San Francisco Pottery Studio: Inner Child Hand Building Workshop with Anthony Rodriguez
Imagine a time when your imagination knew no bounds, when your hands were constantly busy shaping the world around you into whatever your heart desired. Remember the joy of creating something out of nothing? It’s time to rediscover that pure, unfiltered creativity. Join us on a transformative journey where clay becomes your portal to the past, allowing you to reconnect with your inner child. Feel the cool, malleable earth in your hands, and let your fingers dance as they did when you were young.Together, we can unlock that forgotten part of yourself that once found endless wonder in the simplest of things.
PHOTO BY ALEXA TREVINO: ANTHONY RODRIQUEZ PRAYERS UP
A blast from the past with learning about Anthony Rodriguez
Let’s learn about Ant & ask him some questions about his new hand building course - Inner Child.
Anthony Rodriguez is an Afro-Latino, multimedia artist specializing in ceramics. He spent his earliest years in NYC, surrounded by Caribbean culture, graffiti and cityscapes that seemed colossal. As a teenager, he became enthralled with skateboarding, which he attributes to sparking his creative spirit. Since then, Anthony has dedicated himself to his artistic practice. He currently works at Artillery AG and the Randall Museum teaching ceramics to people of all ages. The “Inner Child” workshop is a 5 week course created by him, in an attempt to create a bridge between our adult and child selves. In this section he will be answering a few Ice breaker questions relating to his childhood.
Growing up, what was your favorite video game/party game to play?
I’ve always really enjoyed games with very cartoonish looking animations. Games such as Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, Yugi-oh, etc. A lot of my personality and art stem from these types of games I loved as a child. All of the different characters I would come across within these games intrigued me. They inspired me to create characters of my own whether it be by drawings, sculpting, or even just dreaming.
“Goomba pot” 1 1/2 x 1in. Wheel thrown succulent pot with glaze. By Anthony Rodriguez.
Did you have a favorite sport as a child?
I was always a very active kid, enjoying anything that allowed me to run around and let loose. Baseball was a passion of mine until I was about 13, when skateboarding took over. I credit skateboarding for influencing the music I listen to, the art I create, the art I am attracted to, and my best friends. Skateboarding opened up my young mind to the endless world of art. One passion led me right into another. Due to the nature of skateboarding, I was always surrounded by older friends. Having those older friends to learn from as a young kid definitely opened my eyes to the world in numerous ways.
“Drunk Bastard” 9 1/4 x 12 x 6 1/4in. Hand built lidded ceramic jar with glaze and underglaze. By Anthony Rodriguez.
What was your favorite food as to eat as a child?
I was a huge cereal kid. It was something I wanted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was never against vegetables, thankfully, but cereal made up about 70 percent of my daily diet. I can still recall these funny memories of my mom getting upset with me for having like 4 boxes of cereal open at once. Returning to my love for cartoons, some of the characters on these cereal boxes really brought joy to my heart. One of my favorites was the apple (Bad Apple) and Cinnamon. I always thought they had a very creepy and strange, yet playful look to them, which I loved. I feel like a lot of the art I make now seems to have that same vibe.
Bad Apple and Cinnamon from a apple jacks commercial.
Anthony Rodriguez, photo captured by Jose Estrella
