Jeff Oestreich’s journey as an artist is distinctly visible in his pottery; each piece is a testament not only to his skill, but to the many people, places and ideas that have influenced this world-class potter.
“I grew up in a family of makers,” Oestreich says. “Everybody could sew, knit, do leatherwork; we were a very practical family.” But it was Aunt Judy, the black sheep of the family who worked as a commercial artist, whom Oestreich really admired. “I couldn’t wait to be her,” he says with a laugh. “It just takes one person to open the door for you and show you what your future could be about.”
When Oestreich was a freshman at Bemidji State University, his aunt recommended that he take a pottery class. One of the required texts for the class was A Potter’s Book by Bernard Leach, an influential British ceramist. Oestreich was hooked: He majored in studio art and, upon graduation, headed to St. Ives, England, for a two-year apprenticeship with Leach.
Leach trained Oestreich in the traditional methods of Asian pottery, which emphasize precision and simplicity. Years later, on a trip to New Zealand, Oestreich discovered the bold patterns of Art Deco style. “My work began to shift,” he says, and he started incorporating geometric designs and matte glazes into his pottery.
Oestreich’s pots get their surface texture from his firing process. Vapors from a sodium compound introduced to the hot kiln alter the glaze, producing a varied surface on the finished piece.
Even after decades of traveling the world as an artist and teacher, Oestreich’s work remains deeply rooted in his native Minnesota. In particular, the glazes that he uses reflect the landscape surrounding his Taylors Falls studio. “These colors are in my immediate environment: the sky, the color of soybeans in fall, the green of the pine trees,” Oestreich says.
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Jeff Oestreich’s pottery is available at Akar Art & Ceramics, Red Lodge Clay Center and at his studio during the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour and Sale. Prices range from $30 to $200.
