Julie BaBulie Ceramics

Julie Threatte is the Julie behind Julie BaBulie Ceramics. It’s me. I’m Julie. In 2022, my husband David and I took the California Zephyr (Amtrak) from Denver to Chicago. The purpose of the trip was to visit our friends who own Fox Products (a bassoon factory in South Whitley, Indiana). We ended up crashing on our friend’s floor who lived in one of the corn cob towers. They were only acquaintances at the time, the sister and boyfriend of a high school friend’s husband. They are both ceramicists.

I didn’t realize one could just be a ceramicist, but there they were, just being ceramicist. Their wedge apartment was just filled with the most humorous and delightful ceramic pieces. I had never done anything with clay before other than the odd middle school pinch pot which left no impression on me whatsoever.

At the ripe old age of 38, I suddenly felt cheated of my artsy upbringing. I went to Waldorf Schools galore, I went to Interlochen Arts Academy for music, but clay just completely escaped my radar. I never touched a wheel.

When we got home from our trip, I bought a little hundred dollar wheel off of amazon and a bag of clay. Ceramics classes seemed expensive (although now that I teach them, they seem cheap), so I didn’t take any. I stubbornly watched Florian Gadsby videos over and over and over again on YouTube. I guess he has been my only teacher.

I completely fell in love with everything about clay. The sheer scope of things one can do with clay is overwhelming and I have yet to find my voice in this new world. I see no need for a voice at this time. I don’t know enough yet to have a voice. I love the wheel. I love hand building. I love slab building. I love carving. I love functional ware. I love non-functional ware. Basically I love everything I’ve tried so far. I want to try soda firing and wood firing and racu and oh and porcelain has my interest quite peaked!!

Prior to the pandemic I had been a classical violist, violinist and music teacher. I have two degrees in viola performance. That life and career faded during the pandemic, although it was a long time coming. I was burnt out. Since 2012 I had been working part time for my husband’s company (Barton Cane), but that became full time pretty quickly once everything was shut down. This was my secret plan all along, but the pandemic helped to move that along. I really love working for Barton Cane!

I now spend all of my non-Barton Cane time in my little pottery fort (literally a sheet fort in an unfinished basement).

In 2024, I sold my viola which I had had since ninth grand and bought a kiln. Full pivot. The Chicago acquaintances have moved to Colorado about a half an hour from us, have gotten married and have become our best friends.

Main takeaway: Do not board the California Zephyr lightly. Know that your life could completely change. You may return home with some wild wild ideas rattling around in your head and you may be powerless to control them. Beware.