Australian ceramic artist and educator Merran Esson passed away last week. This episode features a rebroadcast of our 2013 interview where we talk about learning to trust one's inner voice, capturing the passage of time within an object, and her role as the head of ceramics at the National Art School in Sydney, Australia.

This week we wrap up our More than a Maker series with an interview with Michael McCarthy. He is a potter and instructor at the Austen Riggs Center, a residential psychiatric hospital and treatment center located in Stockbridge, MA. In our interview we talk about art making within the mental health treatment paradigm, how decreasing expectation can lead to creative breakthroughs with students, and his path to being a potter. We also discuss building community in Western MA and creating colorful glazes in a wood kiln.

On this week’s edition of More than a Maker we talk to Sarah Petty. Both a trained artist and acupuncturist, I talk with Sarah about her path to creativity and the healing arts. In our interview we talk about building skills as an artist, the training and methodology behind integrative medicine, and how the pandemic helped spark a new way of making in her studio.

On this week’s edition of More than a Maker we talk to John Doran. In our interview we talk about The Big Blue Sky Initiative, a multipart plan to address mental health in the state of Montana including suicide prevention, treatment for addiction, and other resources for mental health.

This week we continue our series More than a Maker with an interview featuring Bakersville, NC artist Will Baker. He is known for his beautiful atmospheric fired pottery, along with his kiln building skills which have taken him all over the eastern U.S. In our interview we talk about dealing with burn out through a variety of mindfulness practices, as well as the theory of flow states.

This week on the podcast we start our series More than a Maker, which focuses on the intersection of mental health and creativity. In the first episode we have Mac McCusker, a ceramic artist based in Pittsburgh, PA. They make sculpture and vessels that provide social commentary on the rise of Bathroom Bills and other issues surrounding the LBGTQ community. In the interview we talk about addiction and art making as activism.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Mark Warren. He is one of the cofounders of Haand, a porcelain tableware manufacturer in Burlington, NC. In our interview we talk about his path from the studio to the factory, the importance of paying a living wage, and how Haand shifted towards direct sales during the pandemic.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Russell Wrankle. He uses animal and human references to engage the existential tension between life and death. In our interview we talk about developing animals as poetic visual symbols, and the founding of Shape Theory Collective. He started the collective and online gallery to generate funds for criminal justice reform, specifically the Last Prisoner Project, which works to free individuals jailed for non-violent drug crimes.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Portland-based potters Chris Baskin and Dwayne Sackey. We talk about choosing a firing that fits your aesthetic, the benefits of apprenticeship, and how Sackey’s time with Baskin shifted forms during Covid. We also discuss the Studio Potter’s Grants for Apprenticeship, which helped fund and structure their yearlong apprenticeship.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Donna Polseno and Dara Hartman. Polseno is the founding director of the Women Working with Clay Symposium and Hartman now co-directs the yearly gathering. In our interview we talk about equity across different eras and how storytelling can empower and unify a group. We also discuss their relationship through apprenticeship and studio practices.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Sunshine Cobb about her new book, The Beginner’s Guide to Hand Building. We discuss redefining creativity to be more inclusive, creating a studio environment that fits your personality, and the variety of skills and projects she teaches in the book. The book is available now for preorder and will be released in September 2022.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with sculptor Alessandro Gallo. He uses idioms and humor as a foundation for his human-animal hybrids. In our interview, we talk about transitioning characters from his two-dimensional work into three dimensions, working with friends as models, and the role realism plays in drawing audiences into the world of his sculptures.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Lynn Duryea. Her minimalist sculptures are made from bent clay slabs, and are surfaced with layers of sprayed glaze giving them the appearance of aged metal. In our interview we talk about how the seaside architecture of her childhood hometown influences her ceramics, her role as a founding trustee of the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, and the workshop for people living with HIV/Aids that she facilitated for thirteen years.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with director Katia McGuirk and curator Vance Koehler about the Moravian Tile Works. The institution has gone through many iterations in its long history, which started in the late 19th century with Henry Chapman Mercer, and is now home to a living history museum and working tile studio. In our interview we talk about Mercer’s aesthetics and legacy as a tile maker, the history of earthenware production in the region, and the recent revival of the facility under the not-for-profit Tile Works of Bucks County.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Sanam Emami. Her ceramic vessels are decorated with lush repeating patterns layered over brushed slips. In our interview we talk about the history of tulips, the influence of architecture, and how she plays with revealing and concealing in her surface design.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with NYC based ceramic artist Dustin Yager. Through his Ceramics and Theory brand Dustin Yager creates porcelain pottery decorated with humorous compositions of text and decals over gestural underglaze painting. In our interview we talk about his tongue in cheek approach to ceramics, the genesis of his sculptural work, and finding community in NYC.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the fourth installment in a series of interviews about parenting. For the series I invited artist couples to talk with each other about finding balance between creative work and life as a parent. Today’s interview features Lindsay Oesterritter and Jason Vulcan. The couple are based in Manassas, VA, where Lindsay is a studio potter and Jason is a government contractor.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the third installment in a series of interviews about parenting. For the series I invited artist couples to talk with each other about finding balance between creative work and life as a parent. Today’s interview features Brian Jones and Melissa Weimer. The couple are based in Connecticut, where Brian is a studio potter and Melissa is a physician specializing in addiction medicine.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the second installment in a series of interviews about parenting. For the series I invited artist couples to talk with each other about finding balance between creative work and life as a parent. Today’s interview features Sara Truman and Naomi Mostkoff. The couple are based in Gainesville, FL where Sara runs Studio TM Ceramics and Naomi is a Nurse Practitioner in Endocrinology.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have the first in a series of interviews about parenting. For the series I invited artist couples to talk with each other about finding balance between creative work and life as a parent. Today’s interview features Jen Allen and Shoji Satake. The couple are based in Morgantown, WV where they are studio artists and teachers at West Virginia University.