My Palace in Dallas: Marcello Ortega

“Solitude requires you to move past reacting to information created by other people and focus instead on your own thoughts and experiences – wherever you happened to be”

— Cal Newport, Digital Minimalism

Welcome back folks it has been a WHILE! Many things happened after my last piece that took place in Taiwan as many of you know. (If not, now you do! ) We are officially nearing the end of 2023 and things are only about to get better for all of us I’m sure of it! I’m happy to see how some of the habits we’ve nurtured during the pandemic are now integrated into our lives. We love staying in now and HOME has become a much more important concept for everyone who is finding peace in being alone and enjoying their space.

I started My Palace in Dallas during the height of the pandemic, and it was born from pure curiosity: I want to know, I want to see, and, most importantly, I want to document what the people around me have become after these unprecedented years. They can be artists, comedians, or they can also be the people you meet on the street—which is quite hard cause supposedly people in Dallas don’t walk at all. So, what is it that they do? This project delves into their stories and, as the name suggests, explores their Palace in Dallas.

Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to Marcello Ortega, a talented ceramic artist who owns Marcello Andres Ceramics. Born in Dallas to a Chilean immigrant family, Ortega has called the Big D home his entire life. At his studio—and new, next-door showroom in the Cedars which has an opening reception on November 18—find functional and sculptural work for the hospitality industry and residential clients. My own table has been blessed by his beautiful dinnerware. I can say for certain my plating game has never been stronger after getting my hands on his work and I am excited to share with y’all what we talked about as he kindly walked me through his beautiful apartment and studio!

Hello Marcello! Thank you for taking the time and allowing me to meet you in your place! Before I bomb you with questions, would you like to tell people a bit about yourself? Who are you and what is it that you do?

My name is Marcello Ortega, I own Marcello Andres Ceramic which is a clay studio making functional works for hospitality as well as decorative sculptural pieces. I started the studio 6 years ago. Born in Dallas, came from a Chilean immigrant family, first-generation American, and have been living here my whole life.

Learning about your previous works and seeing your new work unfold is always exciting! You’ve done so much with so many here and I’m always in awe of your dedication and drive. Now, tell me, what was that journey like for you and how did you get to where you are now?

It’s not a straight line that’s for sure, I’ve been through so my initial goal was to make the studio my primary source of revenue. When ends weren’t meeting, I worked as the studio tech at Brookhaven Community College, helping them keep the studio organized, and keeping up with materials and inventory management, which before that was what I had been doing for free at SMU. I had a decent career in finance and a loft in Deep Ellum, making okay money but I traded in my car and moved out of my loft to pursue this. In a way, I significantly downsized my life to pursue this endeavor full-time.

I always joke about how I was living on beans cause it was really hard, but eventually, I found my niche in hospitality making plates for people whom I had no idea would end up being the ones I’d be making ceramics. I had some idea but I wasn’t sure if it was a proven market for my works. In the beginning, I made ceramics for whoever would buy from me. Then I found my niche in chefs and restaurants after getting my first orders from a mezcalería for copitas and making plates for Beverley’s. Then it all kind of grew from there.

Has your direction in pieces evolved since then? Was there a change in direction pre and post-hospitality?

I’d say the aesthetic I always got drawn to was something rustic, earthy— celebrating the clay body. As much as I like glazing which I know many ceramic artists don’t enjoy the process of that stage, I think there is something really beautiful about seeing the clay body without covering it with the glaze. I celebrate the materials by exposing them, not covering them up with glaze…in a way that best compliments it—almost like clothing.

I also got introduced to wood firing early on when I was in college. Wood firing is an original way to fire ceramics: put your pieces in a kiln, start a fire in a chamber next door. All the ashes and the wood from that chamber flow into where the ceramics are and heat them up that way. Ash creates this decoration that is brown and rustic, a very specific look I love. Having access to that kiln early on shaped my work. I’ve always wanted to replicate that look on my own after getting my own kiln because this whole idea of taking a piece of the ground, sculpting it, and firing it is very romantic to me.

With your work palette being more muted and quiet, would you say the Copita series is your most vibrant collection thus far?

As a collection, yes. It’s my opportunity to be loud with the work. I’ve always said that food is the star and so the plates and serving pieces we make are how I want to help make it pop. Think about how the colors, shapes, shadows, and texture of food are when you taste them. The idea of honoring food and really understanding that food is precious to your core, creating something to collaborate with THAT for me is a really beautiful idea with my plateware. My first ever client is a mezcalería so I started making these copitas for mezcal which is a clear liquid. This collection is a good way for me to, instead of letting the content shine, make the vessels pop. For copitas, it’s more about the shape and it’s got a weight to it which often surprises people when they pick it up, but I got to be a little playful with the colors and even when mixed onto a table it would still look good.

That is not to say I wouldn’t make louder plates in the future but this is where I have to start and I wouldn’t want it the other way around. I have so many ideas and I barely even scratched the surface, but I need to know where to begin. I want to honor all these Chilean foods I’ve eaten, or like I eat avocado toast every morning and think about what would look best under these and work my way backward from that mindset. I try not to overthink it and honor what I love to eat with the art I make.

From making the plates for Beverley’s to now being part of the culinary scene, having experienced so many different types of dishes, did you notice or think your direction change at all with your clay works and plateware?

Yeah! I think by now my confidence has grown a lot. When Beverley’s reached out to work with me on plates, I was more accommodating, asking what they wanted and making sure I could make it happen for them. Working with other restaurants now, I’d still want to cater to these chef’s needs but we have a better understanding of our offerings now, especially on what I can and can’t do. Another way to see it is I speak about my work differently now. Back then when Greg Katz who owns Beverley’s approached me I didn’t have a lot of work to show him…whereas now, I have so much more to showcase.
I’d also say I have a more established aesthetic, a better vision of what type of pieces I’d want to associate my name with. I can only go to a certain level in terms of customization. I can still add an accent maybe here or there but I don’t want to start from scratch and if I do so, it would have to be a piece I think would fit the family of work. I mean you never want to say no to an order and I am nowhere in a position to be like “I don’t do that” but if I make a new mold for a piece that doesn’t fit my collection who’s going to buy it after fulfilling this order? Little decisions like that I am more confident in making for myself and the studio.
I never want to lose that excitement but there’s so much more thought put into it now, like keeping the lights on in this studio and growing the space. It’s not the sexiest but I still think it’s fun and important too.

Throughout your journey in clay works, from wood firing to now, is there anywhere you usually drew your inspiration from?

I’m constantly inspired by the material itself. There’s an end result and there is a process. The result can be inspired by the food, collaboration, or attitude if that makes any sense. Our Casa Mug, the handle comes out really wide, and to me, it resembles a flower petal with its graceful swoopy line, but it’s also bold and cocky as a ceramic work with the way it comes out at a 45-degree angle. It might not be the most functional handle in the world but to me, it just works. I always wanted to do mugs, to me, a coffee mug is such an ubiquitous thing and I see it as an opportunity to make it your own style. So yeah, flower petals and attitude towards ceramic can be what I drew inspiration from, it can go from resembling a sunflower to how I want this to be loud in form and muted refined vibe that celebrates the clay body.

Going back to your question, I’m both inspired by the process and the end result. To be inspired by the process is my appreciation of how the clay body pushes you in various ways, I always compare it to a conversation you’re having with the materials themselves. You have to dance with it in order to shape what you want or it’ll bounce back and break on you. Porcelain is a great example of a clay body that doesn’t like to listen; it’s considered the toughest clay body to throw versus stoneware which is a lot more forgiving. For my sculpture work, I love that broken aspect where it cracks, worn and torn, which I lean into a lot. Speaking of breaking, like working with porcelain, my life has had a lot of rule-breaking moments in ceramic making. “You’ve got to learn the rules to break them,” is what I tell everyone who works with me. How that translates to my methods is like how I underfired or overfired in the kiln. It will always be fun for me during those processes and it’s quite inspiring the more I do so.

It’s been three years since the pandemic hit and I’m glad to see both of us rose up and did many incredible things during and after. What did you do to stay centered and sane? Did any of those new habits carry over now that things are back to normal?

I personally don’t want you to take this question out ever, even after many years because I think we should all remember what happened during that weird time. With the advancement of technology, we really can make our structure into what it could be without everyone working 40 hours a week but that's another conversation to be had *laughs.

To answer your question I’d say I learned a lot about myself, a lot of introspection or probably it was when I discovered introspection. I used to think I was like 100% an extrovert but when I was forced to be home sitting with myself and my thoughts, not gonna lie it was kind of nice *laughs. Before I knew it I was skipping those Zoom happy hours and I’d be like I’m hanging out with myself, I’ll call y’all later.

There are some specific things I discovered like meditating, now that was a huge part of my life during the pandemic. I started doing things with more intention, feeling things, journaling for the first time, meditating, introspection, building a morning routine, and reading. Reading was a good outlet to feed my curiosity and thirst for learning something new. I was so fortunate to not have lost anybody during that time but it was scary and lots of anxiety in the beginning, not knowing what would happen to the studio and all that. During the pandemic, I got to really slow down and take a break, cruise the net, and walk around which was most needed as I was working myself to the bone trying to make this alternative lifestyle work.

As an incredible creative yourself working on something that is so closely tied to our daily lives, I’m sure you have your fair share of traveling experience and exposure to different art scenes across different cities and scenes. What do you think sets Dallas’ art or ceramic scene apart from all the other huge hubs like NY or LA?

I think the first thing that is glaring is as an artist there are more opportunities for them to stand out, I don’t think the market here is as saturated as NY or LA. A lot of people I know moved to those markets when they felt they could be bigger but at the same time when I started doing plates for restaurants I knew NY has Jono Pandolfi, Heath Ceramics in SF, and even in Austin Era Ceramics is a huge player, but in Dallas I saw a gap in how big our food scene yet there is no one making plates here and went for it. First and foremost, I think there is a lot of money in Dallas or North Texas and lots of people go and participate in the art scene where all the focus is on; it’s sexier and shinier for sure but I think there is also something really rich growing here for ceramics.

I’m a huge Dallas guy so I will caveat it by saying that, but it’s undoubtedly true if you’d say those cities have a better market, more established artists, better museums, more Michelin chefs, more world-class ideas by whatever metrics they are acknowledged by, but it also means that there's an opportunity to build that here too. I can honestly say Dallas is as good as a market you can find in the country. It’s got such a fertile environment for folks to become an artist which I think is really exciting as a city.

I can see how once someone gets more established it can be an option to go to all these places but for me, I have no intention of doing that yet. Do I want to work with other markets absolutely and am currently doing that but I can see Dallas being my home for a good while.

Big rep your city vibes from a Dallas local! As a creative living in this city and spending quite some time finding your creative identity, and building up a place you call home, what do you think of this city?

It’s a special place and there are a lot of unique circumstances about being in this town attested by the fact so many people are moving here. Economically, it’s really resilient, and the environment is really thriving for any business owner or to start anything you set your mind to. It’s been like this for many years now and seemingly continues to grow. Environments like this make Dallas a really comfortable place to take risks for your endeavor.

**As I look around, I can see a lot of your taste in a tangible form! What would you say is your most prized possession?**

My triple-fired vase over there. That’s a very special piece for me because of how much effort it took to make. It’s a special technique that I read about, making it almost like a deconstructed pot. It’s a really messy technique cause I had to spread it on while making it, and by doing so it creates all these rustic textures on the exterior layer. I fired this piece in a wood fire, gas fire, and soda kiln, the latter two I don’t have access to now.
Looking over here at this piece. The story behind this piece is I had a dog for 17.5 years and he passed away a year ago. Before that, he made this really fun painting. We put peanut butter on this plastic thing and as he eats it the plastic spreads the paint underneath it all over the canvas which I think was really abstract and cool.

What advice you would to those who are interested in getting into this business or starting something of their own?

Stop thinking, just start, DO IT! Whatever you have in mind you should go for it, maybe you are inspired by someone or something, there are so many different levels to styles and approaches in this space. Reach out to the person you want to talk to or whatever it is, just go do it.

Another advice I would give is, “Get comfortable being uncomfortable” because that’s how you grow. One of my lifetime goals is to keep growing. Today it could be starting to pursue ceramics. I’m terrified of public speaking but I did an artist talk in February and I’m so glad I did it. There will always be new shit that freaks you out and that is a great thing, lean into it and after enough time you’ll realize that it is the best approach to achieve and realize your true potential.

Lastly, what’s on the horizon for you? Are there any “big things coming” in the works you’d like the world (or random souls who stumbled upon this article) to know about?

The biggest initiative I’m planning on right now is this retail pop-up gallery space later this month. We’ll see what it turns into, might be coffee house vibes or I’m planning some pop-up dinners with some chefs I work with so it might become a dinner series too. The idea is to tip the scales a bit away from working with hospitality orders primarily and connect more with people I don’t know through my direct-to-consumer website and this retail space. Getting out of my comfort zone in a way since I have no experience in planning a retail space. I want this to be a highly curated, peaceful, vibey place. For my budget it is a huge investment, I don’t know if anything will come out of it but if that became somewhere people can connect with me and my work that would be huge.

Another one is my sculptural work, I have these really big-scale non-functional pieces I’ll start working on when I finally have the time!