Artist Spotlight: Michael Brannin

To start off the New Year, we thought we would take a slightly different approach to January’s “Artist Spotlight.” Michael Brannin is a former potter from the Midwest during in the 70’s and 80’s turned Savannah real estate agent and ceramic collector. Even though he is not a current Savannah artist, we thought it would be good to have insights from a past full-time potter who is passionate about owning ceramics in his home. With his collection spanning between 500-600 individual pots, we were excited to experience and learn more about the ceramics at his home. Here’s a glimpse into how his collection first started.

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Michael Brannin, a native of California, was 17 years old when he graduated from high school. Having studied art his final semester and worked with ceramics and wood, he took the opportunity to relocate at a young age to Iowa to be a woodworker’s apprentice. The woodworking studio was in a renovated dairy barn that also housed a pottery area, a showroom, and an outdoor double chamber gas kiln. Michael spent a year woodworking, but he felt as if clay may be a better fit for his career; so at that same studio, he arranged to rent out a potter’s wheel and space to work.

Michael became a self-taught potter, learning a lot through observation and discussions with other potters in the studio. He focused on thrown and slab constructed forms in stoneware, firing them in high temperature reduction. His work was very controlled, and he struggled to achieve a style that was more relaxed, less uptight; however, with the pressure of earning an income from his work, it was hard to have much freedom to explore his style. After close to a decade, he says, “I really was at a dead end in my work. Had I taken some classes to expand my outlook or had a more comprehensive study in clay, I might have been able to get over that hump and possibly be making some pretty cool pots today, but I really was tired of financial struggles.” He began waiting tables and making pots part-time, and eventually transitioned into full-time restaurant management.

Teapot by Michael Brannin

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