As the first blooms sprout along walking paths here at home in Kansas City, I am reminded of the Dutch idiom: “A new spring, a new sound.” A simple reminder of the freshness and unique potential that exists in seasons repeated again and again. This annual iterative process of growth, abundance, reflection, rest, and renewal mirrors the rhythms of our lives, in and out of the studio, where repetition is never truly repetition.
It feels particularly fitting, then, to present the annual Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist finalists on the following pages—many of whom speak to the iterative nature of their processes and the adaptations and revelations discovered through sustained play, observation, experimentation, and repetition in the studio. This contest, first initiated by former editor Ruth Butler in 2002, consistently showcases artists pushing themselves and the boundaries of our shared material—just like the winners of that inaugural contest, including Jen Gandee, Martina Lantin, Christa Assad, Davie Reneau, and Marty Fielding, among others.
Our editorial team looks forward to this contest each year, and this year’s rich applicant pool did not disappoint. We have the rare opportunity to review work from all corners of the globe, from sculptural, concept-driven practices to deeply functional approaches, and from makers of all ages and backgrounds, all tied together by their ten-year or less history with clay. This year’s finalists’ work, although as different as the artists themselves and the Emerging Artists who came before them, shares common threads of curiosity, tenacity, and perseverance.
Each of us, starting from a similar place in our first interaction with the material—moist clay, rudimentary tools, nervous optimism—finds our investigative paths diverging, crisscrossing, and veering again and again. Throughout this issue, artists and authors explore how they adapt to the challenges and changes presented, often returning to familiar processes only to discover a new path unfolding. Matt Mitros, a 2013 Emerging Artist and this month’s Spotlight feature, shares how, upon reflection, the common thread in his work has been reinvention. Sometimes, recalibration is forced upon us, as in the changing landscape of material availability. Jeff Zamek digs into the underpinnings of industrial production, finite resources, and how to adjust your tried-and-true recipes to carry your work into a new making cycle. Sharing the stories of rebirth, preservation, and community in Altadena, Cynthia Lake, who survived the devastating Eaton Fire just over a year ago, reminds us that “Potters know well that a failed attempt is not the end, only a lesson learned along the way . . . .”
It is especially meaningful to announce in this issue that, as an Emerging Artist alum myself, I am stepping into the role of editor of Ceramics Monthly. In the years since I joined the editorial team, I have connected with many of you as readers, authors, and artists. I have been afforded glimpses into your studios, opportunities to quench my curiosities about your whys and hows, and the gift of reconnected friendships forged over the past twenty years in workshops, classrooms, galleries, and under tents at pottery tours. I look forward to the privilege of witnessing where each of your investigations—whether wild hares or methodically minded—takes your work as we enter our publication’s 75th year, another turning of the season, and another new sound.
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As the first blooms sprout along walking paths here at home in Kansas City, I am reminded of the Dutch idiom: “A new spring, a new sound.” A simple reminder of the freshness and unique potential that exists in seasons repeated again and again. This annual iterative process of growth, abundance, reflection, rest, and renewal mirrors the rhythms of our lives, in and out of the studio, where repetition is never truly repetition.
It feels particularly fitting, then, to present the annual Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist finalists on the following pages—many of whom speak to the iterative nature of their processes and the adaptations and revelations discovered through sustained play, observation, experimentation, and repetition in the studio. This contest, first initiated by former editor Ruth Butler in 2002, consistently showcases artists pushing themselves and the boundaries of our shared material—just like the winners of that inaugural contest, including Jen Gandee, Martina Lantin, Christa Assad, Davie Reneau, and Marty Fielding, among others.
Our editorial team looks forward to this contest each year, and this year’s rich applicant pool did not disappoint. We have the rare opportunity to review work from all corners of the globe, from sculptural, concept-driven practices to deeply functional approaches, and from makers of all ages and backgrounds, all tied together by their ten-year or less history with clay. This year’s finalists’ work, although as different as the artists themselves and the Emerging Artists who came before them, shares common threads of curiosity, tenacity, and perseverance.
Each of us, starting from a similar place in our first interaction with the material—moist clay, rudimentary tools, nervous optimism—finds our investigative paths diverging, crisscrossing, and veering again and again. Throughout this issue, artists and authors explore how they adapt to the challenges and changes presented, often returning to familiar processes only to discover a new path unfolding. Matt Mitros, a 2013 Emerging Artist and this month’s Spotlight feature, shares how, upon reflection, the common thread in his work has been reinvention. Sometimes, recalibration is forced upon us, as in the changing landscape of material availability. Jeff Zamek digs into the underpinnings of industrial production, finite resources, and how to adjust your tried-and-true recipes to carry your work into a new making cycle. Sharing the stories of rebirth, preservation, and community in Altadena, Cynthia Lake, who survived the devastating Eaton Fire just over a year ago, reminds us that “Potters know well that a failed attempt is not the end, only a lesson learned along the way . . . .”
It is especially meaningful to announce in this issue that, as an Emerging Artist alum myself, I am stepping into the role of editor of Ceramics Monthly. In the years since I joined the editorial team, I have connected with many of you as readers, authors, and artists. I have been afforded glimpses into your studios, opportunities to quench my curiosities about your whys and hows, and the gift of reconnected friendships forged over the past twenty years in workshops, classrooms, galleries, and under tents at pottery tours. I look forward to the privilege of witnessing where each of your investigations—whether wild hares or methodically minded—takes your work as we enter our publication’s 75th year, another turning of the season, and another new sound.
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