Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview that Kate Fisher conducted with ceramic artist Mikey Walsh in 2014. The interview is part of Fisher’s interactive project, “Both Artist and Mother”, which addresses the issues working mothers face. In the interview they talk about dealing with the “shouldness” of time management and advice for women who desire to blend familial and career goals.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Kate Fisher. Her recent body of functional pottery draws from a visual analysis of her domestic landscape, including kid’s toys, tools and other familial paraphernalia. In the interview we talk about the parallels between endurance sports and potting, the types of support working mothers need to be active in their studios, and her ceramic outreach project “Both Artist and Mother.”

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a live episode featuring Amanda Salov, Iva Haas, Seth Charles, and Amanda Bury. The panel share their experience being resident artists and developing a career in ceramics. In the interview we talk about how to write a successful application, managing long distance relationships with friends and family, and what makes a good residency. The discussion was taped live at Central Washington University as part of the Residency Reflections exhibition.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the final episode of a miniseries featuring current resident artists at the Archie Bray Foundation. In this episode Stuart Gair, Kyle Johns, and Kelly Stevenson talk about transitioning to full time studio work after graduate school, pushing themselves to take risks in the studio, and the value of working at the Archie Bray Foundation.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the second in a series of discussions with current resident artists at the Archie Bray Foundation. In this episode Richard James, Kelsey Duncan and Iva Haas talk about building a character study for figurative sculpture, the choice to improvise or not in the creative process, and how a creative practice can shift the maker’s world view.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the first in a series of discussions with current resident artists at the Archie Bray Foundation. In this episode Jessica Brandl, Yoonjee Kwak and Christina Erives talk about using humor to shape their aesthetic, creating narrative works that relate to the personal mythologies of their families, and their experience as resident artists in academic institutions and art centers.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Brenda Quinn. Her vibrant functional pottery explores the line between hard and soft through the blending of architectural and floral elements. In the interview we talk about how a childhood phobia led her to practice mindfulness, methods for generating pattern, and helping her students understand the value of handmade goods.

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.