Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Sydnie Jimenez. She creates ceramics of Black and Brown figures with distinctive attitudes and personal styles. In our interview, we talk about taking up space and wanting to create accessibility while protecting the figures and whom they represent. We also discuss her unconventional, creative process and how subconsciously her friends and family influence her sculptures.

Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Natalia Arbelaez. She creates humorous sculptures in clay that explore Latinx identities as affected by colonialism. In our interview, we talk about her research into the Muisca people, her indigenous ancestors in Colombia, and how she has made their aesthetics and untold stories a priority in her practice. We also discuss the material histories of terracotta and majolica and how they visually translate the effects of colonialism in Latin America.

Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Narumi Nekpenekpen. She creates small-scale hyper-detailed tenderly-rendered sculptures that speak to vulnerability. In our interview, we talk about translating negative and positive thoughts and emotions into clay and how her sculptures are almost like pages on a diary. We also discuss how having Japanese as her first language has encouraged her to find poetic ways of expression within the aesthetics and titles of her sculptures.

Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Alake Shilling. She creates fantastical clay sculptures and paintings of cute animals that reflect the emotional diversity of humanity. In our interview, we talk about having the courage to be an artist and empowering ourselves and others to be our truest selves despite pressure from systems of oppression, including those in the art world.

Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Sharif Farrag. He creates bold psychedelic and subversive ceramic sculptures that tap psychological depths to manifest a multitude of emotions, from laughter to pain. In our interview, we talk about Farrag’s experience growing up Muslim in post 9/11 US while immersed in California’s skateboarding culture and how these multiple influences inevitably come out in his work. We also discuss ideas of cultural assimilation and working towards one’s most authentic...

Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Maryam Yousif. She creates tender and playful contemporary interpretations of ancient Mesopotamian figurines and objects. In our interview, we talk about how these sculptures help her learn about herself and strengthen her connection to her homeland of Iraq. We also discuss how her figurines serve as avatars and how they are inspired by Arab pop queens.

Today on Clay in Color, we chat with Salvador Jimenez-Flores. He creates humorous anthropomorphic ceramic sculptures that argue for a better future for the Latinx community in the US and protest oppression. In our interview, we talk about the challenges of being an immigrant in the US, living within a double-consciousness, and how art became the tool to express himself when words failed. We also discuss his path towards becoming a professor, community leader, and future ancestor for other...

Today on Clay in Color we chat with Emily Yong Beck. She creates hand-built vessels based on historical ceramics and sculptures of popular cartoons. In our interview we talk about the fallacy of the Rococo as the pinnacle of sophistication and how porcelain’s charged history is often ignored. We also discuss the cuteness of Japanese Kawaii as a tool of propaganda and experiencing cartoons as an adult with a critical lens. Furthermore, she tells us about moving past her painting phase and...

Join curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy and ceramic artist Alex Anderson as they discuss the aesthetics of optimism in contemporary ceramics. Humor, cuteness, and the decorative will be jumping off points for conversations with young professionals of color who are shaping the field today.