Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Mike Cinelli. He blends the aesthetics of sci-fi with Greek myths to create pottery with rich aged surfaces. In our interview we talk about parenting in the time of COVID, developing design rules to give creativity structure, and using color triads from comic books to create visual punch on the surface of pots.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Diana Benavidez, who builds piñatas that reflect her binational identity as an artist in the San Diego/Tijuana border region. She often places her work in installation formats with multimedia and technological aspects that help her craft stories about place and culture. In our interview we talk about growing up on both sides of the border, the history of piñatas, and the effect surveillance has on the border region.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with public historian and museum executive Christy S. Coleman. Her museum career started at seventeen portraying enslaved women at Colonial Williamsburg in their living history educational program. She went on to be the Director of Historic Programs before becoming the CEO of multiple institutions including the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, MI and the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, VA. In our interview we talk about the value of living history programs, how museums create context in the way they display objects, and Christy’s work as a historical consultant for TV and film. We discuss her work on the recent biopic Harriet (2019) about the life of Harriet Tubman.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Agnes Barton-Sabo, also known as Betty Turbo. Her humorous, vivid illustrations meld advertisements for food and daily necessities with social justice messages and words of encouragement. In our interview we talk about taking up papier-mâché sculpture during the pandemic, design tips she learned while working at Hatch Show Print, and how image making can support social justice movements.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Ashleigh Christelis. Based in Johannesburg, SA Christelis’s career includes a variety of ceramic bodies of work and long-term teaching of ceramic classes in her local community. In the interview we talk about learning through apprenticeship, how COVID 19 has affected Johannesburg, and balancing work with the need for rest and self-care. We also address the complications of living with rheumatoid arthritis and bipolar disorder.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Mitchell Spain. Through meticulous craftsmanship he makes functional objects that appear to be rusted tin cans and farm detritus that has been stuck in a family barn since the Great Depression. In our interview we talk about addressing environmentalism through satirical imagery, refining a glaze that mimics rust, and how the pandemic has shifted his art practice.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Carleigh Queenth. Through her position as the specialist head of European ceramics and glass at the Christie’s Auction House in New York City, she researches, documents, and facilitates the sale of historical porcelain. In our interview we talk about the sale cycle of an auction house, the European quest for porcelain, and the factory system used for making the first European porcelains.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Adam Chau. Blending the machinery of industry with an interest in handcraft, Adam has created a digital calligraphy process which he uses to decorate tiles and vessels. In our interview we talk about developing mechanical mark-making processes, his Screenshot series investigating our evolving relationship with mobile devices, and his most recent show Sent, which revolves around the paradox of the anonymous selfie.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Dr. Melissa Weimer. She has worked at local, state, and national levels to improve access to evidence-based treatments for patients with substance use disorder. In addition to her role treating patients, she is an experienced educator who teaches health care students and professionals in order to increase the addiction medicine workforce. In our interview we talk about the disease model for addiction, how substance use affects neurobiology, and current medical treatments for a variety of substance use disorders.

On today’s episode, I talk about the need for the ceramic community, myself included, to be actively antiracist in our actions. As we make changes to create a more inclusive ceramic community for Black, Indigenous and artists of color I encourage you to consider Dr. King’s words on the dangers of the white moderate with their hesitance to take up the fight for social justice in favor of slow reforms. The time for change is now.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Isaac Scott. His ceramic vessels and sculpture draw from hip hop, pop culture, and politics, and are inspired by historical cultures that communicated their values through symbolic leadership figures, such as pharaohs and Gods. He uses silk screens, stencils, and painting to create images of political figures, musicians, artists, and self-portraits that create modern myths. In our interview we talk about the power of monuments, black representation in public spaces, and his recent photographs of Black Lives Matter protests in Philadelphia, PA. During the course of a peaceful protest against police brutality, Isaac and other protesters were beaten, tear gassed, and shot with rubber bullets.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Andrei Taraschuk. Using computer skills from his day job as a software engineer, Taraschuk creates and manages a fleet of art bots that post images of art across Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. In our interview we talk about the structure of an art bot, which social media platforms have responded best to bots, and why we need art in our daily lives.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Tim Kowalczyk. His trompe l’oeil ceramic vessels mimic cardboard, Styrofoam, and other normally disposable industrial materials. In our interview we talk about the building process for making trompe l’oeil objects, the symbiotic benefits of being loyal to a gallery, and his web series “Critiquing with Kids.”

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Carrie Cleveland. She works in disaster-preparedness education and outreach for the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. CERF+ was started by artists for artists in the craft community in 1985 and has since emerged as the leading nonprofit organization that uniquely focuses on safeguarding artists’ livelihoods. In our interview we talk about the Cares Act Legislation and resources available to artists to help with the financial impact of the COVID pandemic.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Justin Rothshank. Working from his home studio in Goshen, IN Justin has been making functional pottery and experimenting with low-temperature firing techniques for many years. He recently published his first full-length book Low Fire Soda, which outlines his experimentation and development of atmospheric-fired earthenware. In our interview we talk about the advantages of switching to low temperature firing, the dynamics of a good soda firing clay, and his recent project A Year of Shared Intention, which mixes shared mindfulness with art making.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Kate Johnston. She uses local materials to make highly decorated pots that are fired in a wood kiln outside of Seagrove, NC. Her work is boldly patterned with botanical imagery drawn from art deco design. In our interview we talk about developing design rules to guide one’s work in the studio, the romance of NC pottery traditions, techniques for making large pots, and the benefits of competition and cooperation in a tight-knit pottery community like Seagrove.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Tom Lauerman, an artist and educator who is working with a consortium of over 200 researchers to develop personal protective equipment for medical personnel during the COVID-19 outbreak. In our interview we talk about the evolution of PPE designs and how rapid prototyping using 3D printers has made daily progress possible. We also discuss the ideas behind Tom’s ceramic sculpture and his work as an educator at Penn State University.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Jonathan Barnes, who teaches ceramics, printmaking and art appreciation at the St. Pete College Clearwater campus. In our interview we talk about responding to COVID-19 in the classroom and best practices for teaching art online. We also discuss his personal response to the pandemic, which has been to 3D print personal protective equipment for medical professionals in the Tampa Bay area.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Kerianne Quick and Adam John Manley. Both are makers with studio practices steeped in craft, as well as professors of art in the Metals and Wood Departments at San Diego State University. In our interview we talk about their approach to materials, the concepts behind their recent bodies of work, and Craft Desert, a zine focused on craft in the Southwest that they co-edit.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Kelly Schnorr. She is an artist and educator based in the San Diego area where she teaches ceramics at Coronado High School. We talk about time management, effective teaching methods for high school age students, and how to design a studio that can cycle through over one hundred and fifty students each day. In addition to her teaching Kelly makes ceramic sculpture about the consumption and disposability built into modern capitalist societies.