About The Studio – 360 Pottery

Studio Spotlight:
Tim Jarvis, Owner, Artisan & Craftsman: 360 Pottery

Featured today is Tim Jarvis, Founder.

Award Winning Artisan and Craftsman of 360 Pottery Studio.

Tim has always been an independent, self-sufficient person; he recalls “working” by changing diapers
of the children in his mom’s day care. The day care was in their family home and Tim was in diapers
himself at the time. Not surprisingly, all through his childhood and adult life, Tim created a life
for himself through his own initiative and ingenuity.

Early Life:

Raised in Tallahassee, the middle child between an older brother and a younger sister, Tim’s
natural creativity is coded in his DNA. His grandfather was an artist, working in many
mediums from pottery to jewelry. Tim’s father was a “functional metal artist” – he
worked at Kennedy Space Center creating sheet metal parts. Tim meanwhile found his first
artistic love when he was out riding his BMX bike at age 13. Curiosity about a new shop in town led
him to introduce himself to the owner, and, viola, his friendliness and independence impressed the
owner. Soon, Tim was a potter’s apprentice. This transformative experience set Tim on a lifelong
path of experiential learning and achievement.

At Wheels of Fire (the local pottery shop), Tim felt in his element. He found a freedom of expression
not previously experienced. He became a potter, paid by the piece. Using his hands as the
tools to create the visions in his mind, Tim excelled in creating 3D works of colorful
ceramic art, combining both beauty in form and function.

Adulthood:

While production pottery was enjoyable work, Tim realized he needed a more substantive financial
base. He continued to create pottery in his own home studio as he built a life and family, working as
an auto mechanic and eventually owning his own auto repair shop, specializing in Volvos. Eventually
Tim came full circle, selling the auto repair shop and returning to creating pottery full time.

While pottery and auto repair are two careers at seemingly opposite ends of the creative spectrum,
both require focused attention to detail; creating order out of chaos; and meticulous work in a
step-by-step organized manner. Tim is a master of the process to create gorgeous useful
products out of clay. He shares his love of clay creations with his students, colleagues,
and the artist community. Tim enjoys helping students bring their artistic visions to
reality. He was an instructor at the Foosaner Art Museum in Eau Gallie, Florida before
opening his own studio, 360 Pottery.

Tim is inspired by challenging processes to create something unique or exceptional.
Closed form shapes such as bottles are one such challenging process. The larger the bottle or shape,
and, the bigger the “belly” -like those seen in Moon Jars- are additional challenges that Tim enjoys
creating.

Raku, an ancient Japanese process, is Tim’s favorite method of pottery firing. During
this process, each piece is literally set ablaze in natural elements like horsehair,
feathers or sawdust and then cooled rapidly. This combination of thermal shock and exposure
to heavy metals in the glazes produces vibrant, extraordinary colors which contrasts with the black
from the carbon (soot) of the fire. Raku is a very exciting and unpredictable method which often
creates cracks or holes in the actual pottery. Therefore, Raku pottery lacks functionality of traditional
stoneware or ceramic pieces. According to Zen masters, Raku objects exist for the “pleasure” or
enjoyment of the artist and the viewer.