Colour and Ceramics

Welcome to Colour and Ceramics with your host Bob Acton. Today Bob is joined by Lucy Morris, a ceramic artist and psychotherapist from South Wales. Lucy brings those two worlds together through her animal sculptures, particularly her hares, exploring vulnerability and the feelings we all share. Her fascination with hares began while teaching ceramics in the prison system. Their alertness, vulnerab...

In this episode of Colour & Ceramics, Bob Acton @bobacton talks with Jasen Robillard of StumpCraft about the fascinating process of transforming artists’ work into intricate wooden puzzles. We also begin with a short conversation with Nichole Windblad from Art Market Craft Sale, someone Jasen credits with helping him develop his business. It’s a conversation about art, craft, collaboration, an...

My guest on the latest episode of Colour & Ceramics is Calgary ceramic artist Mindy Andrews. Mindy’s work is deeply rooted in nature, from the forests of northwestern Ontario where she grew up to the landscapes of the Canadian Rockies where she has lived for more than 20 years. Working primarily in porcelain, she uses slips, underglazes, painting, and carving to create vessels and sculptural p...

On today's show, Bob Acton @bobacton, interviews Deana Bada Maloney, an Illinois-based ceramic artist and wildlife sculptor whose work brings together hand-built clay, animal anatomy, drawing, expressive surface, and mixed media. With a background in drawing, painting, anatomy, and scientific illustration, Deana has developed a highly observational approach to ceramic sculpture. She often thinks a...

My guest today is Drew Caines , a ceramic artist based in Leeds in the north of England who has been working with clay for almost 30 years. Drew creates richly textured, often sculptural work that brings together influences from very different points in human history. He draws inspiration from ancient Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic art, folklore and ethnography, while also pulling in conte...

In this episode of Colour & Ceramics, Bob Acton @bobacton speaks with Susie Kathol, a ceramic artist, wildlife biologist, and botanist based in Revelstoke, BC. Susie brings her scientific knowledge and deep connection to the natural world into her ceramic practice, using sgraffito to carve images of plants and wildlife into the surfaces of her work. We talk about the relationship between scien...

SPECIAL EDITION: In this episode of the Colour & Ceramics Podcast, we explore the Surface Stories Collective, https://surfacestoriescollective.lovable.app/ , a Toronto-based initiative bringing non-ceramic artists from equity-deserving communities into the world of ceramic surface design. Through workshops, studio sessions, and a culminating exhibition at Gallery 1065 from July 24 to August 2,...

My guest today is British ceramic sculptor Paul Smith, who has worked full-time from his studio in North Derbyshire since 1998. Paul is known for his bold, semi-abstract animal sculptures, combining simplified forms with expressive, richly layered surfaces. Inspired by ancient sculpture and pottery, Inuit and folk art, and his lifelong fascination with the natural world, Paul is especially drawn t...

This week we're joined by Mary Fox, a self-taught BC potter who turned a lifetime of "learning at the school of hard knocks" into an acclaimed artistic career. Mary shares her journey from functional pottery to exploratory art, her approach to surface design and colour, and why she created the Legacy Project Apprentice Program — a rare two-year apprenticeship helping young Canadian potters become...

In this episode, Bob Acton joined by interdisciplinary artist Kristine Zingeler. Kristine works across photography, collage, drawing, painting, and sculpture, creating subtle but powerful work that explores interconnectedness, time, and the constant state of change in both humanity and the natural world. Her practice begins with close observation and collecting, giving new significance to rocks, f...

This week on Colour and Ceramics , Bob Acton is joined by Sarah Pike, one of Canada’s top ceramic artists. Sarah is a full-time potter based in Fernie, British Columbia, where she makes functional slab-built pottery from her home studio. Her work carries a wonderful sense of movement and personality, shaped by the mountain landscape around her and inspired by antique tinware, textured metal, and o...

In this episode of the Colour and Ceramics Podcast @colourandceramics I @bobacton speak with Calgary potter Teresa Wyss @teresawysspottery about her striking functional ceramics, made with porcelain stoneware and decorated using hand-carved sgraffito. Inspired by wildlife, landscape, and the vivid colours of nature, her work has a bold, graphic presence that really stands out. We also talked about...

Today on the Colour and Ceramics Podcast, host Bob Acton shares his interview with Robbin Harris . Robbin Harris is a crystalline ceramic artist based in Calgary, Alberta, whose creative path reflects both resilience and reinvention. A former jazz musician, Robbin turned to clay after a life-changing accident ended his drumming career, discovering ceramics in 2017 under the mentorship of Dave Sett...

This week Bob Acton @bobacton joined by ceramic and installation artist Heidi McKenzie , whose work uses clay and image as archive—exploring ancestry, migration, race, and belonging through powerful abstract portraiture. From Reclaimed: Indo-Caribbean HerStories to the Indian Ceramics Triennale in Delhi, Heidi’s work reminds us that ceramics can hold memory, heal, and tell the stories history forg...

I’m thrilled to welcome Gillian Boon to the podcast, an Alberta-based ceramic artist whose work carries the pulse of the ocean, even from the heart of the prairies. Inspired by coral reefs, tide pools, and the intense blues and greens of Grassi Lakes, Gillian’s ceramics explore movement, surface, and a deep sense of place. We talk about making ocean-driven work far from the sea, the role of teachi...

This week I’m @bobacton joined on the Colour and Ceramics Podcast @colourandceramics by Australian ceramic artist Maricelle Olivier , whose work is deeply shaped by memory, landscape, and line. Drawing inspiration from South Africa’s Kruger National Park, a place tied to generations of family history, Maricelle meticulously draws and etches every line into her ceramic surfaces. The result is a lay...

Ceramic artist Shae Bishop joins me @bobacton on the Colour and Ceramics Podcast @colourandceramics this week for a rich conversation about material, curiosity, and community. Shae’s practice moves between ceramics, textiles, and the body, shaped by residencies at places like the Archie Bray Foundation and Kohler Arts/Industry, and by years embedded in craft communities from North Carolina to Japa...

Meet Jane Sheppard , a UK-based ceramic artist whose hand-built, smoke-fired vessels echo ancient artefacts and the sacred threads of human experience. Her award-winning work blends ritual, memory, and earth-rooted simplicity—inviting us to pause, feel, and reconnect. You can find Jane via her website here: https://www.janesheppard.me/ and her Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/rev_jan...

Today, Bob Acton introduces us to South African–born ceramic artist Susan Trimble who creates joyful, nature-inspired work from her Brisbane studio. After a long career in graphic design, she discovered clay in 2020 and quickly developed a distinctive practice shaped by painting, mark-making, and mentorship under artist Jane du Rand. A 2024 solo exhibitor and finalist in the North Queensland Ceram...

Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Nicole Windblad , the creative force behind the Calgary Art Market. Nicole isn’t just curating a show; she’s shaping opportunities. As someone who runs one of the most respected art markets in Alberta, she understands what makes artists stand out, what helps them succeed, and yes—what can hold them back. She, and her family, have many years of experience oper...

Today, Bob and Zana interview ceramic artist and designer Emily Holmes on the Colour and Ceramics Podcast, who joins us from Los Angeles to talk about her practice of transforming familiar, textile-like forms into ceramic keepsakes. Emily’s background in Art Therapy at the Art Institute of Chicago shaped her early relationship with clay as a tool for healing, and later led her to open her studio f...

Today's podcast introduces Peter Beard. Peter first discovered clay as a kid, and that early fascination never really left him. While studying industrial and furniture design at Ravensbourne College of Art in London, he found himself spending more and more time in the ceramics department. After graduating, he helped set up a pottery in Scotland making domestic stoneware, and not long after, opened...

I’m excited to welcome Miae Kim —a London-based ceramic artist originally from South Korea. After a career in animation and VFX in L.A., she fell in love with clay at Glendale College and never looked back. Miae is known for two threads: sculptural pieces inspired by whales—symbols of wisdom and endurance—and work that blends Korean motifs and Hangul with Western aesthetics. She’s a 2024 London Po...

Today we’re stepping into the strange, beautiful world of Canadian sculptor David Altmejd. Born in Montreal in 1974 and now based in Los Angeles, David is obsessed with what makes a person a person—the body, yes, but also the mind, imagination, and whatever we mean by ‘soul.’ His figures often feel like they’re falling apart and coming together at the same time, opening little doorways into places...

We’ve got an exciting show today talking with the wonderful Carol Long — a ceramic artist whose work blooms with the influence of plant and animal life. Infused with joy, whimsy, and a deep connection to nature, Carol’s intricate, organic forms reflect her Kansas farm roots and a lifelong curiosity for the beauty around her. Her pieces can be found in galleries and museums across the U.S., and she...