Eichler Ceramicist is a ‘Struggling Artist’

Walnut Creek is famous for being a vibrant little city. But an artist who lives in an Eichler says it is more – it’s a haven for clay.

Like many people who live in Eichlers, David VanderJagt, a retired art and science teacher, makes art part of his daily routine. In fact, it blends comfortably with what sounds like a very comfortable life.

Also like many people who live in Eichlers and who make art, VanderJagt will be making that art available to friends, neighbors and even strangers as the holiday season continues on, through the usual plethora of art and crafts sales, shows, exhibits and pop-ups.

VanderJagt’s work, which is available year round at the Lafayette Art Gallery, will also be on display in coming weeks at the Walnut Creek Civic Arts Education’s Artist Market holiday sale on December 5 and 6 and at an exhibit at the Dahlin Group Invitational Art Show in Pleasanton.

VanderJagt spent his career teaching middle school, mostly, but also high school and some college in the vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He and his wife moved to Walnut Creek five years ago, following the lead of two sons. One moved to Los Angeles, where he got involved with movies, naturally. The other moved to the Bay Area to get involved with the cloud.

That son, his wife, and their two daughters, 8 and 5, now share a large H-plan Eichler, complete with pool, on a quiet cul-de-sac in a small subdivision. They bought the home two and a half years ago.

“We have one wing,” VanderJagt says of he and his wife, “and they have the other. We all have the nuclear family going. It’s a lot of fun. We love having a blended family in a place like this.”

“The architecture of the Eichler home is just, how can I put it? I think they lend themselves to art. I think the honest design is something artists really appreciate,” he says.

What attracted VanderJagt to Walnut Creek, besides the city’s sophistication and general ambiance, was the city’s Clay Arts Guild. The guild, founded in 1964 and as much a part of the mid-century aesthetic revival as Eichler homes, provides classes, inspiration, equipment, a wide range of kilns, and more.

Over the years it has nurtured quite a community of clay makers in the vicinity.

“The clay studio was an attractive part of being here,” VanderJagt says. “It create a lot of opportunity to really do great things with clay.”

VanderJagt, who for a time was president of the guild, was soon showing at the Lafayette Gallery. He has gone on to join the board of Walnut Creeks’ Civic Arts Education Friends of the Arts. He is helping raise funds for art scholarships. “Walnut Creek has some really vibrant city arts education programs,” he say.

About his own work, which includes raku and salt fired ceramics, he says:

“I am inspired by nature and it's textures, patterns and colors. My art attempts to interpret the beauty and power of those natural images.”

“Although aspects of my work may be functional, it is more about form, shape, texture and their relationships in a certain space.”

The VanderJagt home is filled with his art, as well as that of other artists. He has hanging wall pieces and freestanding sculpture, including in the atrium.

He does his work, though, not at home but in a strip shopping center space he rents with a business partner. It gives him more flexibility than working with the more limited hours at the clay guild.

“I can go there at 6 and work till 11 or midnight, or I can go in at 7 in the morning. I work around the family structure, taking the girls to piano lessons or gymnastics or picking them up from school.”

“I find time most every day to work.”

VanderJagt says his pieces sell well, at festivals as well as at the gallery, at $50 to $60 for small pieces and $1,200 to $1,800 for large wall pieces. “Yes, I’ve done very well,” he says. “I would still classify myself as a struggling artist. I certainly don’t do it to make a living.”

“The high cost of materials and cost of the studio far outweigh the profit from my work. But hopefully, someday I might run my business in the black.

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