Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Lindsay Montgomery. Her Italian inspired maiolica ceramics function as narrative paintings highlighting the social ills of our time including topics of environmental degradation, the patriarchy, and wealth inequality. Drawing from ceramics and paintings of the early Renaissance she often uses demonic figures and hellscapes to create a sense of impending doom. In our interview we talk about her love of the dark side of the Renaissance imagery, understanding the power dynamic of historical influences, and the role Walter Ostrom played in shaping her path in the arts.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Walter Ostrom. Originally recorded in the summer of 2015 this interview is being rebroadcast in celebration of Clay Week. I made a playlist featuring five archival releases that relate to the themes of Clay Week. This episode fits with Teaching Tuesday. Through his almost forty-year teaching career at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design he upheld functional ceramics as a conceptually rich medium that deserved equal footing in academia.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Ann Carrington. Based in Margate, UK, Ann uses tin cans, flatware, and other metal objects to make sculpture that reference the peculiarities of British material and popular culture. I first saw her work last year when I saw one of her bouquets made from dozens of spoons shaped into delicate floral shapes. In our interview we talk about being a part of a creative squatter community in London early in her career, her interest in upcycling, and making art for the Royal family.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Jamie Bates Slone. She draws from her own experience with mental illness to create figurative sculpture that addresses disease and resilience. In our interview we talk about the psychology of color, how body positioning in sculpture can create empathy, and being a role model for young women.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Sara Truman. After teaching in a variety of classroom environments she has been focused for the past seven years on being a high school ceramics teacher. In our interview we talk about mentoring students inside and outside of the classroom, the founding of the Intersections think tank for K-12 art educators, and starting a community-based studio to serve Gainesville, FL.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Sharif Bey. Bey has extensive experience in ceramics/sculpture, art community programming, and art teacher training, all of which he utilizes in his role as an associate professor of Art Education at Syracuse University. His recent work includes figurative sculpture and large-scale ceramic necklaces that address identity and adornment. In our interview we talk about helping teachers prepare for K-12 classrooms, balancing theory and application in art education teacher training, and his interest in West African nkisi power figures.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Guillermo Cuellar. In 1986 he established a pottery outside of Caracas, Venezuela, which he ran for sixteen years before deciding to relocate to Shafer, Minnesota. In our interview we talk about his time working with the World Wildlife Fund, developing a market for his ceramics in Venezuela and the United States, and the influence of Warren Mackenzie.

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.”