Scrolling on Instagram a while back, I saw a few posts that piqued my interest—a group of graduate programs had banded together for a residency exchange of sorts. How cool is that? It’s this type of innovation and cooperative effort that makes me want to keep learning, keep being involved in the communal outlets of the ceramics field. Our clay community is famously generous for sharing information, equipment, techniques, recipes, facilities, and even a second or third set of hands to load unruly work into a kiln. In my own ceramics upbringing, I have been lucky enough to participate in learning environments—as student or instructor, or both—at college, a post-bacc program, a thriving community studio, graduate school, workshops, residencies, and in my time as an editor in reading and preparing the content disseminated through this magazine. Now I find wonder in a few seconds of process video on social media or in an artist’s commentary during a webinar, spurring action in my own studio. The ceramic artist’s means of gaining and spreading information are ever expanding.
The artists in this issue who describe their own journeys of learning through clay have diverse backgrounds in terms of formal education, experiential development, and how they presently interface with the community. Michelle Freemantle is a potter based in the Yorkshire Wolds in the UK whose training included formative travels to Japan, France, and Finland. The influence of her varied studies is retained in the pots she makes today. Ernest Miller, whose garlic keeper is shown on this issue’s cover, has garnered an expert-level working knowledge of kilns. Reflecting more generally, he notes, “I’ve always felt that I learn a lot from pots when they’re living on a shelf.”
In the Studio Visit, Audra Doughty outlines the trajectory of her work in clay, which included establishing a community clay space, Mud Queen Pottery. Splitting time and tasks between a basement home studio and the community studio invigorates her practice. Additionally, Doughty provides a few reliable shop glazes in our Recipes section.
CIRCA Ceramics (the Consortium for Intercollegiate Research in the Ceramic Arts), the graduate exchange program mentioned at the start of this letter, completed its inaugural residency session in the fall of 2023. Andrew Casto, associate professor of art and ceramics area head of the University of Iowa (one of six founding institutions), answers our questions.
Unfortunately, priorities in higher education increasingly trend toward underappreciation for the arts and humanities, and are often paired with underfunding, mismanagement, and/or budget crises. Shoji Satake describes the devastating and disheartening reality of West Virginia University’s call to consolidate or disband art programs.
If you’re craving a change of pace or scenery and a chance to learn and share, check out Ceramics Monthly’s annual Residencies and Fellowships listing for venues and opportunities. Enjoy!
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Scrolling on Instagram a while back, I saw a few posts that piqued my interest—a group of graduate programs had banded together for a residency exchange of sorts. How cool is that? It’s this type of innovation and cooperative effort that makes me want to keep learning, keep being involved in the communal outlets of the ceramics field. Our clay community is famously generous for sharing information, equipment, techniques, recipes, facilities, and even a second or third set of hands to load unruly work into a kiln. In my own ceramics upbringing, I have been lucky enough to participate in learning environments—as student or instructor, or both—at college, a post-bacc program, a thriving community studio, graduate school, workshops, residencies, and in my time as an editor in reading and preparing the content disseminated through this magazine. Now I find wonder in a few seconds of process video on social media or in an artist’s commentary during a webinar, spurring action in my own studio. The ceramic artist’s means of gaining and spreading information are ever expanding.
The artists in this issue who describe their own journeys of learning through clay have diverse backgrounds in terms of formal education, experiential development, and how they presently interface with the community. Michelle Freemantle is a potter based in the Yorkshire Wolds in the UK whose training included formative travels to Japan, France, and Finland. The influence of her varied studies is retained in the pots she makes today. Ernest Miller, whose garlic keeper is shown on this issue’s cover, has garnered an expert-level working knowledge of kilns. Reflecting more generally, he notes, “I’ve always felt that I learn a lot from pots when they’re living on a shelf.”
In the Studio Visit, Audra Doughty outlines the trajectory of her work in clay, which included establishing a community clay space, Mud Queen Pottery. Splitting time and tasks between a basement home studio and the community studio invigorates her practice. Additionally, Doughty provides a few reliable shop glazes in our Recipes section.
CIRCA Ceramics (the Consortium for Intercollegiate Research in the Ceramic Arts), the graduate exchange program mentioned at the start of this letter, completed its inaugural residency session in the fall of 2023. Andrew Casto, associate professor of art and ceramics area head of the University of Iowa (one of six founding institutions), answers our questions.
Unfortunately, priorities in higher education increasingly trend toward underappreciation for the arts and humanities, and are often paired with underfunding, mismanagement, and/or budget crises. Shoji Satake describes the devastating and disheartening reality of West Virginia University’s call to consolidate or disband art programs.
If you’re craving a change of pace or scenery and a chance to learn and share, check out Ceramics Monthly’s annual Residencies and Fellowships listing for venues and opportunities. Enjoy!
Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
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