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 Joan Bruneau and Jim Smith. Both are based in close proximity to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, where they use local terra cotta clay to make highly decorated functional pottery. In the interview we talk about the difference between Craft and Handmade, as well as, their thoughts on pricing functional pottery. For more information on Joan please visit www.joanbruneau.com. For more information on Jim please visit www.jimsmithstudio.ca.

Today’s episode is part of Canada week, a series of five episodes featuring Canadian clay artists from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. For more information about Canada week please visit the episode guide at www.talesofaredclayrambler.com.

It's Canada week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast! I will be releasing one podcast per day featuring Canadian Clay artists from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Today’s episode features a conversation about the history of craft on Prince Edward Island with Henry Purdy, Ian Scott, and Daphne Large Scott. We talk about a wide range of topics including the era when TV first came to PEI, the back to the land movement and the School of Visual Arts at Holland College. In the second part of today’s episode I talk with Suzanne Scott about taking over the family business and how she uses social media to grow the audience for Village Pottery. For more information about Village Pottery please visit www.villagepottery.ca.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler I have an interview with Alex Kraft and Antony Merino. Both are established ceramic artists and co-curators of the exhibition 50 Women: A Celebration of Women in Ceramics. The exhibition will open in 2016 at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, MO and will be one of the major exhibitions featured during this year’s 50th NCECA conference. In the interview we talk about gender, dismantling hierarchies, and the challenges of curating a large scale exhibition. For more information please visit their Facebook page or YouTube Channel.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Richard Burkett. Spanning a 45 year career in clay, Richard has been a studio potter, sculptor, author, and educator. In the interview we talk about his travels to Ecuador, his teaching philosophy, and the creation of the glaze calculation software Hyperglaze. Richard serves as a Professor of Art at San Diego State University, where he has been teaching since 1989. For more information please visit www.richardburkett.com.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Shannon Sullivan. Her sculptural and installation works are inspired by mineralogy, microbiology and other scientific studies of the natural world. In the interview we talk about utilizing an art consultant, working in Jingdezhen, and Peter Pierce's research into maximum design diversity. In addition to her studio work Shannon is a Professor of Art at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, CA. For more information please visit www.shannonmsullivan.com.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast I have an interview with ceramic artist Forrest Middelton. Utilizing screen printing techniques Forrest has developed rich repeat patterns on his ceramic forms that show the influence of Iznik decorative art, as well as other middle eastern traditions. He states that his work looks at the "effects global influences have on the craft traditions", with a specific interest on how global commerce has effected aesthetic exchange.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast I have an interview with Paul Blais. Along with being an experienced podcaster, consultant, and podcast marketer, Paul has had a career in electrical contracting and lighting design. As the host of both The Potterscast and Doubt the Doubts, Paul delves into the business side of creative entrepreneurship and business management. In the interview we talk about working through illness, learning to live in the moment, and developing an effective podcast. For more information on Paul please visit www.thepotterscast.com or www.doubtthedoubts.com. 

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast I have an interview with Jim Skutt. After an early career away from the family kiln business, Jim returned to the company in 1987 where he has been an integral part of the company.  In the interview we talk about the history of Skutt kilns, the viability of microwave kilns for studio potters, and the development of internet-based kiln monitoring. For more information please visit www.skutt.com.

This week on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler podcast we feature a special 100th episode with Mark Shapiro interviewing TRCR host Ben Carter. In the interview we talk about making a career in ceramics, the origin story of the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler and the archetypes people inhabit within the clay world. For more information on Ben please visit www.carterpottery.com or www.talesofaredclayrambler.com.

Guest host Mark Shapiro has been a dedicated studio potter for almost thirty years. He continues to fire the wood kiln he built shortly after moving from New York City to Worthington, MA in 1986. To find out more about his work please visit www.stonepoolpottery.com.