Henry J.H. Crissman and Virginia Torrence share about the importance of kindling community and their passion for wood-fired ceramics.
At the start of my call with artists Virginia Torrence and Henry Crissman, they introduced me to the coffee mugs from which they sipped. Torrence favored a brightly freckled mug that couldn’t have held more than eight ounces. Crissman showcased a more sizable and earth-toned mug with a rock sticking out of its handle. As they shared about each vessel and bantered together, I quickly came to understand the personal connection they share with such objects as well as each other. Given their background, such familiarity shouldn’t come as a surprise…
The artists sit on a potters wheel. Each holds a dog in their lap. Photo courtesy of the artists.
The Early Years of the Artists
Virginia Torrence and Henry Crismass share an extensive history with both pottery and each other. In their early teenage years, Crissman and Torrence attended artist markets together around Michigan. Crissman would bring along his potter's wheel and perform live throwings (often in exchange for their booth fee to be waived) while Torrence managed the sales. Eventually they set up their first studio in Crissman’s family barn. They shared the space with a pony who was particularly winded in one direction and namesaked the studio Farting Pony Pottery in honor of their studio mate. This would only serve as the beginning of their endeavors in pottery.
Both artists attended the College for Creative Studies in undergrad, which led them to fellowships at Ox-Bow in 2010 and 2012. Ox-Bow was celebrating 100 years during Crissman’s summer. In one story he recounted the timely return of the bell, which had been allegedly stolen years before from campus and serendipitously returned for its centennial anniversary. Crissman also admitted to rocking a mullet all summer long. Torrence cited her summer in 2012 as “the best summer of [her] life.” Her work placement stationed her in maintenance alongside John Rossi, whom she showered with no shortage of praise. “I made such incredible friends that I still have today and it was so formative for me,” Torrence said. Crissman also reveled in the impact of his summer surrounded by artists such as Theaster Gates (Visiting Artist) and Sterling Ruby (Faculty), citing that “Ox-Bow gave [him] the tools to imagine how [his] practice could be.”
Woodfire & Community
Woodfired ceramics entered Torrence and Crissman’s lives in a less than typical fashion. In college they were assigned to build a kiln for woodfiring, a ceramics process they had never before tried. The assignment proved influential, inspiring Crissman to ask the department for the scrap parts of the retired kilns. After building his own kiln, Crissman fixed it to a trailer and toured the country in a community initiative seeking to bring access to pottery. Ceramics' potential for creating community was something Torrence and Crissman both prized. When they left Eastern Michigan to go to graduate school at Alfred University, they knew they’d eventually return to the Detroit area. “Our community was here already,” Torrence explained, adding, “We’re thankful to be here. We have such an incredible group of people that orbit around [Detroit].”
The project Torrence and Crissman returned to their home state to start is now the Ceramics School in Hamtramck. Part community arts school, part artist residency program, the school grew from what others had modeled to Crissman and Torrence in undergrad. “The artists that we admired when we were in undergrad were people that were making these broader community practices,” Crissman said.
Crissman and Torrence give an Artist Lecture in the tent on the meadow. Photo by Dominique Muñoz (Summer Fellow, 2024).
Returning to Ox-Bow
At Ox-Bow they saw a similar spirit at work. After each of their seasons there, they started dreaming of ways to return. During two of the summers following Crissman’s fellowship, he visited briefly to assist with a woodfire course taught by Israel Davis. But in 2023, their dream was realized more concretely. Crissman and Torrence officially returned to teach their first course at Ox-Bow during one of the seven summer sessions. The communal nature of the woodfiring course they led captured the attention of their students and those around campus. It wasn’t long before someone proposed the couple return for a community-based workshop that fall. “Something that feels really important and special to me is how little it's changed,,” Torrence said, adding that in particular she’s grateful for the communities that are nurtured on campus.
Their fall workshop in particular embraced and fostered the tight-knit community that so many Ox-Bow attendees experience. For ten days, participating artists shared hours upon hours in the studio together. The loading of the kiln has become a particularly important experience in their course and workshop. “We load the kiln and then we sing it songs… fire themed songs,” Crissman explained. “And transformation themed,” Torrence chimed in. The two have dubbed this night-long tradition Kiln-aoke. Between their festive traditions and enthusiasm for introducing newcomers to the art of woodfiring, it’s no wonder why participants have raved about their experiences with Torrence and Crissman. Those interested in learning about the art of woodfiring can sign up for their upcoming workshop, which will run October 22–November 2, 2024.
Self-portrait pots by Crissman and Torrence. Photo courtesy of the artists.
Virginia Rose Torrence (She/her) co-owns, operates and teaches at Ceramics School, a community ceramics studio and Artist Residency in Hamtramck, Michigan. Virginia’s art practice is sometimes making pottery, and sometimes making sculptures. She received her BFA in Craft/Ceramics from the College for Creative Studies (Detroit, Michigan) in 2013 and her MFA in Ceramics from Alfred University (Alfred, New York) in 2016. Virginia lives and makes art in Hamtramck, MI with her partner and co-teacher Henry Crissman, two dogs, two cats and a parakeet.
Henry James Haver Crissman earned a BFA in Craft from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI in 2012, and a MFA in Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York in 2015. He now lives and works in Hamtramck, Michigan where he and his wife and fellow artist, Virginia Rose Torrence, founded and co-direct Ceramics School, a community ceramics studio and artist residency. He regards teaching as an integral aspect of his creative practice, and in addition to teaching at Ceramics School, he is currently an adjunct professor in the Studio Art and Craft Department at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan.
This article was written by Shanley Poole, Engagement Liaison & Storyteller. The article was originally published in our Experience Ox-Bow 2024 Catalog.
Carosel photos courtesy of the artists.