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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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.

Ceramic Artist Andrea Denniston

After one semester of ceramics during my sophomore year of college, I learned a whole new respect for all handmade pottery. The sheer amount of time, skill, and love poured over each piece was something I’d never experienced before. From a mound of clay, wedged and formed by your own two hands into something with purpose; then on to days of waiting for your work to dry till you can then bisque fire, glaze, and fire again.

My amateur description depicts the simplest of processes, but imagine the in-depth and incredibly challenging methods you’d have down after 9 years of learning and perfecting the skills of the trade. Just ask Andrea Denniston. After she got a BFA in Ceramics at West Virginia University, she studied traditional Chinese porcelain and qinghua in China.

Andrea was able to soak up the culture and learn from the level of craftsmanship that surrounded her. It was in China that she fully appreciated that almost anything is possible in ceramics. Since then, she’s made it back to the US and is working towards a MFA in Ceramics at Syracuse University.

Andrea’s advice to any beginners in the field is to,


“Have fun, find your confidence, take some risks, travel as much as possible, and study under as many people as you can both in and out of an academic setting…take some business classes and immerse yourself in a community of like-minded makers.  Be okay with having a second job for a while, but be willing to quit this second job when your time is better spent making and growing your business.  As scary as it may seem at times, trust it is possible to support yourself through your work in clay!”

Andrea is wearing: Carhartt Women’s Sandstone Sierra Jacket, Hamilton Flannel Shirt II, Series 1889 Slim Double-Front Denim Dungaree, & Soft Hands Glove.

The Fountain of Youth

You can spend a lifetime chasing your dreams and building your skills. Each passing year brings knowledge and a greater familiarity with your craft. Your hands learn the motions. Your feet know each peddle and step. Mixtures and solutions are written over and over in your mind so many times that you’ll never forget them. Each day you create new thoughts and ideas to make your work better or different. That accumulation is one of the most beautiful parts of life. Each time you put on your Carhartts, still covered in yesterday’s work, you’ve grown stronger, smarter, and more capable. The seasoning of each passing year, with all the mistakes and successes you’ve seen, can only add to who you are. Always wear your dirty work vest with pride.

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” -Sophia Loren

take a look at the El Paso Utility Vest worn above 

How to Reclaim Red Clay

 

As you may well know, Carhartt women are known for being innovative. So when it comes to craftiness, don’t be wasteful and think green. For those pottery lovers who want to be resourceful and re-use scrap clay, take a look at this tutorial Victoria from Pewabic Pottery is demonstrating above.

How to Reclaim Clay: (in other words, how to recycle dry clay bits back into a workable material)
1. Soak dry bits, chunks, failed projects of clay in water.
2. Soak for a few hours or days, depending on dryness of clay. Stir mixture with your hand.
3. Scoop out rehydrated clay onto plaster block.
4. Make sure clay is even thickness on the plaster block to allow for even water absorbtion.
5. Once clay is no longer tacky scrape it off the plaster block into a medium size pile.
6. Wedge it. Rock clay back and forth in kneading motion until air bubbles are compressed and clay feels pliable.

Victoria’s workwear: Carhartt Women’s Short-Sleeve Signature Tee & Slim Fit Nyona Jean