Artist, writer, and critic Anthony Merino passed away last week. Today we feature a rebroadcast of our 2015 interview where we discuss the exhibition 50 Women: A Celebration of Women in Ceramics. In our interview we talk about Anthony and Alex’s curatorial process, and the active community they built using social media.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast we have a live episode that was taped as part of the Envision: Woodfire NC conference in May 2022. I’m joined by Steve Blankenbeker, Takuro Shibata, Josh Copus, and Hideo Mabuchi to talk about the discovery and use of locally dug clay.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Eric Botbyl. He is both a working potter and a gallery owner helping to promote the work of functional artists. In our interview we talk about developing his highly gestural pottery forms, matching a decorated surface to form, and creating Companion Gallery.

Part two of our 10th anniversary live episode includes a trivia section about the history of the show and past guests. I was joined by Carole Epp and Britta Schroeder, as well as a live audience on Zoom. Many thanks to everyone who came to the taping and helped us celebrate.

Today on the podcast we have part one of a live episode to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the podcast. I was joined by Carole Epp and Britta Schroeder, as well as a live audience on Zoom. Many thanks to everyone who came to the taping and helped us celebrate. In this episode we talk about our favorite episodes and how making gives our lives meaning.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Michael Sherrill, who creates mixed media sculptures that draw from the flora of Western North Carolina. In our interview we talk about his early days as a salt firing potter, developing new techniques for sculpture, and the creation of his Mud Tools brand.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I talk with Kat Hutter and Roger Lee. The pair share a studio making stoneware pottery that is decorated with bright geometric designs. In our interview we talk about their paths to being full time artists, splitting time between two studio locations, and the roots of their modernist aesthetic.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast we welcome back Keith Brymer Jones to talk about his new autobiography Boy in a China Shop. You might know him from his role as a judge on the hit show The Great Pottery Throwdown, or as the master mind behind the ceramic manufacturer MAKE International, where he collaborates with brands like Tatty Devine, Sukie, and the National Trust.

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.