Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Matt Wedel. He uses a gestural sculpting style and vibrant glazes to create ambitious large-scale works around the themes of the figure, landscape, and what he calls “Flower Trees”. In the interview we talk about keeping up with the speed of his imagination, understanding color and surface, and the place of ceramics in the art world.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have Linda Christianson’s closing lecture from the Cultural Confluence Wood Fire Symposium, held in Helena, MT in October 2018. She talks about the human preoccupation with fire and how that is being replaced by the back lit screens of modern technology. She also addresses problems that face the field of wood firing including gender inequity and resource depletion.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a panel on nonacademic paths for learning wood firing featuring Robin Dupont, Jody Johnstone, Scott Parady, Martin Tagseth, and Tara Wilson. The panelists discuss a wide range of personal experience from Johnstone’s time in a traditional Japanese apprenticeship to Parady establishing his Cobb Mountain Art & Ecology Project to teach wood firing and ecology

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a panel on education featuring John Neely, Matthew Blakely, Pascal Geoffroy, Sandy Lockwood, and Linda Lid. The panelists discuss how they came to learn wood firing and the current status of the firing technique in educational institutions in Australia, the United States, and Western Europe.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a panel on applied aesthetics. Denny Gerwin, Linda Christianson, Shirobey Kobayashi, Trevor Dunn, and Neil Hoffman talk about the objects and experiences that have shaped their aesthetics.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from Daniel Lafferty on building wood kilns based on Islamic architecture. He uses the squinch arch, which allows him to improvise kiln characteristics to meet the specific needs of the user. In his talk he discusses building without form work, the pros and cons of burying the majority of the kiln underground, and building with diatomaceous earth bricks.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from noted physicist and ceramic artist Hideo Mabuchi. He is currently working on a joint research project with Utah State University to better understand the behavior of iron in atmospheric kilns. In this lecture Hideo talks about the concept of vital materiality and his research into the unique colors that form when iron-bearing clays are reduction cooled. Hideo is a Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2000 for his work using optical methods to understand quantum states.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from Catherine White. She talks about the intuitive process, where ideas come from and how they shift as they come to fruition. She also describes the development of her dust prints and the visual relationship between ceramic form and written language.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a mega panel discussion on the state of wood firing around the world. We start by talking about gender dynamics in the artists home countries before moving onto the environmental impact of firing and finding one’s voice in the process. The panel features Lindsay Oesterritter (USA), Nancy Fuller (SCT), Robin Dupont (CAN), Zac Chalmers (AUS), Tristan Chambaud-Heraud (FRA), Shikamaru Takeshita (JPN), John Neely (USA), and Linda Lid (NOR).

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from Scott Ross about building large scale sculpture for wood kilns. He builds his work by ram casting laminated layers of solid clay, which he then manipulates into geometric forms. In the lecture he discusses ram casting methods and the logistics of moving a 900-pound piece into a wood kiln.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from John Neely about the evolution of the Train Kiln. Neely developed this unique style of wood burning kiln to achieve similar aesthetics to Japanese Anagama. Neely’s design however is easier to build and more environmentally friendly, generating heavy ash surfaces using less wood and man power than a tube kiln.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from George McCauley. Over his 50-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. In this lecture he talks about his experience with low fire wood firing.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from Sandy Lockwood. A gifted clay worker for many decades, Sandy discusses how morphogenic making and bodily learning can be a foundation for understanding the practice of wood firing. The lecture was given at the Cultural Confluence Wood Fire Symposium, held in Helena, MT in October 2018.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture from Josh Deweese on the history of wood firing in Montana. During his talk he recounts stories of historic Montana kilns and the influential artists who fired them. The lecture was given as the keynote speech at the Cultural Confluence Wood Fire Symposium, held in Helena, MT in October 2018.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Mark Campden. He makes two distinct lines of functional pottery at his studio in Co Kilkenny, IE. The first a majolica line featuring decoration pulled from his surrounding landscape, and the second a lusterware line featuring dense geometric patterns based on fish, butterflies and other fauna. In our interview we talk about the influence of his father Edgar Campden, who worked at Aldermaston pottery with Alan Caiger Smith for over thirty years, and the science behind making reduced luster pottery.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with members of the Society of Cork Potters: Sara Roberts, Charlie Mahon, Darren Francis Cassidy. The group started in the 1970’s with the aim to create the exchange of information between ceramic artists working in County Cork. In our interview we talk about making a living in rural Ireland, the value of working with an artist group, and dealing with the effects of the Great Financial Crisis.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Mary Gallagher. She opened the Blue Egg Gallery in Wexford in 2011 and shows a variety of craft artists from Ireland and abroad. In our interview we talk about the Norman history of Wexford, the state of craft in Ireland and how she uses large art fairs, like Ceramic Art London, to help her curate shows for the gallery.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Susan O’Byrne. Susan creates ceramic animal sculptures that convey the complex emotional landscape of human relationships. She sculpts around a wire armature using layers of paper clay before surfacing the forms with mosaic-like patterns. In the interview we talk about her building process, creating a life in Glasgow Scotland, and how she used animals to represent family history in her traveling exhibition “The Five Sisters”.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Gus Mabelson. In 1991 Gus came to Thomastown, Ireland to start a one year throwing course that would provide trained workers for the booming Irish ceramic field. Twenty-seven years later he continues to shape generations of Irish artists with the course. In the interview we talk about the education principles that he prioritized when setting up the program, generating momentum for craft in a rural location, and hosting Prince Charles for a visit to the school.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Tina Byrne and Elaine Riordan. Both are talented ceramic sculptors that are dedicated advocates for Irish ceramics. Tina is the editor of Ceramics Ireland magazine and an organizer of the International Festival. Elaine is a member of the Ceramics Ireland organization, helping to organize the festival, as well as year-long programing that supports visibility of Irish artists. In our interview we talk about their recent bodies of work, the development of the Ceramics Ireland magazine, and how Irish ceramic artists are gaining more visibility in the global ceramic world.