Ceramics is More Than a Hobby for Sobel
Psychotherapist Simone Sobel pursues her pottery avocation in a home studio.
Chana Shapiro is an educator, writer, editor and illustrator whose work has appeared in journals, newspapers and magazines. She is a regular contributor to the AJT.
A brick path leads to the front door of a lovely home in the Toco Hills neighborhood, to which a fully equipped pottery studio was added to the house when the Coronavirus closed arts centers, causing artists and crafts persons to find a way to work at home.
Simone Sobel found herself in that spot. She explains, “I always worked in community studios, like Mudfire in Decatur, until COVID when all the studios shut down. I connected with a local potter on Jewish Moms of Atlanta who mentored me in how to set up a studio at home, and now I don’t look back. At home I have much more access to my wheel and kiln at odd hours than I ever did at studios.”
Sobel maintains a full-time psychotherapy practice in Brookhaven, and simultaneously she has become a successful part-time potter.
Sobel is known for her hand-thrown mugs, bowls, plates, pitchers, and Judaica, and she attracts admirers through social media where she updates her latest ceramic pieces. Sobel spends as much time in her studio as possible, creating what she calls “functional” pottery. When asked if she sees ceramics becoming a full-time business, she is candid, “It’s an avocation, a serious passion, more than just a hobby. I enjoy taking care of my family and running my private therapy practice where I work with PTSD and other trauma-affected clients. Making art is like oxygen, a necessity for me. I try to fit it in whenever I can, and I miss it when I can’t get to it.”
She adds, “I am usually able to be in my studio a couple of nights a week and sometimes on Sundays. It’s a huge luxury to have a full day off, and it doesn’t happen that often. There’s a rhythm to it, and my artistic soul and temperament usually alert me when it’s time to be there. Ceramics is a process that takes time. The process-oriented nature of it is part of what I love. There are stages which can be done each in their own time. I know how to wrap pots pretty well, so they don’t dry fully and can stay workable until I can get to them.”
Sobel’s bright studio, with glass walls through which natural light pours, is both a workspace and a showroom. Pottery in various stages of completion covers shelves, and a large worktable, which was built by a carpenter she found on Facebook, holds pieces waiting to be glazed or altered further. Sobel has a large electric kiln, and there is an outdoor sink, which is essential because clay will destroy indoor plumbing. All kinds of interesting tools are arranged on a wall of low cabinets, where glazes and other clay accoutrements are stored.
Next to the tools is the heart of the studio: the potter’s wheel. “Throwing” a specifically sized mound of clay, meaning centering it on the wheel, is an acquired skill, and shaping the clay as it revolves on the wheel requires strength and focus. A potter uses tools and techniques to add embellishments. The clay object must dry before its first firing in the kiln, and this is only the next step in the multi-step process.
“I try to indulge my passion for sculpture sometimes by adding some sort of sculptural element or enhancing a thrown piece after it’s off the wheel,” Sobel explains, gesturing toward the worktable holding still unglazed and un-enhanced pots.
There are different kinds of clay, and an endless variety of glazes. The type of clay, ranging from earthenware and stoneware to porcelain, and the application of glaze or other effects, determine the final product. If all steps go well, a beautifully crafted pot will be ready for a final firing.
Sobel, who was born in South Africa, comes from an artistic, creative family, which included her grandmother. “My late maternal grandmother was one of seven siblings, and all were very artistic or musical. It’s in my genes. Growing up, I did all kinds of art, from printmaking to painting and drawing.
“It was only when I studied for a year in Israel that I had a strong pull to work with clay. I connected it to the land somehow,” she explains. “I convinced the Betzalel Art Institute to let me take a ceramic sculpture class, and from there I was hooked. Clay became my medium.”
Later, Sobel taught herself to throw on the wheel, and she began to focus on functional work instead of sculpture. This decision was practical, more suited to the demands of a busy therapy practice and raising a family.
Her love of working with clay and her educational background-related jobs (she was an English major in college) in proofreading and editing weren’t fulfilling a need she had to directly help others, and she found a part-time social work program at the University of Georgia campus in Lawrenceville. Sobel had two daughters to care for at home, and it took six years until she received her Master of social work degree, during which time she and her husband, Gidon, had two more daughters.
All four are talented artists and musicians. Her oldest, Bracha, is married and is an ICU pediatric nurse, who still finds time to make art. Sobel calls her second-born, Avital, “madly artistic.” Miri, third-born, is “super artistic, writes songs, plays the guitar, and paints,” and Penina, a student at Temima High School, paints and sings. Bracha, Avital, and Penina play piano. Gidon, who runs a tech consulting company, is not an artist; however, Sobel says, “He’s a huge supporter of my work and chief pottery transporter to sales and shows ever since we met 26 years ago! He is very proud of all the art that happens in our home with me and our daughters.”
Sobel enjoys interacting with other potters who share technical and conceptual ideas, and with other artists, crafts persons, and woodworkers. Sobel says, “I find new artists whose work I follow on Instagram all the time. It’s a little mutual admiration society. We are a small but mighty group!”
She mentions a frequent concern among the arts community for whom pricing of hand-crafted items is often questioned by potential buyers, who consider the prices too steep. She avers that it’s a “matter of education.” After someone has made the decision to purchase a unique item that is beautifully made, that “educated” individual is likely to appreciate and buy other sui generis objects.
Readers can see Sobel’s new collection and learn sales dates at Siman Tov Pottery by Simone Sobel, on Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/simantovpots/
and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/simantovpottery?igsh=MWR5cWo1cm5wM2s5cQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr or call (404) 964-9260 to schedule viewing her work at her studio.
comments