About Joshua Margolis
An Early Start...
Joshua Margolis grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York during the tail end of the seventies, the eighties, and the beginning of the nineties. It was somewhere in this time that he went to a local summer arts camp at Skidmore College and was exposed to his first creative interaction with clay. He began like anyone else who was new to the medium, learning to make pinch, coil, and slab forms. It would have been an uneventful and insignificant experience if not for the kind words and encouragement from the late ceramics icon Toshiko Takaezu who spent two weeks at Skidmore each summer. At the time Joshua shrugged off her words of encouragement and went on with his confusing adolescence. But subconsciously those words of encouragement gave him the confidence to continue working with clay throughout high school and then on through college where he focused his studies.
Off to Buffalo...
While at school in Buffalo, New York Joshua truly came into his own, focusing on the figure as a way to express his thoughts and emotions. This is also where he began to explore the great influences of his childhood, such as George Lucas, Jim Henson, and all the comic book visionaries that he was so obsessed with. .
Lost in Florida...
After graduating from SUNY Buffalo, Joshua relocated with his parents to Tampa, Florida. They entered Florida on January 1st, 2000, and what was intended as a brief stay, ended up as three and a half years of unhappiness while being stuck in a hot, hellish place. But with this unhappiness there came a huge development creatively and professionally. Artistically, Joshua started working at the University of Tampa under the guidance of Professor Jack King. It was here where he was taught the in and outs of being an artist and the fundamentals of how to teach ceramics. Teaching others became a great way for him to process his own creative outlet and led him to another positive experience in Florida, which was working at a company called Creative Clay. After exhibiting his work in some local shows Joshua was asked to be a guest artist teaching clay to adults with developmental disabilities at Creative Clay. Working with these students he discovered the true meaning of love, and also began to develop himself as strong, and patient teacher.
About Us
Heading out West...
Needing a change, in June of 2003 Joshua loaded up his car and headed west to San Francisco. It wasn’t the easiest place to make a living, and there was no job or art opportunities waiting for him. But the fact that he knew a few people made it seem like a much better choice than Florida, or going back north to the cold. He started working at a non profit called Seneca that provided services for children with behavioral and emotional challenges, and on the weekends he also taught at a clay studio called Kids N Clay. After a few years living and working in the east bay Joshua took a job teaching ceramics at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco and moved all his belonging into the city.
Oakland Art Community
In 2010 Joshua joined an Oakland Art Studios in the heart of Oaklands famed Art Murmur where his work has been viewed by over 100,000 visitors over his eight years being there. As of November of 2018 Joshua made the difficult decision to leave FM and start the search for a new studio.
In July of 2014 Joshua was selected as the de Young Fine Arts Museum Artist in Residence. During this month Joshua exhibited his work, while creating all new sculptures based on daily visitors submitted drawings.
Rooting his life in the Town...
In January of 2013 Joshua made his triumphant move back to the east bay and rooted himself in the Oakland art scene while keeping his job duties at the JCCSF. Although the move back to Oakland was exactly what he wanted, he found himself feeling the same sense of loneliness he had during his stay in Florida. So he did what made the most rational sense. He and his fiancé adopted a dog, and life has been almost perfect since.
Denver, Colorado!
In January of 2021 Joshua and his family packed up a few of their things and made the crazy move halfway across the country to Denver, Colorado. Although the bay will always be in their hearts, it was time to try new things, and make a bold change.