Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Chris Weaver. After rediscovering his grandmother’s Iron, he started making teapots that referenced its angular form. This has led to twenty-five years of exploring the form through a variety of firing techniques and forming methods. In our interview we talk about incorporating wooden parts into his functional ceramics, keeping the teapot form fresh, and making tools to create specific marks in clay.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Michael O’Donnell. A longtime resident of the Coromandel region, Michael is an environmental advocate that uses ceramic sculpture to tell the story of the local ecology. His role as artist, story teller and spiritual seeker has been spurred on in defiance of multinational mining corporations that are working in the region. In our interview we talk about the influence of Barry Brickell, creativity as an antidote to depression, and Maori spiritual beliefs about water.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Duncan Shearer. His interest in atmospheric firing has led him to build kilns from nontraditional materials, such as wood blocks, telephone directories and ice. These performance firings captivate audiences and have informed the kilns he has built at his studio in Paeroa, NZ. In our interview we talk about firing as a communal activity, the geologic diversity of the Coromandel Range, and his interest in the Albarello form used in medieval Europe.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Greg Barron. In the 1970’s he started building his own ceramic processing equipment to make plastic clays for use in his studio. He applied this same ingenuity to build an energy efficient home and studio in Whangarei, NZ, that is made from compressed adobe and other ceramic materials. In our interview we talk about the effect deregulating ceramic imports had on New Zealand studio potters in the mid 1980’s, how his priorities have shifted with age and experience, and his do-it-yourself philosophy for running a business.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Jack Troy, Carolanne Currier and Amy Burk. We came together at the home studio of Jack and Carolanne to talk about their careers in ceramics. We had a wide-ranging discussion on wood kiln technology, the founding of the ceramic program at Juniata College, Jack’s passion for writing and the ceramic history of the region.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Cynthia Bringle. Since moving to Penland, NC in 1970 she has been a pillar of the art community, influencing many generations of artists and helping the Penland School of Craft to become a mecca for ceramics. In our interview we talk about educating your audience on the value of handmade, the evolution of studio pottery since the 1960’s and the growth of the Penland School.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with King Houndekpinkou. King is a Franco-Beninese artist, based in Paris, who makes sculptural vessels that are covered with rich amorphous surfaces created by layering slips and glazes. In 2016 he started the Terra Jumelles project matching pottery centers in Se, Benin with partners in Bizen, Japan. This sister city format aims to create cultural exchange between two regions with abundant historical and contemporary ceramic activity. In our interview we talk about the influence of video games, animism and rituals, and Japanese ceramic culture.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Keith Brymer Jones. He started his career with an apprenticeship at Harefield Pottery in London, where he learned high production methods of producing hand made pottery. After learning the business, he started his own pottery selling through major retailers like Barney’s of New York and Heals of London. The Keith Brymer Jones brand has now expanded to include production centers in India and China, which help supply worldwide markets for commercial ceramics. In addition to his studio work Keith is an expert judge on the BBC’s Great Pottery Throw Down.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Kelly Austin and Joey Burns. Both are emerging artists that are establishing themselves in the Australian ceramic community. Austin is based in Hobart, Tasmania, where she teaches at TasTAFE and maintains an active studio practice. Burns splits time as the studio technician for the Ernabella Arts Center in Ernabella, South Australia and a studio artist in Gundaroo, New South Wales. In our interview we talk about their educational paths, working in indigenous communities and developing multiple bodies of work.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Owen Rye. An elder statesman of the Australian ceramic community, Owen has made significant contributions through his research into wood firing and his time teaching at Monash University. Before starting his studio practice he spent ten years documenting the ceramic practices of Pakistani potters laying a foundation for a PHD focusing on versatile porcelain bodies. In the interview we talk about his time in Pakistan, the need for ceramic history in today’s universities and the development of the woodfire community in Australia.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Glenn Barkley. He served as the head curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia from 2008–14 and curator of the University of Wollongong Art Collection 1996–2007. During these years he developed a curatorial style that questioned art world hierarchies by showing artists outside the mainstream, focusing specifically on giving voice to marginalized populations. For the last four years Glenn has focused on his own ceramic practice making work that references popular music, gardening, and ceramic history. His vessels are covered with sprigs and obsessive mark-making that are highlighted with saturated pastel colors. In the interview we talk about his philosophy of curation, the role of ceramics in major Australian collections, and his current body of work.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Daniel Johnston. Based in Seagrove, NC, Daniel is an compelling mix between a traditionally trained potter and a contemporary artist who makes ceramic vessels to utilize their conceptual potential. He studied under NC pottery luminaries J.B. Cole and Mark Hewitt before traveling to Thailand to learn large vessel making. His recent work is installation-based and features numerous jars that are arranged within gallery spaces to modify the viewers perception of light and scale. In the interview we talk about learning to communicate verbally to combat dyslexia, studying big pot making in Thailand, and his One Hundred Pot project.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with figure sculptor Tip Toland. In the interview we talk about her 2014 Portland Art Museum exhibition, which featured Tanzanian children that are both revered and persecuted because they have Albinism. For the exhibition Toland created twelve larger than life size busts that show the complex emotional landscape of persecuted peoples.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the second of two interviews with John Gill. In this episode we continue with a conversation about the lineage of teachers at Alfred and discuss how John’s dyslexia has influenced his creative problem solving.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the first of two interviews with John Gill. John is one of the truly unique thinkers and educators in American ceramics. Gill started teaching at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred in the mid 1980’s and has helped shape a generation of ceramic artists pushing the boundaries of the field. In our interview we talk about his early influences and teaching philosophy, developing a personal sense of touch and becoming a “visual journalist”

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a panel discussion with Tucker Claxton, Bridget Fairbank, Emmett Freeman, Amanda Bury, and Colby Charpenteir. The group are current resident artists from the Morean Center for Clay in St. Petersburg, FL. Our discussion covers a wide range of topics including their research interests and making it work in St. Petersburg.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Jan Richardson. From 1977 to 2006 she ran Windy Meadows Pottery specializing in collectible ceramic homes. The business started as a creative way to supplement her family’s income, but quickly grew into a business with 50 employees and a loyal collector base. In the interview we talk about keeping a production line fresh through yearly change, upscaling a small business through a distributed labor force, and knowing when to downscale after a boom.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Tracy Gamble. After a long career as an actor and then librarian, Gamble now focuses on ceramics full time in her role as studio potter for the American Art Clay Company. When not working in her Plainville, IN studio she teaches workshops on glazing techniques at art centers and conferences. In the interview we talk about the value of repetition in learning, working for Amaco, and how to work a trade show without losing your mind.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Jerilyn Virden and Lindsay Rogers. Virden makes dynamic sculptural vessels by bending slabs into shapes that look as if they have been eroded from canyon walls. Rogers uses local clays from the Appalachian region to create functional tableware with sharply contrasting white and black areas of geometric decoration. In the interview we talk about their time working together in Jerilyn’s studio in western North Carolina, developing successful methods for displaying ceramic art, and Roger's position as coordinator of the clay studio for the annual Arrowmont Pentaculum.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with jeweler and podcast host Sarah Rachel Brown. In our interview we talk about the benefits of the Penland School of Craft’s Core Fellowship, the concept behind her podcast Perceived Value, and why it’s important to demystify the financial and social realities of working artists.