Seattle Potter Megan Sarraf

Meet ceramic artist, Megan Sarraf. Years ago, through scheduling mishaps, she ended up in a ceramics class. After getting her hands dirty on the wheel, Megan was hooked. Following an internship at Saratoga Clay Arts Center in New York, Megan sold all of her belongings, got in the car, and made her way to the Pacific Northwest.

“My only thoughts were; If I land somewhere between San Francisco and the Canadian border I would be alright. AND… If I run out of money before I find a place to live, I can just go back. Right?… It became the most romantic cross country adventure. I camped across the States for 4 weeks. Traveling the eastern coast south to South Carolina, with stops along the way. Then west to Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico. The scenic route north to Colorado, then Utah, Arizona and over to LA. I drove up the PCH for a ways, finally making it to Seattle. I had never been here before but as soon as I saw the skyline I just knew. Three days later, I had a job and a room in a house. And of course called my mom to let her know I was going to stay and in fact was not living out of my car anymore. Now I’ve been here a month-ish shy of 2 years. This past year has been the most exciting. I will be finally finishing my AA and applying to BFA programs. I was welcomed as a resident artist at Blue Cone Studios for 6 months and am now a resident artist at the Pugmill Society on the Equinox Studio’s campus. Also doing this crazy life thing while lucky and in love with my partner who is so crazy supportive it blows my mind some days.” -Megan of @meganashleyart

“Practice and practice and patience and practice and trying to keep one foot grounded in reality. Also, play. Play all the time. Not everything has to be a finished product. Most things won’t be.” -Sarraf

“I hope the feeling of joy that I have when I’m making the work translates into as much love and enjoyment for the person that ends up using the piece.” -Sarraf

“I’m really into bowls lately. I’ve been making some prototypes for large nesting mixing bowls. Quite the challenge but has definitely rewarded me with some interesting forms that I plan on continuing to pursue and refine.” -Sarraf of @meganashleyart

Blue Wolf Studios in Tahoe

Amanda Dabel is co-owner of Blue Wold Studios in Kings Beach, California. This sweet little shop of locally crafted wares also has a backroom that serves as a fully functioning ceramic studio. It’s located right on the edge of Lake Tahoe. Stop in for goods handmade by Amanda and over 40 other artists in the area.

“The best part of owning a business is you get back what you put in, meeting local talented artists, and sense of accomplishment. The hardest part is never actually leaving. There’s always two million things to do.” -Amanda Dabel

“I fell in love with the ability to mold clay into anything you can think of. It’s so versatile.” -Amanda Dabel

Meet Belinda Quene. She also works at Blue Wolf Studios. Belinda has been in ceramics for 10 years. She was immediately drawn to how grounded she felt while making.

“It is so relaxing to throw on the wheel…Getting immersed into a project and losing track of time.” -Belinda Quene

After two years of serving their community, Blue Wolf Studios recently received the honor of 2017 Best New Business by North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce.

“There will be a lot of long late stressful nights, push through, it’s worth it.” – Co-Owner Amanda Dabel

Art Shack Brooklyn

The Artshack in Brooklyn is a women-owned-and-operated ceramics studio. It was founded in 2008 by McKendree Key and Dany Rose. We got to spend the day with a few of the artists who teach and make there including Laura Protzel, Alayna Wiley, Zena Pesta, and Ash Donnelly.

“Artshack is a community-based not-for-profit ceramics center. We use our creative skills to helps kids hone their own ideas. We then collaborate with our students to fabricate molds, and create casts of their work to sell in our shop. 100% of the profits from those casted replicas sold goes towards raising money for scholarships for kids to take art classes. We believe that all kids deserve access to quality arts education and strive to make that readily available to young artists in Brooklyn.” –Ash Donnelley of @artshackbrooklyn

Alayna Wiley is a ceramicist, an art educator, and a craft curator. When she’s not working at The Art Shack, she’s a studio assistant at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her education is impressive and extensive. She’s studied at Oberlin College, Germantown Academy, and Harvard University to name only a few. Visit her website to take a closer look at her work.

“When I was a teenager, my wildest dream was to move to New York City to become a practicing ceramics artist and a fighter for social justice. I could only dream of running a nonprofit community ceramics art space in my neighborhood, I had been told by so many people that such a job didn’t exist. My advice to young women who want to make a difference in others’ lives or want to be artists, is to always push yourself to keep making things. Never allow yourself an excuse, we as women are never too weak to do or be anything we desire. Be confident in what you believe and what you want, and always consider the ways you can use your creative practice to make a difference in someone else’s life.” –@ashdonnellyceramic of The Art Shack in Brooklyn 

“ArtShack has a really unique atmosphere. There is a strong community here of adults and children making art. Adults are inspired by the kids and vice versa. It was through this community that I found my own interest in clay. It sort of just fell into my lap, I am so glad it did. 

I have been at ArtShack for about a year. I am currently the Director of the Kids Program. I design the curriculum and teach the weekday kids courses… 

I am a 31 year old kid, so kids truly are my people. The best part of my job is getting closer with these young artists and learning from them. Kids have incredibly insightful perspectives on the world around them, that they bring to their ceramic creations. I feel so lucky to spend my days with a wonderful community of artists of all ages especially in these turbulent times.” –Laura Protzel of @artshackbrooklyn 

“I’ve been working in Ceramics for 15 years! I had a very thorough education in ceramics at my undergrad in Cleveland, Ohio at the Cleveland Institute of Art under William Brouillard and Judith Salomon. So thorough, that the Pratt Institute hired me straight out of undergrad to run their Ceramics Department. At Pratt i taught undergraduate and graduate level courses, it was a great place to continue to pursue and share the alchemy of clay and glazes through chemistry and experimentation. While at Pratt I took time to travel to Jingdezhen China and participate in a Ceramic residency at the Pottery Workshop. This place is the incredibly wild porcelain capital of the world; 2.8 million people working in ceramics. The magical dirt of clay has also taken me to Australia where a great concentration of potters live!” -Zena Verda Pesta of @orangepopsiclesandle

The Artshack offers classes to children and adults. If you’re interested in learning more about hand building, wheel throwing, glazing, plaster mold making or slipcasting—head on over to @artshackbrooklyn for more info.

Visit http://www.artshackbrooklyn.org/kidstest/ to sign up for kid classes & visit http://www.artshackbrooklyn.org/adults/ to sign up for adult classes. 

From Aqua-Woman to Ceramic Artist

 

The path to your passion is different for every person. I asked ceramic artist, Monica Wilson, what sparked her interest in the field.

“I have always been interested in making things, or thinking up things to make. I asked my mom to make me an aqua-woman suit when I was small, she wasn’t sure where to start. She put me in pottery classes as a kid and gave me a small home studio. Later I ended up in fashion school, then art school where I worked with various materials, welding, casting cement and plaster but found clay to have the most immediate response to touch, and I love that. I also love the ceramic art community – great cooks, honest people. To run a clay studio you have to know how to do everything from mixing glazes to repairing and firing kilns, these people are problem solvers and can make just about anything with their hands.” –M. Wilson

It’s not easy to see the end result when you’re in the middle of discovering your voice. All you can do is plug away until you’ve found your match. And often, the steps that lead to your calling give a beautiful depth to your next venture.

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Inspiration Into Art

Ceramic Artist, Monica Wilson, employs a technique I’ve never seen before called piercing. It’s beautiful and organic. Before mixing the clay, Monica adds in fibers to strengthen the material. She then rolls out very thin sheets, sets them atop a piece of foam, and pierces through to the clay. This creates an airiness to each fired piece. Monica was inspired by Moroccan pierced-tin lanterns during her travels in the area to study art and culture through pottery.

See more of Monica’s work here.

 

 

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for the artists

Artist studios are so often such places of inspiration. Each spot can be just as individual as the work produced in it. The organization (or lack there of), the scattered pieces of cast aside beginnings of masterpieces, and the mess that results after hard work all add to the charm.

Share a photo of your studio with us at craftedincarhartt@carhartt.com, and you could see it on the blog.

Michigan artist, Monica Wilson, is pictured above.

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Series 1889 Slim Double Front Dungaree

Work pants can be a tough find. Whether you’re looking for movement, coverage, or durability, these pants are for you. No matter what the job is, double front leg panels always come in handy on the job. The contoured waistband prevents gapping in the back. Not to mention–these pants have a great cut, sitting right below the waist and fitted through the hip and thigh. Take a closer look here:

ElysiaVK is photographed above, hard at work in her Detroit studio.

Hybrid Camo Printed Printed Vest

Ceramic artist Elysia Vandenbussche Kelly’s sporting the Hybrid Camo Printed Printed Vest around her Detroit work space. It’s great for a chilly morning at the studio. You keep warm while maintaining a great range of motion so that there’s not a shelf you can’t reach or bucket you can’t lift.

Take a closer look at the Mock Neck Vest here.

Artist Elysia Vandenbussche Kelly

Expression through a nice lump of clay rolling around in your hands, cool and malleable to the touch, seems quite romantic—enough to sweep you away into an artistic frenzy. Your clothing would be ever sprinkled in bits of dust and smudges of slip. Few may know the amount of labor that goes into each piece of handmade ceramics. It’s not all carefree and straightforward. It’s the kind of work that continually breaks a sweat and demands your dirty sleeves be rolled up to accommodate.

In the photos below, you’re getting a peek into Elysia Vandenbussche Kelly’s studio, ElysiaVK. It’s an inspiring spot, even more so when she’s hard a work. Although Elysia may make it appear effortless, she’s accomplished a heck of a lot. She’s set up shop in downtown Detroit and keeps the art work flowing from her personal kiln. Her advice for any other young women hoping to follow in a similar path is:

“Work hard, but don’t hold what you do too tightly. Be open to change and evolving. Embrace your failures, it’s an opportunity to grow. If you’re scared, keep going. There’s no guidebook, so make choices that work for you, not what you think you should be or what’s accepted. Take a risk, but if something isn’t working remember whatever you’re doing is not worth your happiness.” —ElysiaVK

Elysia is wearing: Force Performance Quarter Zip & Series 1889 Double Front Dungarees.

Welder Ryn Adkins

You might notice the stark difference between a high tea time set and the creative alternative cup and saucer Ryn Adkins is working on the photos above. Crossing mediums and taking a twist on depth of field, this dinnerware pair is an imaginative spin for table settings. As a designer and craftsman, Ryn came up with the concept, threw the teacups from clay, and welded the pyramid-shaped coaster.

Ryn is a co-founder of pop-up restaurant, Roux, where food and design have been blended into a whole new type of dining experience. In years to come, she hopes to further include the source of the food into the mix— putting food, farm, and craftsmen together in the venture.

In my conversation with Ryn, the pursuance of passion in life is a crucial building block in her plans. Find the field you want to be in and dig as deep as you possibly can. If you’re focusing on Industrial and Interactive Design, learn about the properties of metal, the ins-and-outs of woodworking, and get a feel for ceramics. When you love what you do, it not work— it’s a way of life. What do you love doing? How do you spend your free time?

Ryn took a step back and saw how she combined skills she’s loved since childhood. If you’re still searching for your own path, give your memories a chance to guide you.

“Reflecting on my childhood, I think I’ve always had an interest in design and food, from making bon appétit mud patties in my back yard to building lego duplexes in my bedroom.” —Ryn Adkins

Ryn is wearing: Carhartt Women’s Sandstone Active Jacket, Clarksburg Quarter-Zip Sweatshirt, Series 1889 Slim Double Front Pants, & Soft Hands Glove.