I Love Seth Rogen's Pottery

The proliferation of checkerboard patterns, colorful swirls, and the insidious beaded handbags created by designer Susan Alexandra is the natural extension of the slow but steady move away from the millennial pink minimalism. Every influencer I follow for reasons unbeknownst has pivoted away from pampas grass and wall-hung weavings, choosing instead to sprint headfirst towards blobby, soft, squishy shapes, reminiscent of the Memphis Design movement’s affinity for primary colors and easy maximalism. This is appealing only because of repetition; I don’t necessarily want my home to look as expertly curated as the interiors I see on Instagram, but I have now been conditioned to think that this stuff looks cool. Close your eyes for one moment, take a deep breath, and then look at the gifts on offer at Lisa Says Gah, and notice that it is not really a stretch of the imagination to picture some of Rogen’s pottery interspersed amongst the checkerboard throw blankets and daisy-print wine totes.

But aesthetically, to me, the appeal of Rogen’s work has nothing to do with the unintentional affinity for the look of the moment. Rather, it has a faint whiff of outsider art, but is executed at a level that seems almost professional. A Rogen vase looks like the best possible thrift store find, a perfect object that looks more expensive than it actually is, and one that would occupy pride of place in my living room. Also, it is the kind of art I’d expect Rogen, a man that I once described as Fozzie the Pothead, to make. In short, the art is good, but my understanding of what makes ceramics “good” is informed only by my own gut, and the vocabulary I’ve picked up from The Great Pottery Throwdown. Dedicated as I am to exploring in full why something is the way it is, and sussing out why my instincts are or are not correct, I consulted some people who actually do this for a living to see if I was right.

Meegan Barnes, a Los Angeles-based ceramicist who makes these delightful bud vases shaped like butts, told me over email that Rogen’s work is actually quite impressive. “Seth’s got skills for sure,” she wrote. “To get even walls and symmetrical forms requires being seriously centered and focused.” Barnes was also helpful in helping me understand the complexities in his glazing, which to me, was the most impressive bit about his work. “His decorative techniques are super interesting,” she said. “[It] looks like maybe he’s marbling his clay with mason stains. Also, his crackles are big and chunky which I find hard to get.” Big and chunky crackles are exactly what appeal to me, a ceramics rube who is also easily swayed by celebrities succeeding at hobbies.

The shape of Rogen’s works makes me want to reach through my telephone screen and grab them, to feel their heft in my hand, and rub my finger over the bumps and the bubbles. It looks impressive because throwing pots seems like hard work, but imagine my delight when Michaela MacPherson, the woman behind CLAYTITS confirmed to me that the stuff Rogen’s doing is highly advanced. “If you look at his vases, they have those rounded notches and bubbles and globes,” MacPherson said. “Those are so organic, and so precise. That’s really hard to achieve. His stuff is so contemporary, the colors especially. It looks like stoner pottery and I think it would sell in a ceramics market for sure.”

Seeing as I have already ferreted away a small chunk of money just in case Rogen heeds the cry of this change.org petition and sells his work, I am glad to have my instinct confirmed by yet another professional. To complete the trifecta, I spoke to Kyle Scott Lee, the artist in residence at Brooklyn Clay, and the mastermind behind Ceramic Meltdown. His work and aesthetic is in conversation with the work that Rogen makes, with the same sinuous shapes and inventive use of color. Again, knowing very little about pottery and what makes it sellable or artistically good, I asked Lee to critique Rogen’s work.

According to Lee, something to look out for when critiquing student work is transitions. “You don’t make a piece that looks like it’s made of two or three pieces, especially around the neck, where it transitions into the body,” he said. “Although, he doesn’t seem to have that issue per se. He seems to have a good idea of transition, and maybe someone else that he’s worked with has installed that into his mindset.” Rogen isn’t learning how to hone his craft in a bubble; though there is natural talent evident, Lee was also quick to note that Rogen’s status as a famous person has helped him along his path. “His celebrity has allowed him to engage with some celebrity potters,” he said, citing Roberto Lugo and Adam Field, who recently posted a photo of Rogen holding one of Field’s works.

Clearly, Rogen has a leg up in a way that anyone else interested in exploring pottery—and becoming very good at it quickly— does not. Usually, a celebrity’s status allowing them to become good at a craft would irritate me rather than endear, but something about Rogen’s work feels very innocent and pure. Perhaps he’s been bored, just like everyone else, and did what I imagined he might do in my fantasies, which is smoke a joint, drink a green juice, and amble out to the potter’s wheel, to fulfill some sort of need that we all have to make stuff with our hands that feels real.