Member Spotlight
Naomi Choi - Asana Ceramics
(she/her)
Naomi is a 500 hr Registered Yoga Teacher, and the creative force behind asana.ceramics. 'asana' often refers to the more physical practice of poses and postures in yoga, but in Sanskrit the term actually translates to 'seat', as in a steady and comfortable seat. Thus, it can also be understood as the vehicle of the soul, and a container of consciousness; and the practice of asana as one of cultivating ease within oneself. Since growing up in NYC, spending her 20's-30's in SF, and landing in Houston by way of her former career as a university professor of political philosophy, teaching yoga and working with clay is where Naomi has found her ease and personal alignment. She holds a BA cum laude in Philosophy and Political Science from Barnard College, Columbia University, and an MA and PhD in Political Theory from UC Berkeley. Based in Houston, TX, with her husband and son, Naomi teaches yoga at The Space Between, Obsidian Flow, and The Meadows - Outpatient; and she teaches ceramics at the Evelyn J. Rubenstein Jewish Community Center (ERJCC) and at Four Circle Studios at the Asch Building.
Naomi Choi
Please tell us a little about your ceramics journey.
My journey technically started in high school ceramics in New York. It was the break I looked forward to from the more “serious” subjects like philosophy and political science which I pursued with abandon in college, and then grad school. After leaving my career in academia then during the global pandemic I started taking hand-building classes at my neighbor Carole Smith’s studio McCheeks with Lori Munoz of Loritamakes. The more time I spent with the material the more I wanted. I started wheel-throwing classes at Third Coast Clay, and began taking classes at the Glassell, and at one point I was at all 3 studios at once! I now teach ceramics at the JCC and at Four Circle Studios and continue to take classes at the Glassell when I can.
What clay body do you use?
I’ll try any clay body once but I tend to return to porcelain because of its honesty and its ability to show off glazes. I particularly like to envision the various surface potential that comes with different clay bodies and really enjoy when glaze application lets the natural clay body shine in some way, even if that means no glaze on Charcoal clay.
What is your primary forming method?
Hand-building was first when I started in 1995 and again when I returned to ceramics in 2021. If we’re counting hours spent with my hands in clay then my primary method is wheel-throwing by quantity, but I love both approaches equally and refuse to choose between them. Typically, when I want to make something very specific, I think about the variety of ways to get to that form given the nature and current moisture content of my material and choose the most appropriate path in light the real limits of my abilities and time constraints.
What is your primary firing temperature?
If by primary we mean favorite, I’d have to say cone 10 reduction in a gas kiln. Since a gas kiln isn’t a resource that is always available to me I continue to explore the possibilities of electric kilns at cones 5 and 6.
What is your favorite surface treatment?
There’s the endless experimentation with glazes that I enjoy, of course, with varying results. But my favorite surface treatment is actually alternative firing methods that don’t require much glaze at all. Instead the firing results rely on flames, fumes, and other combustibles such as soda and wood.
What are your favorite tools?
A needle tool for its versatility and the Kemper S1 metal rib - I don’t leave home with it.
What advice would you share with someone just starting out in the field?
No, it's not too late to start. Stay curious and keep failing, fail a lot, and fail fast.
Do you sell your artwork? If so, how/where do you market and sell your work?
I do pop-up markets from time to time at the Asch building, The Art League Houston, Genara, and through Clay Houston in addition to the Glassell Art Sale. You can also find my ceramics at yoga studios where I teach weekly classes at The Space Between and Obsidian Flow Yoga, and at the Central City Co-op in the heights where I curate the beer + cider section.
Whose work excites/inspires you right now?
Answering this question is as hard as trying to come up with your favorite song or musical artist. It would depend on the purpose, the mood, the setting, the context. And the extent to which we can separate the art from the artist…
Still, continuing inspiration for me comes from Edmund de Waal, Alexander Calder, Gerard Richter, Toshiko Takaezu, Ruth Asawa, Roberto Lugo, Logan Wannamaker, Jane Yang D’haene, Lorna Meaden, Adam Field, Byung Sik Moon aka “Moondobang”, Kwak Kyung Tae, and so many more whose creativity I admire. And not least, getting to witness the creative processes of other ceramic artists around town like Judy and John Foelber, Lotus Bermudez, and esp. Jeff Forster at the Glassell is always an inspiration
Instagram:@asana.ceramics
Website: www.naomichoi.com
