Happy Holidays! Sarah Jaeger on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Sarah Jaeger. Known for her highly decorated porcelain pottery she has maintained a studio in Helena, MT since 1987. Her functional pottery has been exhibited widely and she has taught workshops throughout North America.

Before becoming a potter Sarah studied literature and this early influence is reflected in her eloquent writing about the hand made. "Despite the material abundance of our culture, it seems to me that we have been impoverished by the disjunction of beauty and handwork from utility that accompanied the industrial revolution and the hourly wage. When time became a commodity, it no longer made sense to make mere dishes by hand, and yet, as the jeweler and writer Bruce Metcalf has said, "handwork makes meaning, not just physical things."

In the interview we talk about the human desire to create meaning through hand made objects, as well as her love of pattern and volume, and the early days when she would skip class to spend more time in the clay studio. For more information on Sarah's work please visit www.sarahjaeger.com.

To subscribe to the Red Clay Rambler podcast on iTunes please click here. To add the podcast to your Stitcher Radio on Demand Playlist click here. You can also stream the latest episode on the podcast tab for this site.

Steven Hill on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Steven Hill. A potter for over forty years, Hill has transitioned through many phases in his ceramic career including selling at art fairs, having gallery exhibitions, and managing a community studio. Hill was the founder of Red Star Studios in Kansas City, MO and is now a member of 323 Clay in Independence, MO. Hill is a much sought after workshop instructor who has taught in schools and craft institutions across the United States.

In the interview we talk about learning to make pots in the hippie era, the artist ego, and being on the workshop circuit. For more information on Steven's work please visit www.stevenhillpottery.com.

To subscribe to the Red Clay Rambler podcast on iTunes please click here. To add the podcast to your Stitcher Radio on Demand Playlist click here. You can also stream the latest episode on the podcast tab for this site.




Steven develops his rich surfaces by spraying multiple layers of glaze on greenware. He then once fires them to cone 6 in an electric kiln. I was impressed with the spraying set up he developed that allows him to switch quickly between glazes without having to clean up his spray guns.

Minneapolis Live Ramble: Arbuckle, Casebeer and Meadows talk about Mentorship and Influence

Linda Arbuckle

Alleghany Meadows

Doug Casebeer

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a live episode featuring Linda Arbuckle, Doug Casebeer, and Alleghany Meadows. Our discussion centers around the variety of forms that mentorship can take in the life of an artist. In the interview we talk about how objects, travel, and relationships with other artists have influenced each of the panelist's artistic development.

Linda Arbuckle is a studio potter and Professor of ceramics at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. You can find our more about her work at www.lindaarbuckle.com. Doug Casebeer is a studio potter and the artistic director of ceramics and sculpture at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, CO. You can find out more about his work at www.andersonranch.org. Alleghany Meadows is a studio potter and gallery owner based in Carbondale, CO. You can find out more about his work at www.art-stream.com. The discussion was taped live during the American Pottery Festival at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, MN. To find our more about the programs that Northern Clay Center has to offer please visit www.northernclaycenter.org.

To subscribe to the Red Clay Rambler podcast on iTunes please click here. To add the podcast to your Stitcher Radio on Demand Playlist click here. You can also stream the latest episode on the podcast tab for this site.

Design for the Soft Surface video now available from Ceramic Arts Daily

Thrilled to have my video Design for the Soft Surface now available from Ceramic Arts Daily. I had a great time last year filming the video in Columbus, OH. I can't say enough about the Ceramic Arts Daily crew and how easy they were to work with. Visit ceramicartsdaily.org for more information, or to purchase the video. 

                                                                                                                                                 

Throwing, Handbuilding and Slip Decorating In this edition of the Ceramic Arts Daily Presents video series, Ben Carter shares his methods for integrating surface design with altered wheel-thrown and hand built pottery. Referencing pillows, tufted furniture, and quilts, Carter imbues his pots with softness in a variety of ways—from altering freshly thrown pots to create volume, to stretching soft clay into foam slump molds. Using this overfilled aesthetic as a metaphor for the comfort of southern hospitality, he complements the soft forms with slip and underglaze decoration using sgraffito, slip trailing, and painting techniques. Runtime: 3 hours – 2 disc set

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Three videos in one Ben’s techniques can be sorted into three distinct areas—throwing, altering and decorating. In each area, Ben provides tips and techniques to be successful by showing you in easy-to-follow step-by-step sequences how to throw or handbuild forms, how to alter them, and how to decorate them with slips and underglazes.

Clear instructions If you’re just getting started or struggling with throwing or handbuilding, Ben’s instructions for throwing and trimming a cylinder and bowl are among the best ever recorded. His explanations of each pull and every detail will help you learn or improve your throwing. After forming a cylinder, bowl and ice tea pitcher, he alters them with simple yet elegant techniques that breathe more life into already interesting forms.

Handbuilding with foam forms For adding volume to flat handbuilt pieces, Ben demonstrates his technique incorporating rigid foam for a mold. He begins the technique by showing you how to create a form then how to prepare and alter the clay and finally how to finish the details that will set the piece apart. You’ll be able to create unique forms that result in soft pillowy surfaces of your own design using this technique.

Surface Decoration  Ben is well known for his surface treatment and he demonstrates each step of the process so you can get started right away on your surfaces. He works with earthenware at the low end of the firing range, but the colored underglaze technique can be used at any temperature range with a suitable transparent overglaze for the range you work in.