The Mud Peddlers: Ceramic Art Behind the Scenes

Lindsey and Donte go head-to-head for the title in this EXTREME podcasting experience! Donte swaggers to the table with Squarespace, his trusty website-builder and selling platform. Lindsey strides up with Etsy, the easy – but controversial – marketplace website.  They swing at each other, comparing each website with such ferocious topics as ease of use, fee structures, flexibility, and public per...

Lindsey and Donte debrief after an exciting – and exhausting – experience at NCECA (the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts). Between telling stories of the people they met and the mugs they traded during the 4-day clay extravaganza, they discuss what they each wanted out of NCECA (and if they got it), what NCECA has to offer for new vs. experienced ceramic artists, what it feels li...

Lindsey and Donte take a small break from pure clay talk to catch up on an exciting past two weeks – and answer questions you didn’t know you were burning to ask. Like, “What’s the name of Donte’s brand new first-born?” Or, “What tastes like a french fry but is not a french fry?” Or, “What free and awesome clay event is Lindsey going to be demonstrating at on Saturday the 19th?” Ok, yeah that last...

Seed Studio w/ Sioux Bean With Donte out of the studio with some very exciting news, Lindsey and special guest Sioux Bean sit down to continue The Mud Peddlers pre-NCECA interview series.  Sioux shares his earliest memories with clay, how his conceptions about art and sculpture underwent a massive evolution over the years, his rise in the food and fine dining industry, his experiences with higher...

Lindsey and Donte discuss all things feet…on pottery. They share the pros and cons of trimming or not, discuss the functional and stylistic considerations around feet, and even get into some thoughts about pottery design in general and what makes a piece interesting to them.  Whether you’re a new potter/ceramic artist and you’re having trouble getting your feet “just right” or have had your hands...

“It wasn’t dirt, it was gold to me.” In this alchemical interview, Lindsey and Donte talk personal transformation, art resources, and community with Anna Morales. Anna is a ceramic artist and Public Engagement Coordinator at Verge Center for the Arts in Sacramento. She shares her experience catching the “clay bug”, the career path she chose that took her to Verge, and why you– yes you– should com...

Lindsey and Donte chat with fellow artist Ianna Frisby about the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) convention coming to Sacramento this March 16th-19th. Ianna introduces them to the world of her work and shares her journey pushing boundaries and exploring the depths of her creative well – from clay to hot glue. They also discuss the art scene in Sacramento, and how you can...

Lindsey and Donte share some tips for marketing an online shop update. We just finished up the most marketing-heavy time of year. It’s challenging enough just making everything you want to sell – developing a strategy to let people know it’s out there can feel overwhelming. So, in this discussion, Lindsey and Donte share some tips that might be of help to the advertising-adverse. They also broaden...

Lindsey and Donte reflect on this past year, and begin shaping plans for 2022. They chat about the goals they met, the goals they stand to face in the new year, and the goals that will carry over into next year – and why some got checked off and others did not. There’s talk of glazing adventures, troubles with stickers, and the unexpected growth(s) that added something special to their year. Oh an...

In this extra *craze-y* episode, Lindsey and Donte talk all things crazing. Ever see tiny hairline cracks in your pottery? That's what crazing is. There's more that goes into it, so Lindsey asks Donte all about what crazing is, why it happens, how to fix it, and why it's a problem in the first place.  Consider this the sister episode to the video Donte recently posted on his channel, so if you're...

Lindsey and Donte discuss how they plan their content -- both for their social media and for the items they make. There's talk of what events on their calendar shape their practice, what's unique about creating content as ceramic artists, and why what they share on social media corresponds -- or doesn't -- with their day-to-day studio life. How about you? Do you meticulously plan out your content,...

Lindsey and Donte talk pricing...again. In their first episode on pricing (way back in episode 5) they talked about how to price your work if you’re just beginning to sell your ceramics. In this episode, they share how they've navigated questions they've run into as they've gained more experience selling their work -- questions you might have as well. Questions like: How often do you raise your pr...

Lindsey and Donte discuss how they practice sustainability in our studios. They share some of the biggest baby steps they've taken to reduce, reuse, and recycle -- whether that means literally recycling clay, or finding creative ways to legitimize how much ice cream they wanna eat. There’s talk of where they get their post-consumer shipping materials, what time of day they fire their work, and the...

Lindsey and Donte discuss the idea of learning through copying. When is it ok to copy someone's work? How have Lindsey and Donte learning through copying? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerdy mugs, creature sculptures, and cafe dishware. She has been working in clay since 2007, and doi...

Donte asks Lindsey about her soon-to-debut Patreon. With hopes that sharing her process will help others considering creating a Patreon, she discusses how she set up her tiers, how she navigated choice paralysis, and how she and Donte differ when it comes to starting new endeavors.   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerdy mugs, creature sc...

Lindsey picks Donte's brain about Patreon. How he set up his patron tiers, what were some of the biggest challenges when he first set it up, and how he's balanced the demands and rewards of running it. And some exciting news about The Mud Peddlers...   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerdy mugs, creature sculptures, and cafe dishware. She...

Lindsey and Donte discuss what habits have helped them out the most in their studio lives. We learn where Lindsey hoards her inspiration like a clay-covered dragon, how Donte's other career as a chef influences his wheel-throwing, and how to make sure your future self doesn't hate your past self so much that they time-travel to take revenge for your folly.   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an...

Lindsey and Donte answer two listener questions about what is vitrification, and what are our favorite resources when we want to learn or troubleshoot. We're always happy to hear what you're curious about, so thanks for sending these in!   Recommendations list for reference: Artists Helping Artists Wheel Talk The Potter's Cast Washington Street Studios Digital Fire Ave Rivera Sue MacLeod John Brit...

Lindsey and Donte share tips for folks who are or will be working in a community studio space for the first time, and a couple tidbits for folks new to ceramics as a whole. Some of this may seem basic, but as two former TA's/studio tech assistants, Lindsey and Donte have seen it all...more than once.   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerd...

Lindsey and Donte discuss productivity. From weather to emotional downswings, they share what impacts their ability to be as effective as they want to be, and how they navigate it. (Just a note, this episode was recorded in early June, so references to "last month" refer to May.)   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerdy mugs, creature scul...

Lindsey and Donte share how they started making their own glazes and some tips to help you get started making your own too. Why make your own glazes? What tools do you need to get started? How much water do you add? What do all those chemicals do? Am I even ready to start making glazes? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? This episode helps you with, well, *most* of those question...

Lindsey and Donte talk about the year so far: how far along they are in meeting the goals they set in January, and what they're aiming for between now and the end of 2021.   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerdy mugs, creature sculptures, and cafe dishware. She has been working in clay since 2007, and doing so professionally since 2014. H...

Lindsey and Donte discuss gatekeeping. They define it, discuss it, and muse over how it shows up in the ceramic art world and in their own lives. And no, they don't mean the kind of gatekeeping related to the escape of Ulfric Stormcloak from Skyrim's capitol...   About Your Hosts Lindsey M Dillon is an award-winning professional ceramic artist who makes nerdy mugs, creature sculptures, and cafe di...

Lindsey and Donte talk about to slow down -- or speed up -- the drying process. There's talk of trash bags and water-dunking, fans and space heaters, and how you can prepare your piece for a long life free of cracks.   Find Lindsey: Website Instagram Facebook Etsy   Find Donte: Website and online store Youtube Instagram Facebook Patreon

Lindsey and Donte chat with fellow geek and business-savvy ceramic artist Ave Rivera. There's talk of income streams, finding your people, expanding into Youtube and Patreon, learning business skills, convention goals, and also do you have a moment to discuss the great and powerful Bullet Journal? Website www.averivera.com Instagram @averiverastudio Youtube Ave Rivera   Ave's Podcast Recommendatio...