Henry J. H. Crissman
Hamtramck, Michigan, UsA
Henry Crissman takes the high ground during the Coronavirus lockdown.
Henry Crissman, Pietà, 2020. Eva Zeisel Hallcraft Platter, Palm Cactus.
Henry Crissman, House Blessing, 2019-20. Brass eagle statuette, incense, twine, plastic
When the pandemic hit, my wife, Virginia Torrence, and I were already amid a moment of major change in our lives: we were busy renovating the storefront attached to our house to become a community ceramics studio and artist residency called Ceramics School. Michigan went into lockdown one week before we had planned to pour the storefront’s new floor, so we were unexpectedly paused for two months with a big sandbox. Construction began again in late May, but designs, concepts and timelines have all changed because of the virus.
It’s been a blessing to have this project to keep us busy over the course of the pandemic, and we’re absolutely thrilled with how it has come together, but it’s so strange now to be finished—to have finally received our certificate of occupancy and business license—and not be able to open. For the moment we’re using the space to get ready for a soon-to-be announced holiday sale, but we’re eager for this space to be full of other people, and for all things that are sure to come in the post-pandemic world. Just hoping we can weather this storm and work logically and compassionately in its aftermath.
I was teaching a twice-a-week class at the College for Creative Studies in the spring that went online halfway through the semester. Despite complicated feelings about the transition to Zoom, having to process the moment and facilitate a worthwhile class for my students while we were all feeling so displaced and disoriented was an incredibly interesting challenge—it helped me find some semblance of ground amid waves of anxiety, paranoia, confusion, depression, etc.
In moments of productivity outside of gardening and housework, I made the ceramics we owed as rewards to those who donated to our Kickstarter fundraising campaign for Ceramics School. I also made several other small paintings and sculptures both independently and in collaboration (over the phone) with my longtime collaborative partner Hamilton Poe.
I have yearned that in some way this pandemic will collectively reveal the urgency of the crises we face, and although we seem to have instead somehow furthered exacerbated our informational and ideological divides, I am hopeful for and humbled by the scale and power of the Black Lives Matter movement and what will come of it. If the arc of history bends toward justice, let's hope this is the beginning of a sharp turn ahead.
Henry Crissman, Chicken, 2020. Found ceramic, ceramic, glaze.
During the Lockdown, Henry Crissman’s perpetual existential crisis was exacerbated by his sudden lack of schedule and newfound impossibility to conceive of the future
Henry Crissman and Virginia Torrence, Ceramics School, Hamtramck, Michigan. Interior of their new community studio and artist residency, ‘ready to go’ but still under lockdown, October 2020.
Henry Crissman’s personal ceramics studio, Hamtramck, Michigan, May 2020.
Henry Crissman, Zoom, 2020. Watercolor, household sponge
Henry Crissman, Gorilla and/or Witch (depending on orientation), 2020. Wood-fired Ceramic
Henry Crissman, Red Flag, 2020. Marble, plastic, nail
Henry Crissman, detail of studio, Hamtramck, Michigan
Henry Crissman, Gorilla and/or Witch (depending on orientation), 2020. Wood-fired Ceramic
Henry Crissman, On Us for the Most C, 2020. Dirty towel, foam