Sunshine Cobb returns to talk about her new role as resident coordinator at the Archie Bray Foundation. In the interview we talk about how shifts in a residency structure can create equity and opportunity, as well as how residents find financial stability as the cost of living is increasing post-COVID. This year’s Bray residency application deadline is December 19th. Check out www.archiebray.org/residencies for more information on how to apply.   My annual holiday sale is now live with over...

Priscilla Dobler Dzul and Corinna Cowles were both residents at the Archie Bray Foundation this summer. In our interview we talk about their current bodies of work and their experience at the Bray. Corinna Cowles is based in Philadelphia, PA and Priscilla Dobler Dzul splits time between Washington state and Mexico. This year’s Bray residency application deadline is December 19th. Check out www.archiebray.org/residencies for more information on how to apply.   I would like to highlight a few...

Bill Wilkey fires his geometric forms in a soda atmosphere that exposes and softens their textured edges. In this week’s interview we talk about his mind-blowing experience visiting Brunelesschi’s Dome, the impact his Archie Bray residency had on his career, and starting a life in Helena, MT with his family. www.wilkeyarts.com. This interview is the first in a series featuring former Bray residents. This year’s Bray residency application deadline is December 19th. Check out...

Malene Barnett returns for an interview about her new book Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practice of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers. In our interview we talk about Black cultural memory, her process for interviewing and building an archive of Caribbean artists, and the influence of Caribbean material culture around the world. The book will be published by Artisan Books on October 29th and will be widely available where ever fine books are sold. www.malenebarnett.com   I would...

Today we have the final installment of our series about student loans with an episode featuring Liz Noonan and Christian Bailey. They share their experience dealing with fluctuating payments, managing debt as a family, and the ups and downs of loan forgiveness. Liz is a studio artist in Boxborough, MA. Christian is a artist and educator in Gulfport, MS. www.liznoonanceramics.com www.christianbaileyceramics.com   I’d like to highlight a few excellent resources for helping those affected by...

Today we continue our series on student loans with a conversation featuring Cammi Climaco and Jen Mecca. They share their experience with long-term management of loan payments, the effect loans have on family relationships, and student loan forgiveness. Cammi is a NYC based artist and podcast host of The Ceramics Companion. Jen is an artist and educator based in Gastonia, NC. www.cammiclimaco.com www.jenmeccapottery.com   Like many of you I’ve watched horrific scenes of floods across the...

After years of talking with people about their education, I thought it was time to address student loans head on. Today I talk with Betsy Mayotte, who over the past three decades has worked with hundreds of borrowers in her role as president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors. In our interview we talk about the factors driving up the cost of education, how a student progresses through a loan cycle, loan forgiveness options, and healthy habits for financial literacy. We also talk about...

Celia Feldberg decorates her pots with vibrant sgraffito drawings of animals in human situations. With a light-hearted touch she talks about relationship dynamics and highlights the small beauty in every day life. In our interview we talk about refining her drawing style on clay, depicting love in all its forms, and being a resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. www.celiafeldberg.com   We also discuss the research she conducted for my book The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes...

Christy Culp’s terra cotta pots are decorated with blue berries, carrots, and other motifs that come from her western Pennsylvania farm. In our interview we talk about her decades long career as a high school ceramics teacher, building a dream studio out of a late 1800’s barn that was on the farm, and how her yoga practice supports her ceramic practice.   In our interview we also talk about Christy’s work in my book The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors. The book...

Camille Dungy is an award-winning poet, writer, and host of the podcast Immaterial: 5,000 Years of Art, One Material at a Time from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In our interview we talk about Immaterial and their approach to art and story telling. We also talk about her passion for gardening, and her most recent book Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden. This episode also features an excerpt from the Immaterial episode Stone: Making and Breaking Legacies. To hear the rest of that...

Christi Ruffin is an avid collector of ceramics, and by that, I mean she is obsessed. I recently got to visit her home in Charlotte, NC and hold many of the pieces that make up her collection of over 3,000 pots. In our interview we talk about forming relationships with artists, insuring and documenting a ceramic collection, and how the pandemic helped accelerate her collecting habit. To see the collection you can follow Christi on Instagram at pottery.addict.   Today’s episode is brought...

Yoshi Fuji spends hours carving intricate patterns drawn from kimono and Japanese wrapping paper on each of his forms. In our interview we talk about his approach to pattern and his relationship with Baltimore Clayworks, where he has been a resident, instructor, and now Director of Exhibitions. Yoshi Fuji Ceramics Baltimore Clayworks   Today’s episode is brought to you by the following sponsors: The Rosenfield Collection of Functional Ceramic Art www.Rosenfieldcollection.com Cornell...

Rebecca and Scott Proctor formed Nom Ceramics in 2019 after years of working in the same studio. Their functional and sculptural collaborations are glazed with layers of patterns that melt together in their soda kiln firings. In our interview we talk about their path to collaboration, their method for building surfaces, and how they balance parenting with studio work. They have an exhibition of new work up now at Companion Gallery in Humbolt, TN. In addition to their studio work they also...

John Born is an artist working in sculpture and drawing based in New York City. In his recent show at Curatorial and Co. in Sydney he showed a series of his signature composite forms made from stacked ceramic shapes. In our interview we talk about his start in ceramics, the role improvisation plays in his sculpture, and the series of portals he made for his recent exhibition. www.humblematter.com   Today’s episode is brought to you by the following sponsors: The Rosenfield Collection of...

Ashlyn Pope is a ceramic and fiber artist of Gullah descent who describes her work as representing “restriction and limitation of the Black body throughout American history, and the hope and vision to realize a different future.” In our interview we talk about integrating woven elements into ceramic vessels, educating through art, and her recent fiber portraits of afrofuturist queens. Ashlyn is an Assistant Professor, and Associate Director of the Joyner Institute for Gullah and African...

Rhonda Willers uses functional pottery, sculptural vessels, and installation to focus on ideas of fragility and the passage of time. In our interview we talk about her 2019 installation Alone Together, her work in ceramics, and her book Terra Sigillata: Contemporary Techniques. We also discuss her philosophy of service work and her podcast The Artist in Me is Dead, which traces creativity through the lives of makers. www.rhondawillers.com.   Rhonda is one of many artists featured in my...

Nick Lenker draws from video games to make ceramic sculptures that seem to have jumped right out of a pixelated computer screen into real life. In our interview we talk about his process of building with slabs before applying custom decals, investigating memory through subject matter, and how Philadelphia has shaped his creative life. www.nicklenker.com   Today’s episode is brought to you by the following sponsors: The Rosenfield Collection of Functional Ceramic Art...

Lisa Orr started working with low-fire ceramics decades ago, moving through majolica before developing a unique psychedelic color palette. In our interview we talk about matching thermal expansion of clay and glaze, side stacking glaze wares, and developing aventurine glazes. www.lisaorr.com   Lisa is one of many artists featured in my upcoming book The Complete Guide to Low-Fire Glazes for Potters and Sculptors. The book has its official release on September 10 and is now available for...

Kathleen Clark is an award-winning photographer, whose career includes numerous exhibitions and serving as Photo Director for Los Angeles magazine and LA Weekly. Her series The White House China, depicts historical events from each American president presented on their formal state dinnerware. In our interview we talk about her inclusion in The Girl Artists of Portland, a performance art group active in the 1980s, her work in photo journalism, and her practice of using ceramics as a staging...

Today on the show I’m joined by Brian Kakas and Lisa Giuliani for a discussion about the changing landscape of ceramic education. In the interview we talk about demographic shifts and closures in higher education, craft school education, and helping an arts community survive after a core institution downsizes its ceramics program. This episode was taped in front of a live audience at the NCECA conference in Richmond, VA. I’d like to thank Cole Collier for running sound for the event and NCECA...

Stephanie Seguin is a functional potter based in Helena, MT, where she makes table and service ware. She is also the education manager at the Archie Bray Foundation where she has helped shape the education program as the organization has emerged from the pandemic. In our interview we talk about tactile learning, developing parameters for creativity, and the Bray’s Artist Amplified, a series of demonstrations and lectures highlighting ceramic artists. You can see her work at...

Judi Tavill has had a broad career in the arts starting in fashion and now creating biomorphic ceramic sculpture. In our interview we talk about her career in fashion, blending drawing with sculpture, and preparing for her upcoming solo show at the Ivy Brown Gallery. Entanglements will open May 16th and run through June 26th. For more information visit www.juditavill.com.   Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, this month we are celebrating twelve years of the podcast! We just launched a fund drive...

Today on the show I talk with Brian Chen. He makes sculptural and functional forms that reference architecture and biomechanics. In our interview we talk about how a tennis injury led him to study anatomy, creating sculptures that nest within themselves, and refining a form through repetition. To see examples of his work visit www.brianchenpottery.com.   Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, this month we are celebrating twelve years of the podcast! We just launched a fund drive and I need your help...

Join guest host Malene Barnett as she talks with Lydia Thompson, Ashlyn Pope, and David Macdonald about the rich tapestry of ceramics across the Black Diaspora. From the ancestral lands of Africa, to the vibrant Caribbean and the diverse cultures of African Americans, join the panel as they explore the artistic expressions and design aesthetics that are rooted in clay. This conversation was recorded in front of a live studio audience at this year’s NCECA conference in Richmond, VA.   ...