Josh Roller and Natascha sip on iced green tea at a table in Ramone’s Bakery in Old Town. Natascha excitedly plays with the voice recorder to ensure it is working.

Natascha: Is it working? Test. Test. Red button on. Hello. Today, Natasha with Little Lost Forest is interviewing Josh Roller. Did I say that right, Josh? Awesome. A ceramics artist participating in the Festival of Dreams, August 25th to the 27th in Eureka. Hey, Josh. How is your week going?

Josh: My week is going good. Very busy with creating.

Natascha: What are your pronouns, Josh?

Josh: He. Him.

Natascha: Thank you. What do you have brewing up for the Festival of Dreams?

Josh: I am going to create or currently, I’m creating, intuitive sculptures made from stone, stoneware, and ceramics. It fires up to cone-ten usually, which is really hot, high fire. My process really is not having an actual idea or goal. It’s really very intuitive. It’s very feeling the moment.

Natascha: Josh was one of many artists that got a grant for the Festival of Dreams. They supplied local artists with $40,000 of artist grants. Josh, how long have you been making ceramics for?

Josh: I have been doing ceramics since I was actually a senior in high school. I learned how to throw on the wheel back then and did a little bit of hand-building. So, it’s been quite a while, but I’ve actually been away from it for ten years. I kind of just stepped away to do other stuff and found myself back with my hands in the dirt.

Natascha: What high school was that that you learned?

Josh: I went to Eureka High School in- In Eureka.

Natascha: Super cool. I bet you that program is still going on, and other kids are seeing your art and being inspired to continue making ceramics after high school. What inspired your pieces for this festival? You said it’s a kind of intuition and feelings. Can you tell me more?

Josh: Yeah. So basically, a couple of months ago, I recently got back into ceramics. I had a few sketches in my sketchbook, so I had goals of some things that I wanted to make. But as I was trying to make them and trying to shape the things that I was going for, I just kind of lost interest. I got kind of bored trying to, to duplicate something or translate this particular thing.

So, I just- maybe- I stepped away for a day or so, and I came back and just kind of went with it and I just started making a coil pot and just went for it and was just having fun. It’s all about- it’s all about the process and the fun, for me.

(Interview with Josh Roller)

Natascha: How does this process reflect your everyday lifestyle?

Josh: I would say that I’m- I’m a very like, I don’t know, go with the flow sort of person. Not that I don’t like plans because I think plans for your everyday life are pretty important, but at the same time, you know, it’s all, it’s all in how you feel at the moment. Like you can plan on doing something tomorrow, going somewhere, doing something. But if you don’t feel like it, whether you- whether you go for it or not, I’m trying to, to feel good. I’m trying to be confident and understand that, that it’s really all about feeling good. And I think that’s kind of like my new way of looking at things, because before I would do a lot of a lot of stuff that I didn’t really want to do, and I’m tired of that.

Natascha: Well, that’s a beautiful lesson. Yeah. When you consider yourself empathic.

Josh: 100%. Yeah, absolutely.

Natascha: Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood and how that could be reflected in some of your art?

Josh: Yeah. I was a spaz. I was very energetic, very all over the place. Very loud. Um, yeah. So, I feel like that kind of, the whole play aspect, has become a really important thing to my art. Because before, like I said, when I was trying to, copy things or make certain things, it was just like more frustrating and less freeing. And so, when I think about me as a child, just kind of just out there roaming, doing, doing whatever. Being kind of crazy and all over the place. That’s what translates in my art through that intuitive nature that I enjoy.

Natascha: Awesome. Yeah. Who are some of your artistic influences?

Josh: That’s a good question. Since I have been away from the art world for so long, I’m not really good with names. So, I don’t have, like, particular names. But lately I’ve been really into music and, and kind of seeing that crossover with musicians doing other art forms. So, people like Erykah Badu and, Andre 3000. Like those, those kind of eccentric folks who are very musically talented. But it’s cool to see them, like dabble into other things, dabble into fashion, dabble into painting and doing weird-just, just doing their weird, eccentric things- I find things like that to be very fascinating and inspiring.

Natascha: By any chance, are you a musician, too?

Josh: Um, of sorts.

Natascha: That’s wonderful. I like the cross between the two. The artistic brain. Where do you envision your art going in the future?

Josh: That’s a really good question. I’m not too sure because of that intuitive nature, that is the most fun. I don’t know if I really see a direction or goal for it, but I know that I want to keep on doing it. I won’t stop doing it because it feels, it feels good to do. But it is also very nice to have people recognize and be interested in it too. And I think I’ve been away for so long that I haven’t, I haven’t gotten that for a long time. It’s really cool to see other people interested in it, asking questions, and curious. And I think that kind of drives me to, to keep going. I think that as long as people are interested then I’ll keep wanting to put myself out there because it’s, it’s definitely a thing that I’ve shied away from in the past. This is kind of my first, first go for it.

Natascha: When was a time when your art took you by surprise?

Josh: That’s a very good question. Think lately almost every piece has taken me by surprise because of that, that nature of not having an initial idea. And basically just like taking a couple of steps and, and taking steps back and looking and kind of talking with the clay and, figuring out, what do you, what do you want to be, you know? So, I feel like that has, has been always surprising when, you put a coil up to one side and you’re like, wow, that actually looks really cool there. Let’s… let’s just do that. Because if it messes it up, I could always make another one. And I think that’s something that I never had instilled in me before. I was always like so afraid to make the next move because it would ruin the best thing that I’ve ever made. But now it’s like, no, this, the base of this didn’t take very long. Like, I’m just going for it so I could always do it again, you know? So.

Natascha: What advice do you have for a younger or a beginner artist?

Josh: My advice is super simple. It’s just to do it.

If you feel like doing it, just do it.

(Interview with Josh Roller)

Because it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter- ultimately. It’s for you do the art for you. Don’t try not to do it for other people. And just keep going because, you know, the more that you put it off, the more you’re probably going to want to do it. But it kind of creates an anxiety that you’ll stay away from. And I think really the advice to my younger self also would even just be to, to just do it. Stop talking about it and just try it. Because the more that you fail, the better you will be, because failure isn’t scary, It’s- it’s learning.

Natascha: Check out Josh and his art and ceramics at the Festival of Dreams August 25th to the 27th at Halvorsen Park Pre-party with us August 13th as we parade through Old Town Eureka. Thank you, everyone, for reading and thank you, Josh, for the wonderful, amazing interview.

Josh: Thank you.

Natascha: Great. Bye.