Tell us a little about yourself, where you live, and what it is you do.
My Name Is Joshua and I am an artist, a Nurseryman propagating rare cactus and succulents, predominantly Copiapoa and caudiciform plants. I’m also a part time fisherman, Doberman Dad and I like to cook.
I started off as a fine Artist. After Graduating from CalArts I started showing Paintings and sculptures in New York, Europe and here in Los Angeles. My passion of growing rare succulents led me to make ceramic pottery to fit my plants and has now gone full tome and taken over my life and painting career. I’m currently residing on an Avocado Ranch in the mountains where my home, art studio, and greenhouses are located.
How and when did you get into cacti and succulents?
I always had a burning love and attraction to plants. From growing Veggies and Cannabis which evolved to a love of CA native plants and habitat restoration.
I ran into a very old man selling cacti at a farmers market when I was looking for jade and common succulents to bonsai, which I was also obsessed with at the time. Being heavily into drought tolerant native plants, I was instantly hooked on the lack of water needs. Soon enough I found a mentor in the cacti and succulent community and learned all I could about being a nurseryman. I eventually moved on to sell plants and ceramics of my own. I now have over 500 plants and thousands of seedlings with a few green and shade houses on my newly found Ranch in the mountains of Ventura.
How does sculpting and pottery play a part in your interest in plants?
In all honesty, coming from a cutting edge post-modern school of art-making and thinking, I was bored of most pots I was seeing, gloopy earthy it all lumped together and fell short for my taste. Ive always been into a stark black and white pallete for my paintings, and coming from a critical art school of thought I wanted to make pottery that reflected a newer and more cutting edge attitude. I pull from sources such as metal music, horror, gothic imagery etc. I began taking influence from Japanese potters (previously for my paintings I was obsessed with the Minimalist art movement, as well as Korean and Japanese influence on said subject (Dansaekhwa.) I revisited it with added elements of Zen Buddhism which I had been attracted to since leaving graduate school, looking for more meaning behind my non objective abstract paintings
What are some of your favorite plants to grow at the moment?
What's in the near future for your and your work?
That is a good question. It’s grown way beyond what I ever thought would happen when making my first pot. I hardly have time to paint and make some of my other sculpture ideas, but alternatively it’s helped shape my eye and refine my sculpture skills.
I hope to keep expanding my plant propagation project and keep seed grown plants in the market to deter the effects of poaching. I hope to keep expanding and pushing the boundaries of pottery into sculpture. We are tremendously grateful for the insanely killer support over the years, yall keep us motivated to make better and better work.
We also will start teaching classes and offering firing services here at the Death Caxtus Ranch and Studio.
