In this short interview, German-born and LA-based artist Roger Herman discusses his transition from painting to ceramics, a medium which he learned from one of his graduate students at UCLA. Most praised for his monumental oil paintings and expressive woodcuts, Herman here notes those lessons he has taken from ceramics back to his other practices: finding endurance in repetition, freeing himself from ideals of perfection, and working within the limitations of discarded materials. His comments on the transformative power of the kiln and his pleasure in the surprise of what comes out lend insight into to his oeuvre: without an agenda and with studied informality, vessels for the improvisational spirit of a beginner.