Molly Hatch 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 Molly Hatch. Trained as a potter her career straddles the boundaries between art, craft, and design. From her home studio in Northhampton, MA she creates prototypes that are replicated in factories and sold through major design labels. While employing industrial labor she continues to push the aesthetic of the hand in her ceramic, fabric, and home ware designs. In addition, she maintains a foothold in the art market with large scale one-of-a-kind plate paintings that are shown in galleries and museums.

In the interview we talk about a variety of topics including using the factory as a tool, the dynamics of class struggle in the art world, and her recent installation at the High Museum in Atlanta. For more information on Molly's work please visit www.mollyhatch.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.

Detail from Physic Garden at the High Museum.
Hatch's installations draw heavily from objects within museum collections. Physic Garden took inspiration from these two flora and fauna plates done in the “Hans Sloane” style of the early 1750's at the Chelsea Factory.

Check out the Dwight Holland episode of the Brian R Jonescast!

At this year's NC Potters Conference I had the great pleasure of sharing the stage with Brian Jones for an interview of conference founder Dwight Holland. We talked about Dwight's history as a ceramic collector and his perspective on the NC pottery tradition. Our conversation was just released on the Brian R. Jonescast. You can find out more about Brian's work and stream the podcast at www.brianrjones.com. You can also download the podcast by subscribing to the Brian R Jonescast on Stitcher and iTunes.

Artist Matt Causey was in attendance for the interview and sketched a few of his favorite moments as they happened. The conversation is full of wonderful one liners including Dwight's advice for potters that work in a graphic style. "Learn how to draw first." Simple words of wisdom from a man that has collected pots for over 60 years.

Podcast Listener Survey: Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Season 2

I am quickly approaching the end of the second season of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast. I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to sit down with many of my artistic heroes and talk about their lives.  I have learned an immense amount from my guests and its a pleasure to share that learning experience with my listeners. 

To celebrate the second season there will be an anniversary show that features excerpts from the most popular episodes from the last year. Please take a minute to fill out the survey below to let me know which episodes were your favorites. I'll be taking responses until May 3rd.

Thanks for the support!

Click here to go to the survey

Galloway, Kieffer, and Kline talk about trends in ceramic design on the TRCR Podcast

Kristen Kieffer

Michael Kline

Julia Galloway



This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a panel discussion with Kristen Kieffer, Julia Galloway, and Michael Kline on current trends in ceramic design. Our wide-ranging conversation looks at the effect of the internet on the way we see design, the pressures on young artists to succeed, and dealing with the restless personality of the artist.

Kristen Kieffer is a potter living in Baldwinville, MA. For more information about her work please visit www.kiefferceramics.com. Michael Kline is a potter living in Bakersville, NC. For more information on his work please visit www.klinepottery.com. Julia Galloway is a potter and educator living in Missoula, MT. She currently serves as a professor and director of the School of Art at the University of Montana. For more information on her work please visit www.juliagalloway.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.

This interview was conducted as part of the Florida Heat Surface Conference in St. Petersburg, FL. To see images from the conference please visit the Carter Pottery Facebook page. 

Mark Hewitt 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 Mark Hewitt. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, to a family who worked for Spode China, Hewitt has been around ceramics his entire life. During college an encounter with Bernard Leach's "A Potter's Book" set him in the direction of studio pottery and towards the apprenticeship system of education. A major proponent of the system Hewitt spent years training with both Michael Cardew and Todd Piker. Upon finishing his training he moved to Pittsboro, NC where he has maintained a studio since 1983.

In the interview we talk about his time with Michael Cardew, the value of an apprenticeship, and developing the confidence needed to run a major workshop. For more information on Mark's work please visit www.hewittpottery.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.

I vividly remember the first time I saw a Mark Hewitt piece. It was 2001 and I was on a school trip to Charlotte, NC for the NCECA conference. One of his five foot tall grave markers was on display in a local gallery. I kept walking around it in circles trying to figure out if it was a pot, a sculpture, or both. These monumental closed forms are a testament to the athletic style of throwing that Mark has mastered.

To fire pots of this size Mark uses a Thai-style Anagama wood kiln. Fired only three times a year the success of this kiln has the possibility to make, or break a business. Click here to watch a Ceramics In America video of Mark loading the kiln and talking about its characteristics. 

Ben Owen III 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 Ben Owen III from Seagrove, NC. He has been potting since the age of eight and is the sixth generation of the Owen family to work in clay. In addition to a childhood steeped in the family pottery tradition, Owen studied ceramics at Eastern Carolina University and has been a resident artist in Tokoname, Japan. In our interview we talk about the history of Seagrove, the art of story telling, and becoming an advocate for craft in North Carolina. To see examples of Ben Owen pottery please visit www.benowenpottery.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.

Ben has a beautiful studio that is separated into three work stations that are dedicated exclusively to earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain clays. He easily switches back and forth between bodies of work that are fired at different temperatures in a variety of kilns and atmospheres. Modular work units are a core component of the studio's design because he wanted to maximize efficiency without having to sacrifice space for experimentation.

One of his many segregated spaces is a small glaze room dedicated to his lead-based red glaze. This unique glaze is rare and unfortunately highly toxic to work with. After visiting Ben's studio I was impressed with how he has come up with a system to work with the glaze without it contaminating the rest of the studio.



The spacious layout of the studio allows Owen room to work on corporate commissions for decorative vessels. These large scale forms are a testament to his exceptional throwing skills. He often works with interior decorators who place this body of work in hotels, corporate lobbies, and other commercial venues.

The Owens family talk about Jugtown Pottery 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 Vernon, Pam, and Travis Owens. They run the Jugtown Pottery just outside of Seagrove, NC. Jugtown's history stretches back to 1917 when the founders Jacques and Juliana Busbee started buying pots from local North Carolina potters to sell in their tea room in Greenwich Village, NYC. Although Jugtown has gone through many transitions in it's nine decade history the Owens family has been a main stay for much of its development. Vernon started working at Jugtown in 1960, for then owner John Mare, and has been working there ever since. The PBS series Craft in America has a wonderful feature on the history of Jugtown including a series of video's with Pam, Vernon, and Travis. Click here to watch Travis talk about learning to make pots when he was a young child.

In our interview we talk about the Busbee style, the stewardship of the nonprofit Crossroads Inc., and the evolving nature of tradition. To see examples of the Jugtown pottery please visit www.jugtownware.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.