Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: A pottery and ceramic art podcast

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Sarah Rachel Brown. She is a jeweler and podcast host of the show Perceived Value. In our interview we talk about the benefits of the Penland School of Craft's Core Fellowship, the concept behind her podcast, and why it's important to demystify the financial and social realities of working artists. To see examples of her jewelry visit www.sarahrachelbrown.com. To find out more about her podcast visit www.perceivedvaluepodcast.com.

Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, I need your help to keep this show on the air. We need 10 new patrons to reach our monthly fundraising goal. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to pledge your support and become a sustaining member. We have a batch of rewards to offer including the new Vintage Radio shirt, handmade pots, posters and much more. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to sign up today.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Brenda Quinn and Mike Gesiakowski. Both are ceramic artists who maintain an active studio practice while teaching in private schools. In our interview we talk about the progressive school model, addressing privilege and class through education, and effective art education for teenagers. To find out more about Brenda visit www.brendaquinn.com. To find out more about Mike visit www.MGclay.com.

I want to send a special thank you to the Studio Potter Journal for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Since 1972, the Studio Potter non-profit organization has promoted the discussion of technology, criticism, aesthetics, and history within the ceramics community, through their semi-annual print and online journal. Many guests of this podcast have written for the journal and you can find those articles along with more information and more information about how to subscribe at www.studiopotter.org.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Steven Cheek. His carved porcelain pots are covered with landscapes, skulls and other imagery that addresses the environment, politics and social change. In our interview we talk about learning to be self-motivated early in his career, making serving vessels for the bourbon culture of Kentucky, and making political work that is both accessible and meaningful. He currently lives in Louisville, KY where he is the Director/Artist in Residence at the Mary Anderson Center for the Arts and a lecturer at the University of Louisville. To see examples of his work visit www.stevengcheek.com. Cheek is also one of the organizers of the Southern Crossings Pottery Festival. To find out more about the festival visit https://www.sxpf.org.

I want to send a special thank you to the Studio Potter Journal for sponsoring this episode of the podcast. Since 1972, the Studio Potter non-profit organization has promoted the discussion of technology, criticism, aesthetics, and history within the ceramics community, through their semi-annual print and online journal. Many guests of this podcast have written for the journal and you can find those articles along with more information and more information about how to subscribe at www.studiopotter.org.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Melissa Weiss. She mixes native Arkansas clay with commercial clays to create rich earth-toned pots in her Asheville, NC studio. The combination of the iron baring raw material and her immediate building style leave her geometric patterned pots appearing both antique and contemporary. In the interview we talk about selling on the show circuit, dealing with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, and making pottery in a political era. She is the owner and manager of South Side Studios, which hosts over 20 ceramic artists in Asheville. To see examples of her work visit www.melissaweisspottery.com.

Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, I need your help to keep this show on the air. We need 25 new patrons to reach our monthly fundraising goal. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to pledge your support and become a sustaining member. We have a batch of rewards to offer including the new Vintage Radio shirt, handmade pots, posters and much more. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to sign up today.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Mark Errol. Based in Tifton, GA, Mark wears many hats in the clay world. He is a functional potter, gallery owner and professor at Valdosta State University. In our interview we talk about the founding of Plough Gallery, creating a safe space for students to experience failure and growth in the class room, and developing a vocabulary of domestic motifs within his current body of work. To see examples of his work please visit www.marksmud.com or www.ploughgallery.com.

Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, I need your help to keep this show on the air. We need 25 new patrons to reach our monthly fundraising goal. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to pledge your support and become a sustaining member. We have a batch of rewards to offer including the new Vintage Radio shirt, handmade pots, posters and much more. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to sign up today.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Andrea Keys Connell. Connell uses figurative sculpture to address cultural archetypes and relationship dynamics. In the interview we talk about unpacking family history through making, sharpening intuition and changing her teaching style to match student needs. Connell is a professor of ceramics at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. To see examples of her work visit www.andreakeys.com.

Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, I need your help to keep this show on the air. We need 25 new patrons to reach our monthly fundraising goal. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to pledge your support and become a sustaining member. We have a batch of rewards to offer including the new vintage radio shirt, handmade pots, posters and much more. Visit www.patreon.com/redclayrambler to sign up today.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have live readings from this year’s writers-in-residence at the 2018 Arrowmont Pentaculum. Robert Vivian, Katey Schultz, and Nathan Ballingrud read selections from their essay, short story and poetry collections. This episode is part three of a three-part series taped live at Arromwmont’s Pentaculum writer’s nights.

Robert Vivian teaches at Alma College and in the low-residency MFA program at the Vermont College Of Fine Arts. His plays have been produced in New York City, and his poems, essays, and stories have appeared in many literary journals including Georgia Review, Harper’s, Ecotone, and Creative Nonfiction. www.robertvivian.org. Katey Schultz grew up in Portland, Oregon, and is most recently from Celo, North Carolina. She is a graduate of the Pacific University MFA in Writing Program and recipient of the Linda Flowers Literary Award from the North Carolina Humanities Council. www.kateyschultz.com. Nathan Ballingrud was born in Massachusetts but has spent most of his life in the South. He's worked as a bartender in New Orleans and a cook on offshore oil rigs. His story "The Monsters of Heaven" won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Asheville, NC, with his daughter. www.nathanballingrud.com.

This episode of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler is sponsored by Sonoma Ceramics at the Sonoma Community Center, one of the North Bay’s leading ceramics studios, offering clay experiences for all ages, levels, and financial means. The center is honored to host a dynamic two-day workshop March 30th and 31st with potter and tea master Shin Young Taek and contemporary Raku artist Kim Young Soo. The two will be demonstrating their innovative techniques for making teapots, building large scale forms from slabs and atmospheric firing. For more information or to sign up for the workshop visit www.SonomaCeramics.com.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have live readings from this year’s writers-in-residence at the 2018 Arrowmont Pentaculum. Sarah Gilman, Suzi Banks Baum, Kelli Fitzpatrick, and Heather Clitheroe read selections from their essay, short story and poetry collections. This episode is part two of a three-part series taped live at Arromwmont’s Pentaculum writer’s nights.

Sarah Gilman is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer and editor who covers the environment, science and the arts. She is a contributing editor at High Country News and her work has appeared in National Geographic, Audubon, Smithsonian, and The Guardian. www.sarahmgilman.com. Suzi Banks Baum is a writer, artist, actress, teacher, community organizer, and mom. With roots in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, she lives in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Suzi inspires women to live from the space of creative spirit through her workshops steeped in book arts, ritual, and writing. Her work can be found in Easy Street Magazine, Literary Mama, Rebelle Society and Mothers Always Write. www.suzibanksbaum.com. Kelli Fitzpatrick is a science fiction author, high school English teacher, and community activist from Beaverton, Michigan. Her short story “The Sunwalkers” was selected as a winner of the Star Trek Strange New Worlds writing contest sponsored by CBS Consumer Products, and is published in the Strange New Worlds 2016 anthology from Simon and Schuster. www.kellifitzpatrick.com. Heather Clitheroe is a Calgary, Alberta based science fiction author whose work has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Kaleidotrope, and in Lightspeed's Women Destroy SF special issue. She is a past participant of the Banff Centre for the Arts' writing residency program and the Leighton Artists' Colony. www.lectio.ca.

This episode of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler is sponsored by Sonoma Ceramics at the Sonoma Community Center, one of the North Bay’s leading ceramics studios, offering clay experiences for all ages, levels, and financial means. The center is honored to host a dynamic two-day workshop March 30th and 31st with potter and tea master Shin Young Taek and contemporary Raku artist Kim Young Soo. The two will be demonstrating their innovative techniques for making teapots, building large scale forms from slabs and atmospheric firing. For more information or to sign up for the workshop visit www.SonomaCeramics.com.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have live readings from this year’s writers-in-residence at the 2018 Arrowmont Pentaculum. Aaron Abeyta, Richard Johnston and Anne-Marie Oomen read selections from their essay, short story and poetry collections. This episode is part one of a three-part series taped live at Arromwmont’s Pentaculum writer’s nights.

Aaron A. Abeyta is a Colorado native and a professor of English at Adams State University. He has authored four collections of poetry and one novel. His book, Colcha, received an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. For more information visit www.aaronabeytapoet.com. Richard Johnston is Assistant Professor of English at the United States Air Force Academy. His primary interests are Romantic literature, literature and science, literature and religion, poetry, and drama. He lives in Colorado Springs, CO. Anne-Marie Oomen is author of the memoir Love, Sex and 4-H, (winner, Next Generation Indie Award for memoir); Pulling Down the Barn, and House of Fields, An American Map. She serves as instructor at the Solstice MFA in Creative Writing at Pine Manor College, MA and Interlochen College of Creative Arts. She lives near Empire, Michigan. For more information please visit www.anne-marieoomen.com.

Today’s episode of the Red Clay Rambler Podcast is sponsored by Growlerfest. This special NCECA event connects artists to the craft beer movement, by showcasing the ties between local food, craft beer, and ceramics. This year in Pittsburgh GrowlerFest is partnering with the Brew House Association for an exhibition of hand-made growlers March 2nd- 29th. There will be a public reception & beer mixer in the Brew House Gallery Friday, March 16th from 6-10pm. VIP SpeakEasy Pass tickets are available that evening, which include a select draft pour & finger food, a special tour of "The SpeakEasy Loft", access to "The Distillery" resident artist studios, & a chance to win a one-of-a-kind Growler from Bradley Klem! For more information visit brewhousearts.org/gallery.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a live spoken word performance by Kane Smego. In this dynamic performance he reckons with race, class and social expectation. This performance was recorded at the 2018 Pentaculum at Arrowmont where Smego was a writer-in-residence. To hear our full length interview listen to episode 208 of the podcast. For more information visit www.kanesmego.com.

This episode of Tales of a Red Clay Rambler is sponsored by Sonoma Ceramics, one of the North Bay’s leading ceramics studios, offering clay experiences for all ages, levels, and financial means. The center is honored to host a dynamic two-day workshop March 30th and 31st with potter and tea master Shin Young Taek and contemporary Raku artist Kim Young Soo. The two will be demonstrating their innovative techniques for making teapots, building large scale forms from slabs and atmospheric firing. For more information or to sign up for the workshop visit www.SonomaCeramics.com.