The Potters Cast

Marianne Tolosa is a ceramic Artist living and working in Northern Virginia. Marianne makes functional, whimsical, wheel-thrown, and hand-built pottery! Marianne's background is in oil painting -> teaching english overseas -> interior design -> coffee -> graphic design -> pottery. A very round about creative route!

Didem Mert was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. She was featured on the cover of Pottery Making Illustrated’s January/Febuary 2016 issue. Mert was included on C File’s list of 15 Potters to Watch in 2016. Didem is currently attending Edinboro University’s MFA (ceramics) program and is expected to graduate in 2017.

William Baker is a full time studio potter living in the mountains of western North Carolina. His work begins on the wheel, and is focused on refined forms subjected to the intense atmosphere of a wood fired kiln. When not in the studio, he is often found building kilns for other clay folk.

Hedy Yang is a sophomore at the University of Michigan. Her interest in ceramics began in her senior year of high school where she was afforded an amazing space to work in and a creative teacher to provide inspiration. When she’s not in class, she spends her days in the studio trying new techniques and styles of work.

While most of Brooke Millecchia's work begins on the wheel, the majority of her time is spent altering the form and manipulating the surface with texture. She further works the surfaces by applying a bold, but warm color palate. Brooke allows her work to evolve while working in the studio. She has never kept a sketchbook.

The SkandiHus brand is inspired by a love for Scandinavian design in which beauty is radiated through light colours, the ample use of natural materials, minimalism and functionality. Like many Scandinavian designers before her, Stine believes that quality design should be affordable, stylish and relevant to the modern human being by providing minimal distraction and maximum functionality and beauty. Stine both throws and hand-builds her pieces. It is very important to her to minimise her impact on the world in which she lives, so she reuses materials whenever possible and many of her pieces are made from reclaimed waste clay from her students and fellow studio members. Before becoming a full time ceramic artist, Stine worked in London, England as a lawyer, never quite feeling fulfilled or happy. She says that quitting her job to follow her dreams was the best decision that she ever made.

NCECA 2016, 50th ANNUAL CONFERENCE This is a recap of my visit to NCECA. I brought my mic along with me and did the man-on-the-street style of meeting the people of NCECA. In this second installment I talked with: Troy BungartNikki JohnsonKwok Pong "Bobby" TsoIan ThomasJonah AmadeusJoel CherricoJess & Jamie WadeShannon Garson

Osa Atoe started taking community pottery classes in New Orleans in the fall of 2012. Osa quickly became obsessed with the medium so she made a small in-home studio for herself in the spring of 2015 and Pottery by Osa was born! Osa makes handmade terracotta pottery inspired by her love of simplicity and geometric patterns. Osa is influenced by African and Native American ceramic traditions, folk art of all mediums, and the work of other contemporary artists and craft people. Osa makes functional ware for everyday use, including drinkware, dishware and household items such as planters and vases. Osa's goal is to bring the creativity and intentionality of handmade crafts to everyday rituals. She loves expressing herself creatively through practical, functional forms. Osa also makes all of her glazes.

This is a recap of my visit to NCECA. I brought my mic along with me and did the man-on-the-street style of meeting the people of NCECA. In this first installment I talked with: Mark ShiperoHayne BaylessHannah NiswongerMike CarlsonDenise JoyalNicholas MeyerPreston TalbertJohn CummingsRay BrownHerrick Smith

Daniel Johnston digs most of the materials he use to make and glaze his pots. Daniel's pots are fired in a large 850 cubic ft wood kiln. Daniel enjoys the hard work and it leaves no part of the process separated from him. He does not try to control his materials, rather Daniel tries to understand them. From digging the clay to firing the kiln, Daniel puts all his efforts into creating pots that have a powerful presence. It is important to Daniel to create pots that are timeless, but reflect the culture and times in which he lives.

Kate Johnston opened her pottery studio in Seagrove, North Carolina in 2010. Kate’s pots are made with local materials, boldly carved with organic patterns inspired by Art Deco design, and fired in a large wood-burning kiln. Kate shows her pots throughout North Carolina and has lectured and taught in North Carolina, Tennessee, and New Jersey.

Robin Hopper | Episode 195 Robin Hopper is an internationally known potter, teacher, author, garden designer and arts activist. He has taught throughout Canada, and in England, U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Japan and Israel. His ceramic work is in public, corporate and private collections throughout the world.

Originally from Illinois, Debra Oliva earned a BFA from Northern Illinois University. After a decade working in the printing industry Debra began exploring ceramics. She has worked as a full time artist for 24 years. She creates utilitarian ware and vessel forms from unglazed colored clays, celebrating form and surface through the use of color, texture and pattern.

Forrest Lesch Middelton works in Petaluma, CA. Forrest’s extensive background as an arts educator, administrator, and studio potter has recently gained him recognition as a diverse and inspirational member of the ceramic arts community. Forrest is the Former Ceramics Program Director of Sonoma Community Center, and is currently the President of the Association of Clay and Glass Artists of CA. In 2013 Forrest was named the Ceramic Artist of the year by Ceramics Monthly, and this year is the recipient of a Creative Work Fund grant for his work with the Islamic Cultural Center of Oakland. Forrest’s pots have been featured on the on the cover of Ceramics Monthly magazine, and recently his architectural tile has won great acclaim, having been featured in The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Luxe, and Sunset Magazine. Forrest has been an Artist in Residence at Project Art in Massachusetts, the Mendocino Arts Center, and the Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts, in Maine.

Paul Schneider lives in Dallas, Texas and is 31 years old. First exposed to ceramics in high school (St. Mark's), attended Rhodes College - played baseball, majored in International Studies. No ceramics program at Rhodes, tried unsuccessfully to start one. One semester I got access to nearby Memphis College of Art to continue throwing. Spent a semester in Madrid - took a ceramics class there - that would be considered my only 'formal' education in ceramics. I've been working full-time on ceramics (my business) for the past six years. It's been a roller coaster. Went to a trade show in NYC -March 2014 - Architectural Digest Home Design Show - got a lot of great press there - AD wrote a profile piece on my work. Currently focus is on table lamps.

Based out of his studio in northwest Montana, Tim Carlburg specializes in making Handmade Growlers for Handmade Beer! Tim also works with multiple distilleries to create simple, meticulously hand-made functional ceramics for the discriminating microbrew and distillery aficionados. Tim is also the inventor of the SwitchLift. SwitchLift is a revolutionary way of using the potters wheel by making the wheel's height adjustable. The SwitchLift is helping to bring relief to the problem of back pain that is so common in potters.

Melina LaVecchia Daniels specializes in creating tableware that is not only functional but relates to food and the user in an aesthetically-minded way. Each piece is made to inspire you to linger around the table just a little bit longer and to enjoy the luxury of gathering around food together.

Jeremy Ayers' recent pottery is about elemental relationships between form and surface. Jeremy has simplified his color scheme and is rejecting a colorful glaze palate. This allows textural and visual contrasts between the glaze, raw clay and form to be highlighted. Contrasts between sharp lines of glaze and the repetitive forms puts a sharp focus on both elements. The exposed clay is presented on equal footing with the glazed surface. The white glaze flashes the exposed clay body, warming the raw clay surface. Jeremy's focus with this recent work is to make pottery that is about pottery. He loves the raw clay of an atmospheric firing, but his work is fired in oxidation.

Eric Knoche touched clay for the first time 15 years ago and has had dirty hands ever since. Eric lives and works in Western North Carolina where he is currently building a new wood kiln and studio. Besides clay, Eric's other great passion in life is dancing the Argentine Tango.

S. C. Rolf lives and works as a studio potter in River Falls, WI, creating one-of-a-kind functional pots. His work reflects an ongoing search to unite his ideas with the generosity and the intimacy that the functional pot offers.S. C. Rolf holds multiple degrees in Art and exhibits his work nationally and internationally. Rolf has received a number of national and international awards. He lectures and teaches workshops throughout the country. His work has been included in numerous publications, Museum collections, and Kitchens cupboards.

The Claw and The Sea is the brainchild of two lovers, Ronald Shaw and Jeni Licata. Together, Ron and Jeni create an array of functional and sculptural ceramics inspired by botany, mycology, marine biology, and astronomy. These pieces range from handmade, soda-fired tableware sets like plates, cups, bowls, and serving pieces, to their sea-urchin-themed salt and pepper shakers, starfish Christmas ornaments, or salvaged pallet wood urchin towel racks. Jeni and Ron also have intricately-carved sporenet terrariums with homegrown and propagated succulent plants.

Gerard Ferrari, 2011 McKnight Artist Fellow for Ceramic Artists, holds an MFA(VCU) and a BA(Berea). His artistic career began in 1989 and his Professorial career in 1999. In 2009 he left academia to become a stay-at-home parent, artist, and micro-homesteader. Above all, he has an active imagination and creative spirit.

As part of her undergraduate studies at the National Art School, Sydney, O’Sullivan spent a semester on exchange at the Glasgow School of Art, Scotland, where she learnt and refined a number of industrial ceramic processes such as designing and printing decals, plaster model/mould making and slip casting. These skills have stayed with her and form the foundations of her current art practice. O’Sullivan focused her 2012 Masters of Fine Art research project on Australian imagery on porcelain. During this study she undertook a three-month internship at a remote Indigenous Art Centre in Ikuntji, NT. Since completing her MFA O’Sullivan has exhibited at the 4th ASNA clay triennial in Pakistan, had her work toured through the Emporio Armani stores in Australia, selected as a finalist for Qantas Spirit of Youth Awards and held a solo exhibition at Sabbia Gallery, Sydney and Craft Gallery, Melbourne. O’Sullivan has just returned from a mentorship with Sung Jae Choi in Gimhae, South Korea.

Melissa Weiss is a self-taught studio potter in Asheville, NC. All the pots Melissa makes are made from the clay she digs from her land in Arkansas and is minimally processed. Melissa makes functional pottery and fires it in a gas reduction kiln with reduction cooling. Melissa also runs an 8000 sq ft warehouse which houses over 20 artists.

Adriana Christianson is a studio potter based in Croydon , an outer eastern suburb near Mt. Dandenong in Melbourne , Australia. All of Adriana's work is made and fired in her tiny garden studio that is surrounded by a rambling garden behind her 1920's original farmhouse. Adriana began potting in High School and continued at Prahran College of Advanced Education, graduating with a Diploma of Art & Design majoring in Ceramics. After graduation Adriana started working in the production pottery of Jan Lewis and Tabletop Ceramics as a Studio Assistant and decorator . Her 30 year journey with clay has always run paralell with 'growing' her family and teaching adults and children pottery in community settings . The inspiration for Adriana's work comes from the beauty and intricacies of floral wallpapers and fabrics of the 1800's, (especially William Morris and Liberty) also the blue and white Willow pattern dinnerware, which she constantly collects.

David Voorhees is a western North Carolina potter. David has spent 40 years working in wood-fired porcelain and stoneware, oxidation porcelain, and a bit of raku. David is relatively new to wood-firing with his own wood kiln since 2009. He is passionate about this process, the community it requires, and the rebirth it has caused in his artist journey.

Anna Eaves is the owner, designer, and ceramic artist behind Arrow + Sage, her brand and studio based in Raleigh, NC. Anna is a native North Carolinian and self taught potter with early instruction coming from her mother, also a potter. Ceramics from Arrow + Sage are handbuilt utilizing high quality clays and glazes. She retails her work online and around the globe in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and has recently received recognition from Elle Decoration and Vogue UK.

Minah Kim was born in 1991 in a small and complex city with lots of people and buildings. The city was always lit up with lights even in very late night til dawn. Minah often enjoyed playing with her camera and catching those lights from the buildings. To Minah the lights shining over the window seemed like stars. Naturally she got to think about the life of individual a lot in the city that never sleeps. The individuals she observed were usually her peers. She became more interested to observe the changes happening around those individuals. She constantly drew and tried different material rather than only-using ceramics and has interests in philosophy.

Tim See fancies himself as a studio potter that loves wood firing. Tim's work is primarily wheel thrown industrial forms, decorated with a sprawling narrative. When Tim is not stacking wood, he teaches at a wonderful studio called Clayscapes.

In 1993 Simon Levin fell in love with the movement of flame through a wood-kiln. Its sensuous quality is something Simon seeks to capture in his work. This quest led Simon to an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. Recently the work explores the deep, dark, primal connections between all of us. Simon owns Mill Creek Pottery in Wisconsin, where he and his apprentices work to advance the cause of wood-fired pottery.

Richard Peterson is currently working on his MFA candidacy at The University of Arkansas, and received a BFA at the University of Akron in Ohio. Richard has spent almost all of his life within Northeast Ohio, which is where most of Richard's narrative is based. Recently Richard dove into graduate school headfirst where he is currently continuing his education and expansion as an artist, as well as an individual. Richard's work has been published in Clay Times December 2014 issue, Graphic Clay: Ceramic Surfaces and Printed Image Transfer Techniques (Lark Books 2015). and will be published in American Craft Magazine in Feb-March of 2016. Richard has also had the privilege to have his work shown at Charlie Cummings Gallery, Forum Artspace, AKAR Gallery, Red Star Studios, Baltimore Clayworks, Morean Art Center, and awarded Honorable Mention at "Drink This" juried by Sam Chung at Workhouse Ceramics in Virginia.

Born in New York City, Lisa Neimeth was influenced early on by the multiples of objects and icons surrounding her, as a young collector. After college, Lisa returned to New York City, where among other things, she sold lemonade on the streets and studied ceramics in private sculpture studios. Creating art remained in the background while pursuing Social and Community work, another passion, throughout the five Boroughs. Traveling was key for her after receiving two Masters Degrees in Social Work and Urban Planning. She traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Central and South America where she was deeply influenced by color, texture and forms observed there. Lisa moved to San Francisco in 1994, drawn there by the open land, light and ocean. She continued doing Community Work while contemplating new relationships between materials in her sculpture work. In 1997, she gave birth to the first of 2 children - leading her to change her focus and to do art more full time. Capturing images and applying them to clay enables her to create a vision of whimsy and directed randomness. She now focuses mainly on creating rustic, yet refined tableware. She describes them as photographs of her observations transcribed onto clay and made to be used. They incorporate impressed vintage and found object imagery with hand-etched detailing. Her work continues to be influenced by her surroundings and travels and extended time she spends on her property in Northern New Mexico. She has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, House Beautiful, Anthology Magazine, Food and Wine, C magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Western Art and Architecture, Sunset, California Home and Design as well as multiple features in high profile design blogs.

Paul Jessop started potting when he was twelve-years old. Paul's first full time pottery gig started when he was eighteen. Eventually he gave up the potter's life by the time he was twenty-three. For the next 20 years Paul spent his time selling ceramic tiles to architects and designers in central London. In 2008 Paul lost his job when he was made redundant. It was then that Paul returned to his first love and started Barrington Pottery. Paul is making "Simple Honest Pottery" based on traditional west country slip ware.

Di Marshall makes a brand of pottery dinnerware called Wonki Ware. Di started off with herself and one other potter 15 years ago and Di is now employing 60 potters. Di trained these potters up using the slab-rolling method of draping the clay over moulds. Wonki Ware is now world-wide suppliers of thier brand.

Jeremy Randall Ceramics was officially started in 2009, with energy placed on making, showing, and selling work nationally and internationally. Retail shows in the New England area have been a new venture with pleasant results, and being able to have personal interactions with my audience has been wonderful. Thank you for visiting, and hope to see you at a show or out in the ceramic world in the future.

Alison Smiles currently shares a studio/small retail space in a small suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Currently, Alison's group is the only group independent ceramics studio in their city. Alison loves working with clay as it has also afforded her the opportunity to travel and connect with makers from all over the world.

Thomas Quayle graduated an Honours Degree from the National Art School in 2013. Since completing his studies Thomas has been a successful applicant to Bondi's Sculpture by the Sea exhibition two years running as well as receiving the Clitheroe mentorship prize in 2014 through Sculpture by the sea. Thomas also attended a mentoring program in South Korea working with Korean artist Young-Sil Han.

Selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly (2002), Martina Lantin received her MFA from NSCAD University. She has completed several residencies and her work has been recognized in numerous juried and invitational exhibitions internationally. Martina currently teaches at the Alberta College of Art and Design.

Gunyoung Kim was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She received her Bachelors of Fine Art in Ceramics from Kook-Min University in Korea in 2010 and her MFA from The Ohio State University in 2014 where she developed her studio practice and gained teaching experience. After graduate school, Gunyoung was the long-term ceramic artist-in-residence at Lawrence Art Center in Lawrence, Kansas. She is currently a short-term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, MT.

Originally trained as an architect, Sandra Torres eventually transferred her creative outlet into clay work. Sandra got started at an experimental studio in Mexico City, and then continued working in California in different studios. Sandra traveled in Mexico and China to learn about traditional techniques. An apprenticeship with Pieter Stockmans in Belgium, had a great impact on her work. Later Sandra was an Artist in Residence at the ICSHU in Hungary and since then she has established her home studio in Ojai, CA.

Ronan Kyle Peterson grew up in Poplar, NC, a small community deep in the mountains of western North Carolina. Currently, Ronan maintains Nine Toes Pottery, a ceramics studio in Chapel Hill, NC, which produces highly decorative and functional earthenware vessels. His work is drawn from processes of growth and decay in the natural world and is translated into a ceramic comic book interpretation of both real and imagined phenomena.

Sam Scott has been a ceramic artist working in Shoreline, WA since 1968. After graduating from the University of Washington and setting up his studio in 1975, Sam has continued his studio practice and taught at area colleges. Sam's work consists of three distinct styles including functional and non-functional objects.

Noel Bailey is a utilitarian potter and teacher, currently living in the Mad River Valley, Vermont. Noel was born and raised in Southwest Colorado. He has a M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a B.A. in Art Education from the University of Northern Colorado. He has had several residencies at Laloba Ranch Clay Center in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Leili Towfighcreates wheel-thrown and hand-built stoneware pieces in a studio at MIT in Cambridge. She’s enchanted by the rich ceramics traditions of her parents’ home countries—England and Iran—and creates work inspired by nature, mathematics and biology, in addition to the decorative techniques of sliptrailing, carving, sgraffito and nerikomi.

Influenced by Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto and the cyberpunk classic Ghost in the Shell, his is figure sculptures investigate gender using the cyborg. In addition to sculpture he produces a line of vessels with irreverent characters on them. Rob is currently faculty at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

After earning an MFA from Alfred University in 1990, Eric Van Eimeren moved to Montana to become a resident artist at the Archie Bray foundation. At the end of his residency in1993, he set up a pottery studio, and has enjoyed living and working in Helena ever since. You can find his pots in collections and kitchens throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Zach Houillion is a high school senior at St. Mark's school of Texas. Zach is going into his fourth year of pottery doing primarily wheel thrown work, Lately Zach has pursued carving his pieces as well.

Derek Reeverts grew up in rural Illinois surrounded by faith and farming. He received his MFA in ceramics from Miami University of Ohio in 2009 and his BFA in ceramics from Western Illinois University in 1999. He has been the Ceramics area Teaching Lab Specialist for the University of Florida since 2013. His work continues to be a part of many regional, national, and international exhibitions and is represented in many private collections.

Sarah Pike makes slab-built, functional pots on the edge of a little ski town in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. If you went to Fernie, you would probably find her in her studio, which is just off the highway, next to the beaver pond and under the Lizard Range. Unless, of course, she is out doing her other favorite things… playing in the mountains, eating food somewhere or digging in the garden. Sarah studied ceramics at ACAD in Calgary, the University of Colorado, Boulder and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Her pottery is inspired by many things, including the landscape around her home, the crazy rich history of pottery, specifically Japanese and Islamic ceramics, but also by antique tinware, textured metal, and old things you might find in barns.

Lora Rust is a studio potter and pottery instructor in Atlanta, Ga. Lora shares her love of working in clay teaching beginning and intermediate pottery classes at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta, including focus on the soda firing process. She also teaches hands on and demonstration workshops regionally. Lora creates heirloom quality porcelain table and serve ware, fired to cone 6 oxidation and soda. Her goal is to bring a touch of artistry and elegance to the home.