Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: A pottery and ceramic art podcast

Chelsea McMaster returns to the show to talk about her research into Antiguan ceramic traditions. In 2024 she received a Fulbright-National Geographic Award for her project Wadadli Folk, which aims to preserve the techniques and histories of Antigua's traditional potters. In our interview we talk about makers who continue to craft pots for cooking, the connection to West African techniques, and ho...

Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene join me today to talk about their new podcast The History of Ceramics . We discuss Adelaide Alsop Robineau's life and her masterwork the Scarab Vase, along with how her generation helped create the studio pottery movement in the United States. The podcast is available from your favorite podcast player, but I recommend watching on YouTube or Heni Talks, where yo...

This week's episode features a live show taped at the Workhouse Arts Center with Sarah Berry, Lilianne Milgrom , Kessler Ulberg , and Jason Alexander . We discuss their work in the 16th Annual Workhouse Clay International , the art scene in Northern Virginia, and the history of arts at the center, which was a prison for over ninety years.   Have you checked out the Tales from the Vault podcast fee...

This week we return to a series featuring artists from the 16 th Annual Workhouse Clay International. Guillermo Guardia joins me to talk about how his experience with immigrating to the United States and teaching in public schools has shaped his American Huaco series. In the series he decorates pre-Columbian ceramics vessels from Peru with images highlighting political and social issues.   Have yo...

Eric Rempe has been teaching high school ceramics for over 20 years. In our interview we talk about building the infrastructure and curriculum for Coronado High School in California and the Princeton Day School in New Jersey. We also discuss his exploration of form, which has been influenced by color blindness, and his role in cofounding the Princeton Pottery Festival. Along with eleven other arti...

This week we are continuing a series featuring artists I chose for the 16 th Annual Workhouse Clay International. I was honored to jury the show this year and wanted to highlight two emerging artists Jillian Mae Seversky and Josh Goering . In our interview we discuss their approach to sculpture and pottery, and how they refine ideas though a body of work.   To coincide with the exhibition, I'll be...

This week we start a series featuring artists chosen for the 16 th Annual Workhouse Clay International. I was honored to jury the show this year and wanted to highlight a selection of the artists that submitted exceptional work to the exhibition. Today I talk with Chelsea McMaster and Stephen Earp . In our interview we discuss the technical and conceptual aspects of their studio practices and the...

Sam Briegel layers slip cast, printed, and painted fabric patterns on elegant porcelain forms. In our interview we talk about the vessel as a metaphor for the body, the challenges of working with halloysite clays, and how her decorative process has become more refined over time. Sam will be presenting new work as part of this year's Princeton Pottery Festival happening May 2 nd and 3 rd 2026. www....

This week on the podcast we return to our series More than a Maker, which focuses on the intersection of mental health and creativity. Today's guest Mike Griffin is based in Naples, NY where he has dual careers as a golf pro and ceramic artist. In our interview we talk about his hand building process, the ways creativity counter balances ADHD, and dealing with self-doubt in the studio. Mike is als...

After starting her career as a wholesale potter Erin Lambers moved back to her home town and bought a ceramic supply store. In our interview we talk about her philosophy of blending education and sales, the practical aspects of running a store with 6,000 products, and how to set up a business for the long haul. Lambers has run Cornell Studio Supply for the last fifteen years, and the store celebra...

After many years as a functional potter Lisa Naples has embraced figurative and nonobjective sculpture. In our interview we discuss how she anthropomorphizes animals to show shifting relationships and identities, as well as the use of gold as a way to embody the divine in her recent exhibition Grounded in Gold . The exhibition was on display this fall at the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, PA....

Beth Lo and Julia Galloway are artists and educators that have helped shape ceramic education at the University of Montana. In our interview we talk about their approach to narrative, moving between bodies of work, and the value of taking on long term projects. They will be co-teaching a workshop next month at the Morean Workshop Space in St. Petersburg, FL. www.bethlo.com   juliagalloway.com more...

David Eichelberger's career has included time as a studio potter, professor, designer, and community educator. Today we focus on his personal studio practice hand-building serving platters and his role as designer for Two/One Ceramics alongside his wife, artist Elisa Di Feo. In our interview we discuss how working with bisque ring molds allows him to bring a new level of attention to his forms, as...

Wayne Higby and Benjamin Evans co-curated the retrospective History: A Legacy in Motion, Alfred Ceramic Art 1900 – 2025 , which showcases twenty-six artists that have taught ceramics at Alfred University. In our interview we talk about Charles Binns and the early days of Alfred ceramics, as well as the contributions the school and its faculty have made to the development of studio ceramics in Amer...

Aysha Peltz stretches and darts porcelain into volumetric forms, which she then enhances with glazes that pool and break off high points. In today's interview we talk about pushing porcelain to its limits, learning to self-edit, and the symbiotic relationship between her studio practice and teaching at Bennington College, VT. We also discuss her role in cocurating The Old Church Pottery Show, happ...

Josh Copus's career started in ceramics with a focus on functional pottery made with wild North Carolina clays and wood firing. In recent years his creativity has evolved into many forms of entrepreneurship, including hotel and restaurant ownership and founding an artist collective. In our interview we talk about his roots in Floyd, VA and how studio ceramics helped him understand the principles o...

This week we have a special two-part interview with renowned artist and educator David MacDonald. His large functional vessels are carved with intricate patterns that highlight and celebrate African heritage. For part two of my interview with David we talk about finding an entry into African aesthetics, the formal aspects of his repeating patterns, and how the use of functional objects in daily ri...

This week we have a special two-part interview with renowned artist and educator David MacDonald. His large functional vessels are carved with intricate patterns that highlight and celebrate African heritage. In part one of our interview David talks about discovering ceramics at Hampton University in the 1960's, the influence of Joseph Gilliard, and his early-career art that reflected the social c...

Susan Dewsnap uses resists to paint seemingly endless curves that move and undulate around her forms. In our interview we talk about digesting visual influences, her exploration of line weight in painting, and the ceramic scene around Maine, where she is a faculty member at Bates College. We also discuss the upcoming exhibition of the E. John Bullard Collection at the Bates Museum of Art , which o...

Rose Katz trained as a studio potter before working in industrial ceramics for a decade. In our interview we talk about problem solving for large scale production, how factories deal with switching materials when mines close, and cofounding Ceramic Materials Workshop along with her husband Matt. Rose is also a cohost of For Flux Sake, with Matt and Kathy King, which just started its fifth season....

Ruth Easterbrook's functional forms are decorated with layers of inlayed glazes that melt into floral patterns. In our interview we talk about her recently finished residency at The Clay Studio, understanding her capacity as a maker, and using repetition to refine the color relationships in her patterns. www.rutheasterbrook.com Thank you to The Clay Studio for letting Ruth and I record this interv...

Julie Wiggins carves crisp floral drawings into her forms creating patterns that are inlayed with cobalt pigment. We start our interview comparing musical improvisation to structured play in the studio, along with her love of the band Phish, whom she has seen over 250 times since the mid-1990s. We also discuss traveling for international residencies and the role she took on after Hurricane Helene...

Gillan Doty is an atmospheric potter based in Asheville, NC. Doty lost his studio to catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Helene and is part of the vibrant arts community that is rebuilding in the area. In our interview we talk about how recent residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation and The Clay Studio shifted his aesthetic as he worked with new kilns and materials. www.gillandoty.com   Today...

Gillan Doty is an atmospheric potter based in Asheville, NC. Doty lost his studio to catastrophic flooding during Hurricane Helene and is part of the vibrant arts community that is rebuilding in the area. In our interview we talk about how recent residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation and The Clay Studio shifted his aesthetic as he worked with new kilns and materials. www.gillandoty.com   Today...

Nancy Servis is a curator, historian, and writer who has spent decades shining light on California and the clay artists that work there. In our interview we talk about the value of regional galleries in educating the public, artists she thinks need more attention in California history, and her experience curating this year's 80 th Scripps College Ceramic National. www.servisarts.com.   I have a fe...