Meet Eve Palguta Thomas | Artist & Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eve Palguta Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eve, why did you pursue a creative career?
For as long as I can remember, I have loved observing the world around me and wanted to highlight and explore the interesting and beautiful elements that captured my attention. From an early age, I wanted to learn as much as I could about how to create things – from drawing and painting to sculpture and ceramics. My passion for the arts guided my development, and as I grew up, a non-creative career seemed out of the question.

As an artist, there is not a set path for a career. There are so many ways to make a creative living, and there are so many different avenues of expression and creativity, it can be really hard to narrow down a focus and path. I spent formative years working for different artists, but the most influential job I had was working as an artist for a high end interior design company in NYC. I loved making artwork I knew would get lived with and enjoyed, not bought by a collector and put in a storage unit, or shown in a sterile gallery to a really limited few. I learned a lot about how designers use artwork to set the tone and mood of a space, and was drawn to how the home was cultivated around artwork. I realized I really wanted to focus my personal practice on functional art for the home that could be enjoyed by everyone, not just the elite.

During the pandemic, I left NYC and set up a ceramics studio in Pittsburgh, PA. I started developing a set of sculptural vases and created a small batch ceramics business, Two Faced Ceramics, with the intention of adding beauty and art to the home in a really accessible way. I wanted to create things that everyday people could live with and enjoy, and found ceramics to be the most rewarding medium to work with.

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.
My primary art practice today is my small batch ceramics company, Two Faced Ceramics (2FC). The name was derived from the idea of someone or something presenting itself in multiple ways. It was inspired by my eclectic taste and personal mental health investigation, all of which informed my chosen method of production. In order to create different moods, evoke different emotions, and inspire different ideas, I developed a slip-casting system to produce multiples of each sculptural form, allowing experimentation with glaze finish ‘personalities’ for each piece. In my sculptural vessels, I create visual harmony by merging repetition and balance with asymmetry and irregularity. These amorphous forms draw inspiration from a wide array of sources, such as the human body, insects, natural formations, and architecture.

I launched 2FC in February 2022 and since then have traveled to shows from New York to Paris and worked with different designers around the country. I love getting to create full-time, and find making art on a daily basis so fulfilling. But there are definitely a lot of things that go into being a self-employed artist that are challenging and draining. When you are a one-woman show, you have so many hats to wear besides creating your work. I had to learn how to be my own photographer, editor, website builder and social media manager to name a few! (As someone who feels most comfortable playing with dirt, I find this such a challenge) I also had to learn how to build a network of reliable clients, and am continuously learning how to reach new ones. You have to learn how to set personal deadlines and schedules, and hold yourself accountable for your own timelines. It is so fulfilling to hit personal benchmarks, but it also completely depends on your own personal management, so it can be really hard and lonely at times! It is so exciting when you see your business growing and see your art reaching new people, but it definitely is hard work to push beyond the studio practice and into the marketing / business side of things.

A little more about the studio:
Two Faced Ceramics is committed to well-crafted, green-conscious, handmade goods. Small-batch production ensures high quality functional art that isn’t contributing to the waste of mass produced home goods. Our studio recycles all production materials in-house, and all shipping materials are recyclable or biodegradable.

A little more about the artist:
Eve is a classically trained draftsmen, painter, and sculptor who received her Masters from the New York Academy of Art in 2017. She has worked as a stone-carving sculptor and a luxury interior design artist. She was the 2021-2022 Teaching Artist in Residence at Franciscan University of Steubenville as the professor of the studio arts. She is a passionate artist and teacher who is dedicated to filling people’s lives with creativity. She currently runs her small biz Two Faced Ceramics out of her studio in north Larchmont, LA.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite thing about LA is how close to nature it is! I love escaping the city to the coast, the mountains or desert. When people visit I love taking them through Tapanga state park to Malibu, or to the cliffside beaches of Palos Verdes, or to the peaks of the Angeles National Forest. If we are sticking to the city though, I love spending a day at The Getty museum or bringing folks to the Dynasty Typewriter theater for some hilarious improv shows. My go to restaurant experience is a late night bite at Dan Sung Sa, complete with a brown paper bag bevy while you wait in the parking lot for your table to be called!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband and family, who have always been my biggest supporters!

Website: https://www.twofacedceramics.com/

Instagram: @twofacedceramics

Image Credits
Jenna Norman Photography Erin Ash Kelly