The Potters Cast

Alison Warner is a part-time potter going by @kithandkilnpottery in Northern British Columbia, Canada. Alison is currently applying for small exhibitions, doing collaborations, wholesale, and working on new bodies of work developed during a residency earlier this year. http://ThePottersCast.com/977

Jackie Wright started pottery 14 years ago taking a 1 year evening course. Jackie quickly became obsessed with wheel throwing and that has been her focus ever since. Jackie fits pottery in alongside her day job, making functional porcelain pieces comprising clean lines and minimal forms whilst still trying to retain an organic quality. Jackie has recently added stoneware into her range as an alternative canvas to serve her ever growing glaze development interest. http://ThePottersCast.com/976

Erika Christine is a ceramic artist currently living in Lawrence, Kansas. Erika's ceramic practice utilizes the potters wheel, hand-building, and slip casting. Each piece is painted by hand with serene colors and florals inspired by nature, traditional textiles, and domestic interiors. Erika's distinct style is characterized by the joining of the decorative and functional. http://ThePottersCast.com/975

is an artist living and working in Rochester, New York. In 2017 Kate received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College at Brockport with a Concentration in Ceramics. She opened a studio and storefront, East Main Clay, located at the Hungerford building in Rochester at the end of 2020. Kate's ceramic work is mainly wheel thrown and slip decorated pottery, made for everyday use in your home. Kate currently works at the Genesee Country Village and Museum as one of the Historic Village Potters. Kate also teaches intro wheel classes in the evening at Flower City Arts Center and Turk Hill Craft School. http://ThePottersCast.com/974

Rock Johnsen is a sculptural surrealist ceramic artist focusing on functional work which integrates anatomy and Crystallines chemistry to address social issues and make science more accessible in a tangible manner.

Genny Kelley started pottery when she moved from Virginia to Brooklyn in 2019 and has been doing it ever since. When Genny was let go from her corporate job last fall, she decided to take pottery full time and has been selling her pottery and teaching ever since! http://ThePottersCast.com/972

Blending the world of science fiction and functional art has allowed John Hamilton to find a voice in ceramics. Each Piece utilizes various elements of the ceramic process, employing trompe l'oeil to draw the viewer in closer, enticing them to touch and closely study each piece. The purpose is to create functional art that demands to be on the counter, table, or shelf opposed to the inside of a cabinet out of view. http://ThePottersCast.com/971

Piotr Waśniowski is a maker living in Kraków, Poland. His main focus is 3D printing with clay through which Piotr makes amazingly intricate pieces. Piotr believes in open communication on 3D printing and as such he openly shares his insights and inventions. His vision is not to replace the potters wheel or hand making, but rather to add to clay an whole new world of possibilities that would otherwise be impossible to make with out the aide of this new technology. http://ThePottersCast.com/970

Largely known for her elaborate colanders, Megan Sward is a studio potter based in Western Massachusetts. After earning a BA in Studio Art and going to graduate school, Megan worked for conceptual artist Tom Friedman. After working in Tom's inventive and prolific studio for a few years, she moved on to build her own pottery studio. With special attention to repetitive designs, balance, and durability, Megan creates work that feels soothing and inspiring to live with. http://ThePottersCast.com/969

Bob Dinetz is a member of The Potter's Studio in Berkeley, California and is trained as a graphic designer. Collecting Japanese and American pottery inspired Bob to explore making pottery of his own. The pieces Bob makes combine simple, modern forms with elegant, layered surfaces. http://ThePottersCast.com/968

Tex Fisher has always had a desire to make people happy. Tex will add expressions and smiles to his work wherever possible. Whether that's a very literal smirk on a pea in a pod, or just throwing and handbuilding something so non-sensical and ridiculous that one can't help but look at it and smile. http://ThePottersCast.com/967

Charlotte Grenier is a utilitarian potter, making wheel thrown and altered pots in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Charlotte holds a BA in ceramics from Michigan State University and currently teaches in the greater Ann Arbor area. Charlotte is interested in making patterns that evoke past eras of design and touchable nostalgic surfaces. http://ThePottersCast.com/966

Peter Jadoonath has been making pots in the Minnesota Clay Community for the last 23 years. Over the years I've set up multiple studios and making processes as I've moved around and evolved. Currently my family and I live just north of the Twin Cities where I have my pottery studio. My interest is in making pots that are drawings and drawings that are pots. http://ThePottersCast.com/965

Jonathan Kaplan has been fortunate to have sustain a 55 year career in ceramics wearing many hats: potter, ceramic designer, manufacturer, author, educator, master mold and model maker. Jonathan's book, "The Mold Making Manual-The Art of Models, Molds, and Slip-Cast Ceramics" is due to be published by the American Ceramics Society in the Summer of 2023. Jonathan credits his success and longevity in this field to having a curious mind. http://ThePottersCast.com/964

Ed Doherty is a production potter currently living in New York State. Ed also spent over a decade living overseas in India where he dove into the local culture ceramic community. This is his story. http://ThePottersCast.com/963

I was in an accident. Today's episode is a bit of the story of what is going on with me.

Missy Graff Ballone is the author of Wellness for Makers: A Movement Guide for Artists! Missy's mission is to motivate and empower creatives, like you, through education, mindful-living, and movement! Missy combines her unique backgrounds as an Artist, Yoga Instructor, and Licensed Massage Therapist to make information about the body accessible to artists everywhere. http://ThePottersCast.com/961

PJ Hargraves is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is currently teaching, technician-ing, and maintaining an active studio practice in Northeast Ohio. PJ holds an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and loves making playful and joyous pottery, and sculptures.

Melissa Hyatt Foss is an instrument-maker, musician, and educator. Melissa developed her career as a performer and teaching artist for 12 years in Argentina, and is now based in Baltimore where she continues to create projects exploring Pre-Colonial musical instruments of the Americas and their applications in contemporary art and music. http://ThePottersCast.com/959

Brooke Knippa is an avid maker and lover of nature. Brooke grew up on the Front Range of Colorado but was eventually called east by the Atlantic Ocean, making her way to the wilds of Maine where she currently resides. Brooke is a full-time ceramicist, bringing joy and whimsy through her functional art. http://ThePottersCast.com/958

As a self-taught artist, Sondra was not able to truly devote time to her creative journey until after retiring from her life in the business world. Her journey has taken her to study with Spanish, Austrailian, English, and American ceramic artists to develop her skills. With her pottery, her chosen medium is porcelain because its strength and delicacy learn to live in harmony. It is her perfect canvas to display the beautiful zinc-silicate crystals that can only be created through normally destructive fire. These naturally occurring phenomena inspire her never-ending desire to artistically harness their capability on the backdrop of her forms - which equally exude both capability and femininity. http://ThePottersCast.com/957

John Tilton was a graduate student working toward a Ph.D. in Mathematics at the University of Florida when he was introduced to clay as an artistic medium in 1968. John subsequently took up Ceramics as a profession, earning his M.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of South Florida in 1972. John has gone on to teach classes in Mathematics at the University of Florida and in Ceramics at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL. John has been an independent studio artist since 1972. In 1978, he moved into a spiritual community, where he and his wife, Anne, still live and maintain their studio.

Kilnjoy Ceramics is owned and operated by Denise Joyal. Denise is the adjunct Professor of Ceramics at Wilson College and a graduate of Hood College with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramic Arts. Like sunlight passing over the landscape, fire and soda vapor flow across the wares of Denise's work adding warm colors and permanently illuminating the vessels' surfaces. http://ThePottersCast.com/955

Roy Minarai began experimenting with making glazes and soon found that he enjoyed the process of making, testing, tweaking, and layering glazes as much as he liked making pots. Not long into making Roy was contacted by a leading expert in bonsai ceramics Ryan Bell, whose blog japanesebonsaipots.com is the largest most comprehensive database of potters marks, as well as wealth of information on bonsai ceramics. Ryan became a huge encouragement and soon asked about doing an interview. The rest is history. http://ThePottersCast.com/954

From a young age Jeanette Stevens' infectious positivity and enthusiasm has been at the heart of both her career and personal life. Throw in Jeanette's fascination with organisation and passion for all things creative, it's no surprise her career path and hobbies have been varied! From Master baker & cake decorator to aerobics instructor & accountant, Jeanette's heart settled in the fabulous world of bridal, as Managing Director of global business selling designer wedding dresses to bridal shops. Sometimes the best things in life are the unexpected. When 2021 brought intense challenges navigating a business through covid lockdowns, Jeanette received a surprise birthday gift from her husband of a potters wheel, where she discovered incredible calm & stress release in a hobby that had been on her bucket list since a child. Six lessons later and hours of Youtube binge watching and she is totally addicted and passionate about Clay. In two short years she has built a home studio and documented her journey on Instagram and You Tube, having the best time ever in her happy place. http://ThePottersCast.com/953

Eric Ordway is a potter and teacher currently living and working in Columbia, MO. Eric makes wheel-thrown and altered pots that are finished in high, atmospheric kilns. Eric's work is influenced by his blue-collar roots, his interest in spirituality, and fantasy. Eric recently was nominated as a 2023 Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly. http://ThePottersCast.com/952

Harley Weigle is a Ceramic Artist and Art Educator interested in functional vessels as a bridge to deepen relationships and explore identity. Harley received his bachelors of Fine Arts from Shippensburg University and attended the University of Florida for a Post-Bacc in Ceramics. This fall Harley will graduate from Kutztown University with his Masters in Art Education. http://ThePottersCast.com/951

AnaLuz Sainz Rodriguez was born in Michoacan in Mexico but now lives in Kalamazoo, MI with her family. AnaLuz has been practicing pottery for 3 years now and is currently an intern at Troy Bungart Studios where she also produces her work. http://ThePottersCast.com/950

After years of play and study with clay, Miranda Trostle founded Sego Lily Pottery in 2015. By creating vessels with intention that explore the balance of aesthetics and utility, Miranda's work seeks to elevate the rituals of daily life. Having worked primarily with electric oxidation firings, Miranda is excited to begin exploring wood and gas reduction environments and learning to fire different types of kilns. http://ThePottersCast.com/949

Michal Karen Gelman makes contemporary functional ceramic homeware. Michal finds herself drawn to the functional, but at the same time, she sees the material, as she touches the evergreen. Michal is fascinated by this connection. She loves to take a surface, a clay sheet, fold it, gives it a capacity, and create a container. plays with the rough and the delicate, the horizontal and the widthwise, movement versus stillness. What attracts and drives Michal forward, is the contact with the material itself, the traditional forms, and the way to unravel it. Freefolding is Michal's studio brand. http://ThePottersCast.com/948

Gabs Conway is a sculptural ceramic artist based in Missoula Montana. Having grown up in Missoula, she was excited to return - as she relentlessly considers it home - after earning her BFA at the University of Wisconsin – Stout. Gabs' work stems from the playful, mundane experiences of living. She explores relationships, such as that of siblings, friends, and lovers. Interested in creating forms for the reflection of human experience; asking the viewer to consider their appreciation of life, and to humble the adornment of our physicality. Gabs remains curious of the inherent biological responses of living, and what it means to exist together in an ever changing world. http://ThePottersCast.com/947

Ever since Tanner Gerstberger was young, he has had a yearning to create. Like many teenagers, Tanner found his first love in high school. Only Tanner's was the pottery wheel. Tanner took as many classes as he could and increased his skills to the point where Tanner was showcasing his art in local shows and competitions.Taking the plunge to being a full-time, economically challenged artist is a tough step to make. Tanner's plan was to pursue a degree in Construction Management at Colorado State University so that one day he would be able to save up enough money to do pottery full time. Dr. T was a nickname given to him by his friends in college. Eventually, word spread of Tanner's new nickname and his family decided to surprise him with a stunning, orange, neon sign as a gift, adding further sentiment to the name. Now the sign has become a symbol of Tanner's art and he realized the name Dr. T was here to stay. http://ThePottersCast.com/946

Bebe Federmann Designs specializes in functional ceramics that are made to be used, whether it is for a special gathering or as your everyday tableware. Made in small batches, and limited editions, these handmade wares are created to make the home, and rituals of mealtime, more beautiful and meaningful. Bebe resides in New York, and splits her time between Long Island and New York City. http://ThePottersCast.com/945

Jacques Monneraud is a studio potter based in the south west region of France. Jacques' wheel-thrown objects are mainly functional. Jacques has discovered ceramics a little over two years ago at the time of this post and has done everything to pursue the dream of becoming a ceramist ever since. Potters and neophytes can follow his journey on Instagram, where he documents his day by day evolution in the field. http://ThePottersCast.com/944

Carly Slade grew up in "Big sky" Alberta, Canada. Carly's work is influenced by her blue-collar roots and plagued by a concern for the precarious nature of the working class. Using a mix of materials (most often including clay, embroidery, and building supplies), Carly creates dioramas of real places in an unreal perspective. Carly received her MFA from San Jose State University and her BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts. Carly is currently an Assistant Professor and Area Head at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in Arcata, CA, USA. http://ThePottersCast.com/943

Kieu Tran was born in Can Tho, Vietnam and is a first generation Vietnamese American artist based in Oakland, California. Kieu creates elegant, sensuous, biomorphic ceramic sculptures that meditate on love, connection and belonging. Her sculptural practice spans across ceramic, wood, marble and bronze. For studies, Kieu obtained a bachelor's degree in art history from UCLA and studied art while living in Italy and Germany. In 2014, Kieu followed an intriguing pull to Silicon Valley where she learned to code in 2014 and soon after became a full time software engineer. On a parallel path, she also developed a serious ceramic art practice. Immersing in the two practices side-by-side, Kieu eventually realized that she was always meant to be an artist. In January of 2021, Kieu left tech to pursue her passion of becoming a full time artist. Her ceramic sculptures have since been received with excitement and she has cultivated a growing following of enthusiastic collectors worldwide. http://ThePottersCast.com/942

Sue Pryke's work is concerned with functionality and the exploration of tactile surfaces to create tableware. Sue uses slip casting as a vehicle to produce domestic ware which is a nod to an industrial method of making, but use it in a craft setting to make pared-back contemporary ware that industry would find difficult to produce. Sue is inspired by the everyday and the ordinary, tactility and utility, material qualities, and the interaction we have with objects. Small details and preferences which reflect the intuitive decision making we all make on a daily basis when choosing what cup to take from the cupboard for a cup of tea.

Micah Schedler started his pottery journey with a simple desire to learn a skill and improve. As his skills grew and his hands got smarter, Micah started to care deeply about making "nice" pots; pots that are functionally sound with good proportions and surrounding all of those things, beautiful pots. Surrounded by incredible makers in Minnesota, Micah is lucky to land in such a rich pottery tradition rooted in functional and honest pottery. Now Micah is trying to make his own pots informed by that tradition. Right now Micah makes his wares in a renovated two car garage. He uses dark stoneware covered in white slip which helps to create some visual depth in an electric kiln. The slip brings folks into those moments of making with finger marks, drips and swipes. Joy permeates his work. Micah and his partner Emma have two small kids and live in Minnesota. He works 3 days as a Registered Nurse, a potter 2 days a week, and a tired, happy dad 7 days a week. http://ThePottersCast.com/940

Eliana E. Rodriguez is a Latina artist of color who creates pottery, prints and illustrations. Eliana has served as a Studio Assistant at the Penland School of Craft, and is a Speedball Demo Artist. Eliana has a clay and printmaking studio in Asheville, NC where she continues to make work. http://ThePottersCast.com/939

Amy Song is a ceramic artist working in Plainfield, IL. Amy holds a BA in studio art and ceramics from Hope College and fell in love with wood firing at Waubonsee Community College in 2013. In 2018, Amy founded River Song Pottery in Plano, IL. Since then, River Song has hosted its first workshops bringing nationally known potters to the area and is excited to be spreading the love of wood firing in the greater Chicago area. Amy is the lead organizer of the Northern IL Pottery tour, which was launched to celebrate and lift up the incredible work being created in the area. http://ThePottersCast.com/938

Benjamin Cahoon is a ceramic artist and arts administrator based near Portland Oregon. While managing a studio and working in social media consulting/content creation, Benjamin has been professionally practicing art for over 10 years and teaching for 7. Benjamin's practice contains atmospheric firing, large scale installations, conceptual sculpture, and illustration. http://ThePottersCast.com/937

Marissa Childers earned her BFA from the University of North Alabama, worked as a ceramic intern at Anderson Ranch Art Center, and completed her MFA at the University of Oklahoma. Marissa was an NCECA graduate fellowship recipient in 2020 and was chosen as one of Ceramics Monthly's Emerging Artists of 2022. http://ThePottersCast.com/936

Adam Meistrell was born and raised in Naples, Florida. Adam's first memories are of making art and traveling. After graduating from Penn State, Adam spent a few years seeking out adventure: driving to Alaska, jumping off cliffs in Italy, and surfing in Costa Rica. Adam earned his MFA from The Louisiana State University. http://ThePottersCast.com/935

Since leaving Camberwell College of Art in 1998 Justine Allison has been primarily working with hand-built porcelain. Justine's work addresses the boundaries between function and decoration. Form is paramount; function is a driving motivation, but it is the aesthetics of a piece that are key to Justine's making. The early influences from London; buildings, windows, streets and sounds remain with Justine although living in rural Wales.

Robin Turnage is the host of the podcast, Potters of Color 2.0! Having been a listener of show, I was so excited to finally meet Robin in Cincinnati at NCECA. We sat down at the convention center in the food court area and had this conversation while conference goers were eating lunch all around us. http://ThePottersCast.com/933

Taiyaba Ahmed is a Multicultural Fellow for NCECA. I am so thankful I got to meet Taiyaba while I was at NCECA and we decided to meet at a coffee shop first thing in the morning... 7:30! The sun wasn't even up yet! So we were a little groggy. A tea and coffee and a light pastry came to the rescue to give us the energy to have a coherent conversation. Taiyaba is our first guest from Pakistan and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. http://ThePottersCast.com/932

Ben Clark is the co-owner of Queen City Clay in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ben isn't the founder of Queen City, but he is the buyer. In this conversation we talk about his journey with ceramics, Queen City Clay, and business ownership http://ThePottersCast.com/931

Many wonderful things happen at NCECA! One of the events that is so amazing is the student pottery throwing contest that is sponsored by Skutt. Students compete for 3 days and the winner of each day wins $100 and then the three winners pieces are judged for the grand winner. The grand place winner is awarded a potters wheel. And Michelle Gawedzki was the grand prize winner! http://ThePottersCast.com/930

Brandon Christy is a studio potter living and working in Berea, KY. Brandon received his BFA in Ceramics from Western Kentucky University in 2002. After a 14-year hiatus from clay he started Bark Camp Pottery in 2016. Now Brandon makes intricately decorated wheel thrown handmade pottery. http://ThePottersCast.com/929

NCECA 2023 was a great year for the conference. It felt like the "good o' days" of pre-covid conferences. And one of the things I really love about NCECA are the PopUps that occur that are sponsored by various potters. The events are always magnetic and full of great people and pots. This year was no different. I wasn't able to make it to all the PopUps, but these were two excellent examples. Though the PopUps were pre-planned, these interviews were not. I showed up unannounced, pulled out my mic, and started asking questions. http://ThePottersCast.com/928