Meet Begoña Herranz | Potter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Begoña Herranz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Begoña, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After graduating with a bachelors degree in studio art, I knew I wanted to continue pursuing a career in the arts, specially in ceramics. That is why i decided to create Begoña Ceramics. selling my work online and in markets gives me the opportunity to, not only, continue my artistic practice and exploration, as i’m always developing new surface techniques or new forms, but also, it gives me chance to make my work more known around the clay community and people in general.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The inspiration behind my ceramic work usually comes from traditional forms and organic or modern surfaces. I really like the juxtaposition that these concepts create; The simple forms of timeless functional pottery, paired with organic textures or original modern surface techniques set my work apart from others. what most excites me about my pottery is that my next work is always better than my previous one, so my artistic practice is in constant growth and evolution and therefore, I never loose interest or get tired of it.
I grew up in a household where creativity was always encouraged, so since the beginning I was lucky to be given the opportunity and support from my parents to pursue an artistic profession. That support and encouragement from my family has been one of the most important factors for my success.
My interest in food and in design is always reflected in my pottery brand; when i create my work i keep in mind its relationship with its function or how food is going to relate to it and its form, texture, design, and color.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would definitely take her to have breakfast and coffee at Blacksmith Coffee, and then visit the different exhibitions at The Menil Collection and walk around the museum district. I would also take her to the various buildings of the MFAH and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. For lunch I would go for some crawfish at Crawfish & Noodles and then go have some glasses of natural wine at Lightyears or Montrose Cheese and Wine. For dinner I would definitely take her somewhere special like Theodore Rex, Uchi, or Kata Robata, and then continue the night with some Gin Tonics at Eght Row Flint.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The person that has had the greatest influence on my artistic trajectory is Jeff Forster. He is an incredible ceramic artist from Minnesota and the Ceramics Chair at MFAH. He was my ceramics teacher for four years during college and has continued to mentor me ever since. His ceramics and work ethic have always been an inspiration to me. I owe to him almost everything I know about pottery and his feedback and insight is always my greatest help.

Website: https://www.begonaceramics.com/

Instagram: @begona.ceramics