Kevin Caufield: Artist, teacher, entrepreneur, cat with nine lives

Kevin Caufield’s studio in the CEZ's Dow Building, 2242 University Avenue, south entrance, is a showcase for his tableware, mugs, and other inviting vessels.

If you think the "artist" and "entrepreneur" regions of the brain don't overlap, you don't know Kevin. Over a 40-year career as a potter— starting with contacts made at an early NCECA conference— he’s adapted continuously to make it work. Since moving to the Twin Cities in 1982, Kevin has had five studios and worked multiple related gigs on top of full-time clay work. In exchange for low rent early on, he managed the shared artist space in the Rossmor, the Lowertown art incubator building. In 1990 he was one of the original teachers at the Northern Clay Center, host of this year's NCECA. Fifteen years and several moves later, he was the first tenant to sign on at Carleton Artist Lofts in the CEZ, agreeing to outfit its pottery studio and serve as part-time caretaker.

One role leads to another. The Carleton’s developer, Dominium, converts historic properties into affordable artist live-work communities (see the Schmidt and Pillsbury A complexes). So when Dominium launched an ambitious conversion for the 19-story Arcade Building in St. Louis, the project leader asked Kevin to help. As a consultant, Kevin brought the artist’s point of view, and “they paid me well for telling them what I think.” Opinions well earned.

Still, those years were hectic. While jetting to and from St. Louis, Kevin was also moving his studio into the light-filled space in the back of the Dow in 2013. And, seeing a niche for new students, he started offering one-shot Wine & Pottery sessions for people wanting to try their hand in a fun, casual setting. Nobody else was doing it at the time, and his new studio had space for eight wheels. The classes took off, especially with Groupon and some Valentine’s Day promotion. This year, the studio filled 11 classes in six days in mid-February. (Kevin how has teaching help.)

For professional artisans, using opportunity often entails problem-solving skills. “I’ve always had this ability to negotiate,” Kevin said. “That’s the thing most artists don’t know how to do.” But it can be practiced. If Kevin reaches an apparent impasse— say, a potential big buyer hesitates on price— he might say, “Let me think about it.” And then he'll find a custom solution. When chef Tim McKee was planning celebrity Super Bowl events for the Octo Fish Bar last winter, Kevin made a special deal for dinnerware: part sale, part loan. The result was a decent deal plus spectacular exposure.

Calculated choices can help, too. “The Midwest is the place to be a craftsman,” Kevin pointed out. “People do buy pottery, they do buy handmade furniture.” That was one reason he settled here, moving from Long Island by way of an apprenticeship with Robert Eckles in Bayfield, Wisconsin. In the Cities he learned from successful artisans in various media: potters, glassblowers, batik artists: they all advised him on shows, workspaces, and other opportunities. That support was key, because full-time clay work is demanding, and not just physically. “Everything's hard,” said Kevin. “The hours are hard. The profession is hard on relationships-- it takes so much time.” So an artist community makes for a more resilient career.

Sometimes luck plays into a person's hands. For Kevin, it was the tabletop fountain craze of the late 90s, when he sold 12,000 clay bubblers. Other times, luck is oblique. Kevin thinks back to his late teens, when he was “circling the drain,” looking for direction. He’d thrown pots in high school, but didn’t see it as a career. Academia held no charm. So, following the lead of his firefighter dad, Kevin took the firefighter entry test in 1977. He passed, but that year's test was soon thrown out, its results contested in court. With that path blocked, he searched further, and wondered whether his future might be in clay. At that spring's NCECA, the way opened. There are times, Kevin says, when he believes something’s been watching out for him.