Bobby Silverman on ceramic design and the relevance of the traditional pot
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Bobby Silverman. Throughout his multifaceted career he has been an educator, designer and maker. He currently manages Alsio Design, a Brooklyn based company that produces ceramic tile for residential and commercial markets.
Tara Wilson on putting down roots and sustaining a career
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with wood fire potter Tara Wilson. The fly ash patterns on her functional pottery often reference the worn surfaces of geologic formations while her altered forms display a sense of volume often found in the animal world.
Mel Griffin on the roots of creativity and the animal side of human behavior
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Mel Griffin. Her functional pottery and large scale tile work use animal and landscape imagery to talk about human behavior and the way we relate to our surroundings.
Chris Pickett on utility vs. function and the power of habit
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Chris Pickett. His slab built pottery consists of inflated sculptural volumes decorated with saturated colors and low relief patterning. He says of the work, "With the appearance of being freshly constructed, the fullness of form allows these vessels to evoke a sense of play and ease. The generous volumes are metaphors for our own bodies that reference both the comforts of physical intimacy as well as childlike items, such as toys and stuffed animals."
Eva Champagne on the many interpretations of her hybrid sculptural vessels
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Eva Champagne. Her hybridized biomorphic sculptures highlight the infinity variety and unifying order that occur within the natural world.
Courtney Murphy on her approach to pattern and form
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with potter Courtney Murphy. Her functional earthenware draws from a variety of influences including "simplified abstractions of nature, children's artwork, folk art, mid-century modern forms and shapes, as well as textiles, patterns and historical pots." She maintains a studio in Missoula, MT were she is an artist-in-residence at the Clay Studio of Missoula.
Mel Griffin, Mathew McConnell, and Peter Christian Johnson talk about climbing the career ladder
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I am featuring a panel discussion on ceramic career paths with Mel Griffin, Mathew McConnell, and Peter Christian Johnson. The conversation starts by questioning the premise of an established career ladder in ceramics and evolves into a discussion about success, living a mobile life, and creating your own career path.
Sean O'Connell on developing self critique
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with potter Sean O'Connell. I met Sean in 2010 while he was making five hundred plates for the Salad Days Residency at Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts. He focused on a lobed plate form as a canvas and set out to experiment with hundreds of solutions for surface decoration. I admired his methodical approach to such a monumental assignment. I continue to see the same dedication to visual inquiry in his current body of work.
George McCauley on developing a unique artistic voice
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with artist and Renaissance man George McCauley. Over his 45 year career he has made pottery, mixed media sculpture, and metal work, as well as being a cowboy, carpenter and movie producer. His self described "casual" approach to art making highlights the emotive quality of gestural mark making and loose brushwork.
Adam Field on using social media to build community
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with potter Adam Field. Based in Durango, CO Adam produces a wide variety of functional ceramics ranging from intricately carved porcelain forms to massive Korean Onggi jars. He says of the work, "I am fascinated with antique artifacts, the way they can speak of mastery of lost peoples, places, and cultures. This inspires me to create works that both radiate history and capture my own place and time."
Matt Kelleher on escaping the boundaries of an artist statement
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with potter Matt Kelleher. He designs utilitarian ware with a keen eye for the architecture and edge quality of his hand built forms. He combines layers of slip with the soda firing process to create rich translucent surfaces that capture the mood and density of the Western NC landscape he now calls home.
Merran Esson on capturing the passage of time within an object
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist and educator Merran Esson. Her recent body of work springs from a two week excursion she took to a remote part of western New South Wales, Australia. She says of the trip, "I have always had an affinity with the land, having spent my childhood on a farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, however, the geology and vastness of this recent exploration has brought a more organic resolve to this work. My interest in the collision between man and nature continues."
Vipoo Srivilasa on the gallery system and breaking into the international art market
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with sculptor Vipoo Srivilasa. After immigrating from Thailand to Australia Vipoo has used ceramic sculpture to explore the similarities between his native and adoptive cultures. Over the past 16 years Vipoo has developed a body of porcelain figurines that mixes the blue and white traditions of East Asia with contemporary symbols of Australian identity.
Jill Foote-Hutton on art as a catalyst for social engagement
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist and curator Jill Foote-Hutton. Her totemic sculptures reference gods, monsters, and heros.
David Hiltner on corn as a symbol for commodization and the great outdoors
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist David Hiltner. His functional pottery and sculpture references the farming landscapes of the midwestern United States.
Julia Galloway on the role ceramic history plays in her life as an educator
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Julia Galloway. Her functional porcelain pottery spans a wide range of subject matter and decorative motifs from architecture to cloud forms.
The Best of Season One of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast
To celebrate the one year anniversary of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I am featuring a compilation of excerpts from season one of the podcast. While all of season one's episodes are unique and enlightening in their own way, these clips raise topics that I haven't been able to shake out of my head. The episode features excerpts from interviews with Matt Long, Chandra Debuse, Christin Johansson, Nina Hole, Willow Neilson and Jason Burnett. I am eternally grateful to all the artists who took part in Season one of the podcast.
Emily Reason on the nuts and bolts of running a pottery studio
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with potter Emily Reason. She is the quintessential "potter's potter" making beautifully designed utilitarian ware for the table.
Carole Epp on developing two bodies of work and the Musing about Mud Blog
This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Carole Epp. Her sculpture addresses social issues such as consumerism through the reconfigured forms of kitch figurines.