, with a laugh.They always try to have something new for the studio sales. Alongside the mugs and vases and other smaller works, they like to have “a few huge, spectacular pieces,” Shannon said.The size of their studio called out to them to make “big stuff” when they moved to the property, Randy said. But while making a big, spectacular ceramic piece can be fun and all-consuming, the audience for such a piece is small, he said.”You get infatuated with your work, but then the show’s over and you bring it home,î Randy said.ìWe kind of need to have an income.” He said he has come to appreciate “the everyday aspect of pottery,” pieces such as a unique coffee mug that its owner will treasure and bond with.Randy and Shannon have been married for almost 30 years. When they met, Randy said, “There was an immediate attraction ó on my part anyway.” And the spark is still there after all these years.Being self-employed and working at home together, “We’re in each other’s face all day,” Randy said.”It’s a nice way to be married,” Shannon said. “We like to hang out together.”
