Duluth MakerSpace

Meet the Makers: Brian Umberger

To succeed as a ceramics artist, you must fail.

That’s what a teacher once told Brian Umberger. It wasn’t discouraging–in fact, it’s a philosophy and approach to his art that Brian still carries with him and shares when he teaches MakerSpace classes.

Brian is a pottery studio manager at the MakerSpace, but he’s not the only one. How that happened: a few years ago, the studio manager was leaving, and the potters were having one of their (fun, open to anyone, bordering on legendary) Pottery Meetups™ and a conversation about leadership succession led to the realization that, while none of them wanted to run a studio solo, they would definitely do it as a team. It was just as well. As Brian observes, “Pottery is collective by nature. Each of us managers have identified our own niche and focus. Running it collaboratively is the way.” Brian’s expertise tends to lean towards the technical side of things: making glazes, troubleshooting the kiln and equipment.

Brian is an industrial and systems engineer by trade, working as a plant engineer at USG in Cloquet, improving processes and systems for both equipment and people. He grew up in Springfield, VA, near Washington DC, where his family’s house was the last stop on the Metro blue line. After college, he moved to Duluth, then to southeastern Wisconsin, then back to Duluth for his current job. Ceramics classes were popular in all these places, but as Brian puts it, “I never thought of myself as an artist. I couldn’t draw, I wasn’t good at painting. I enjoyed the creative process, but nothing really clicked.”

Community education to the rescue.

Brian’s intro to ceramics was in a high school classroom in Walworth WI. It was also taught by a high school teacher–the one who gave him the advice about failing. “It really changed my perception of my own abilities. It was the first time I thought of what I was doing as art.” The teacher was influential and supportive. “I still use his mentality,” says Brian, “that failure in ceramics is necessary, that you have to make a hundred things and break them before you get one that you’re really proud of.” He also loved the structure of the class–instead of classes labeled and divided into skill levels, the teacher held ongoing six-week sessions that participants could take as many times as they liked, and which allowed students to see projects–and artists–at all stages of development.

It sounds very similar to the way a maker space functions, so after doing about a year of six-week class cycles and moving back to Duluth, it was only natural that Brian found the Duluth MakerSpace. He joined in order to have access to the kiln, and would make multiple trips back and forth from his home to DMS, but eventually settled into doing everything at the shared building at the edge of Duluth's Craft District. “I love seeing bits and pieces of everyone’s work, whether it’s pottery or the metal shop or wood shop. Seeing what other people are doing inspires me to do something new with my own art, kind of like learning a second musical instrument.” Even in just the pottery studio, he finds plenty of variation, and enjoys seeing everyone humming along at their own pace. His own work is mostly functional ware like mugs and teapots, but he’s started to move into sculptural work and decorative pieces. (You can find him at on Instagram).

Brian’s teaching a wheel-throwing class at DMS this fall, but he emphasizes that everyone is a teacher at the MakerSpace. “There are hundreds of things you could do at the MakerSpace. If you have an inkling, come on in. It’s a community, and people are ready to share their knowledge.”

Who is running the Duluth Makerspace?

A: A loose knit group of about 30 very enthusiastic member-volunteers who aspire to endlessly improve and creatively use our 11,000sqft building. Over half of the equipment is on loan or donated from members! The remainder is currently privately funded to keep us well stocked. Want to join? Come take a tour! https://www.duluthmakerspace.com/