Evelyn Craft Belger on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast

Akio Takamori on display at the new Red Star Studio Gallery.

Tommy Frank teaching a workshop at Red Star Studios.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Evelyn Craft Belger. She is the executive director of the Belger Arts Center and Red Star Studios in Kansas City, MO. Since 2005 Evelyn has been instrumental in the growth and display of the Belger Arts Collection, a private collection of thousands of contemporary art works, that is managed by the Belger Foundation and housed within the Belger Arts Center. In 2010 the foundation partnered with Red Star Studios to expand their facilities and increase their programing in the Kansas City area.

In the interview we talk about establishing a mission/vision statement for an art organization, the history of the Belger collection and guiding Red Star into its newest phase of growth. To learn more about the Belger Collection please visit www.belgerartscenter.org. To find our more about the programs Red Star has to offer please visit www.redstarstudios.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.

A recent visit to Red Star Studios by a group of docents from the Nelson Atkins Museum.

Kansas City Live Ramble with Cary Esser, Tommy Frank, and Meredith Host

Cary Esser

Tommy Frank

Folded Pigs Dinnerware by Meredith Host

Dot Dot Dash by Meredith Host

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a panel discussion featuring Cary Esser, Meredith Host and Tommy Frank. Each panelist is a ceramic artist that balances their art career with a business oriented profession. Our discussion centers around how creativity is an asset in the business world. We discuss the creative overlap between art making and teaching, running a small business or managing an art center.

Cary Esser is a professor and chair of the ceramics department at the Kansas City Art Institute. You can find our more about her architectural tile and sculpture at www.caryesser.com. Meredith Host is a full time studio artist and entrepreneur who has developed the Dot Dot Dash and Folded Pigs lines of dinnerware. You can find out more about her work at www.meredithhost.com. Tommy Frank is the studio manager of Red Star Studios. You can find our more about his sculptural ceramics at www.frankarts.com. The discussion was taped live at Red Star Studios in Kansas City, MO. To find our more about the programs Red Star has to offer please visit www.redstarstudios.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.

Richard Notkin on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a double episode with ceramic artist Richard Notkin. Known for his protest art Notkin has approached a variety of subject matter during his career including the folly of war, the nuclear age, and global warming. His teapots and tile work can be found in numerous museums around the United States including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and the Mint Museum of Craft and Design.

In the interview we talk about establishing a visual language, the influence of the Vietnam War and developing a collector base. For more information on his work you can visit Richard's Art Axis page or click here to see the PBS Craft in America segment that featured Richard's work.

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.

Cup: The Intimate Object IX opens at the Charlie Cummings Gallery

Brenda Quinn

Carolanne Currier

Katherine Boswell


Jenny Gawronski


Katie Susko


Marty Fielding


Kyle Ronan Peterson

The Charlie Cummings Gallery has just opened this year's installment of Cup: The intimate Object. I look forward to this show every year because it feels like a "state of the union" for functional potters. This show is often my introduction to new potters and new trends within the field. This year didn't disappoint and I found a whole host of new people to research and enjoy. The images above are of my favorites from the show.

The other aspect of this show that I love is seeing how my pottery hero's work is evolving. Will Baker, Chandra Debuse and Mark Errol are all people that I have followed for years. I am great admirers of their individual approaches to clay and they are all making work within their signature style while producing individual pieces that push the body of work forward.


Will Baker


Chandra Debuse

Mark Errol

Here are a few of the cups I sent for the show. The finger swipe yunomi plays with the idea of creative chaos. I am trying to create a frenetic sense of energy in the overall pattern. The while yunomi aims for the exact opposite sensation. The pattern and color choices are all about rest and stillness. I've been enjoying the contrast between these two a lot lately.

Steve Lee 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 ceramic artist Steve Lee. At first glance his porcelain ceramics appear to be traditional Asian vessels but a closer glance reveals pop culture icons and contemporary subject matter. He says of the work, "The pieces I create appropriate elements of form, decoration, color, image and material that are distinct to a particular culture or history. The viewer is left to construct the context and narrative of the object or image based on his or her own perspective and experience. I strive to create work that has the ability to transgress boundaries of all types—geographic, cultural, contextual and visual." His most recent body of work, "Deconstructed", questions the relevance of an object that fails at its original function. For this series he harnesses the fickle nature of porcelain to create vessels that partially collapse as they are fired in the kiln.

In the interview we talk about living in China, the role museums play in shaping culture, and his relationship with the Archie Bray Foundation, where he has been the resident director since 2006. For more information on Steve please visit www.stevenyounglee.com. For more information on the Archie Bray Foundation or the residency programs they offer please visit www.archiebray.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.