Meet Audrey Horner | Artist and Ceramic Studio Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Audrey Horner and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Audrey, why did you pursue a creative career?
In my life, I have been passionate about a very wide range of subjects; philosophy and theoretical physics, marine biology and pedology, photography and anthropology. And it is through study and a commitment to learning that I have found a throughline that I have followed across disciplines– The beauty of expression. Regardless of content, what I have found myself being drawn to everywhere I look is the way that people or things express themselves. Expression is art, and I guess I believe that the only way to sincerely respond to all the beauty that I see around me, is to open myself up to the vulnerability of expression myself. To express myself as honestly as I see the world around me does. And the best way I know how to do that is through my art. I am, as Mary Oliver put it, “[making] for myself, out of work and love, a handsome life.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In my art, I work through questions and emotions that I have a hard time processing with just words. As a ceramic artist, there seems to be a lot more that I can navigate through philosophically by touch than I’m able to address out loud. When I look, really look, at the world, I get overwhelmed and I have to sit and stare for a long time. And then I have to create something. What I think I’m most proud of in my art is the translation of the overwhelm. I feel that the more I sit with my work, the more I feel the same beauty that lies within the trees, the clouds, the breath of a singer between lyrics. The beauty that sinks beneath thought and judgment and the busyness of Life, and rests in universal honesty and authenticity and effort.

I’m working now as the studio manager of a ceramics studio in Santa Monica called Still Life Studio, and it’s been a long but fulfilling journey to get here. A lot of tech work and long hours. But I am grateful that I get to work in such a beautiful studio, where I also get to spend my time creating, and working with and around wonderful artists. My job requires of me a lot of vulnerability, and while that is never entirely easy, there’s really no where I’d rather be. I spend a lot of time teaching, which is my favorite part of my job, because I get to help give access to people a world of real beauty and creativity and joy. There is a quote by Rabindranath Tagore that I think of quite often that reads, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” As a studio manager and ceramic instructor, and as a ceramic artist, service is most definitely joy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As an LA native, there are so many things that this city has to offer that a week isn’t long enough! If a friend came to visit, one of the first places I would take them is the Getty Villa, which is a personal favorite spot. I would put together a curated playlist, and spend the late morning wandering around the villa, looking and thinking and chatting. Then maybe head down PCH to pick up some lunch at Wurstkuche in Santa Monica to eat at Ocean View Park and listen to the waves. It may be a little typical, but I think going to different museums and then eating good food would be what I would take people to do all week. And maybe throw in a lesson on the potter’s wheel.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been extremely fortunate in my life to have had encouragement from a variety of important people in my life, and all of them have contributed to my journey so far. The person in my life, however, that has been the most instrumental in my artistic career has been my father. From taking my first welding class with me, to gifting me wood gouges when I started into woodcraft, to helping me get my first kiln, my father has backed me every step of the way. He is my biggest inspiration, my biggest champion. I am who I am because of my father.

Website: https://www.audreyhorner.com/