Primary forming methods slab building and wheel throwing
Primary firing temperature just below cone 6, or 2190°F (1199°C)
Favorite surface treatment terra sigillata
Favorite tools Shimpo banding wheel and the Mudtools shape 7 steel rib
Studio playlist Music of various genres, depending on the mood or energy that I am feeling on a given day. Current favorites are Sleaford Mods, Glass Beams, French hip hop, and Premier League or Italian soccer is usually on
the studio TV.
Wishlist a pugmill
Studio
My studio is a bit different than many, as I am currently co-owner of Papavero Clay Studio, a community ceramics studio in an 1800s brick row building located in Skaneateles, New York, in the Finger Lakes region of the state. The space (approximately
2000 square feet (185.8 m2)) was formerly a retail handcraft gallery opened by my father-in-law, Joe Panzarella in 1992. My wife, Sarah Panzarella, took over the business in 2012 and, in 2022, went back to teaching high school ceramics.
With her vocational shift, I moved my studio into the space and began offering community clay classes. The front of the space is a gallery, representing over 50 national ceramic, jewelry, and handmade artists of various media. We offer devoted handbuilding
and wheel classes and currently have four apprentices in the studio working on their professional work, as well as getting applied experience in teaching, retail management, and gallery/studio operations. Having ceramic works by accomplished artists
for sale in the gallery has turned out to be a valuable resource for students, allowing them to look at surface and construction approaches—it has become a learning library as well as a sales space. Probably the best aspect, in truth, is the
community of new makers that has grown over the past three years, experiencing their learning and love of clay. The second best part of the space is that the back of the studio has large doors that look out over beautiful Skaneateles Lake. Running
a teaching and retail business does make it harder to have a consistent personal work schedule, but I really enjoy working in the same spaces as my apprentices and students in the studio.
I have been working in clay seriously since college, and every studio, potter, painter, and art center that I have had the honor of visiting, knowing, or working with has provided me with inspiration for what I want or don’t want in my studio. My
studio is an exercise in the economy of space, trying to find the right balance between functional space, storage, equipment, and occupancy is always a juggle that shifts and evolves with time. Practically everything in the studio is on wheels so
things are able to shift as needed for cleaning, special events, or rearranging.
The scaling of the business and the studio is always on my mind, and trying to think both long range and short term in regard to future plans is key in how I operate. I would love to have a stand-alone building at some point, one that would provide space
for members, semi-private studios, private resident studios, funded apprenticeships, more kiln variety, and alternative learning spaces. I always keep in mind the prospect of a space large enough to have a small skateboard ramp in my personal studio
space.
Paying Dues (and Bills)
I found ceramics in high school and went to Syracuse University to receive my BFA in ceramics. I did a year-long apprenticeship at Bennington Potters in Bennington, Vermont, post undergrad, and then went on to receive my MFA from the University of Florida
in 2005. Teaching has always been a focus—I taught both as an adjunct and a non-tenured full-time professor from 2005–2019, as well as continuing my studio work/teaching as a studio potter.
Currently, I am in the studio five to six days a week, from 6–8 hours a day, it is my full-time job. Most of that is teaching, studio administration, meetings, prep, etc., but I work in at least some aspect of my own work each day. The reality of
being a studio artist is that, oftentimes, alternative sources of income are necessary in order to have the time, ability, and support for making. At one point, I taught six classes a semester adjuncting between two colleges, worked retail and construction
during the summers to supplement, and even drove a school bus as a way to have health insurance. I knew at the time that all of these things, as much as they took time away from the studio, afforded me the ability to be an artist and a maker.
Marketing
I have spent the better part of twenty years trying to figure out the best outlet for work. I really do feel that the multi-pronged approach is best for me, as one option has never been the only option for success. I have sold work through galleries and
art shows and spent from 2010–2016 doing wholesale shows and taking orders for work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. I have done a number of high-end retail shows from the mid-Atlantic up the East Coast as well, and I
have always felt that I enjoy selling directly to customers to be the most fulfilling. Taking orders directly from gallery owners for wholesale, as well as customers looking to take my work into their homes, is a really fulfilling avenue and has helped
build many lasting collectors to this day from those events and relationships. Social media has been a slog for me, and always seems like another full-time job to cultivate and maintain. But, social media does bear fruit, and I have had more success
with website direct-to-customer sales over the past few years. I do find that socials allow people following along the ability to see things in process, see the failures, and see a glimpse into the artistic process, which makes the work more relatable
to people on the other side of the screen. Workshops at colleges, art centers, and community studios have also been a really wonderful way to share my process and ideas and adds another income stream to the overall flow.
Mind
I have always been one to gravitate to non-fiction for my reading focus, primarily focusing on craft and art theory/psychology. Glen Adamson has always been a go-to, and the human relationship to making is deeply profound. I am always looking around me
for situations that catch my creative attention. Surface, pattern, color interactions, or structures have always been an energetic source of inspiration. I find that taking working breaks from the studio in order to turn my attention outward to process
and think is always a counterpoint to the studio. The most important lesson that I’ve learned is that I need to follow my ideas first and foremost. I find great reward and uncertainty while working through uncharted territory, allowing space
for that exploration, and making thoughtful mistakes in order to make informed decisions. As much as I am figuring out the successes and failures of new methods and materials, the results that I am uncovering seem to keep me more engaged and
wanting more. My favorite ways to use my non-studio time are fly fishing, playing old-time banjo, stumbling through learning Italian, and spending time making really good food with my family.
Most Important Lesson
I think one of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that there are many barriers to working, so your studio should not be a barrier to that process as well. Give yourself enough space and keep that space clean—exceptionally clean—as
that will allow you to make your work longer while being in good health. Put as many things on wheels as possible so it is easier to clean, as well as make it adaptable for multiple uses. Give yourself time to explore, play, and experiment, and always
know your worth, keep making, keep thinking, and keep being engaged. Art is an exploration and has no defined answers.
Find a mentor. Either someone who is already in business or someone who is business minded, like your roommate from college that got a business degree or a consultant that you can ask tough questions. I hate the idea that someone should experience the
pitfalls that are inevitable just for the sake that “everyone goes through that.” Let someone point those out to you, how they overcame those pitfalls, and how to avoid them. A creative business or a creative practice shouldn’t be
a gauntlet, and there are enough people out there that will share their experience and expertise as a resource that truly want to help you to succeed.
Find your community. This can be like-minded creative individuals, a guild, a book group, a business partner, whatever. These are people that you can bounce creative ideas off of and get weird. Find people that are open to your mindset, but also aren’t
afraid to tell you when an idea may be a dead end. They are also the people that will be in your corner, help you move, restructure, recruit, and champion you for being you.
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Clay
Standard Clay’s #266
Primary forming methods
slab building and wheel throwing
Primary firing temperature
just below cone 6, or 2190°F (1199°C)
Favorite surface treatment
terra sigillata
Favorite tools
Shimpo banding wheel and the Mudtools shape 7 steel rib
Studio playlist
Music of various genres, depending on the mood or energy that I am feeling on a given day. Current favorites are Sleaford Mods, Glass Beams, French hip hop, and Premier League or Italian soccer is usually on the studio TV.
Wishlist
a pugmill
Studio
My studio is a bit different than many, as I am currently co-owner of Papavero Clay Studio, a community ceramics studio in an 1800s brick row building located in Skaneateles, New York, in the Finger Lakes region of the state. The space (approximately 2000 square feet (185.8 m2)) was formerly a retail handcraft gallery opened by my father-in-law, Joe Panzarella in 1992. My wife, Sarah Panzarella, took over the business in 2012 and, in 2022, went back to teaching high school ceramics. With her vocational shift, I moved my studio into the space and began offering community clay classes. The front of the space is a gallery, representing over 50 national ceramic, jewelry, and handmade artists of various media. We offer devoted handbuilding and wheel classes and currently have four apprentices in the studio working on their professional work, as well as getting applied experience in teaching, retail management, and gallery/studio operations. Having ceramic works by accomplished artists for sale in the gallery has turned out to be a valuable resource for students, allowing them to look at surface and construction approaches—it has become a learning library as well as a sales space. Probably the best aspect, in truth, is the community of new makers that has grown over the past three years, experiencing their learning and love of clay. The second best part of the space is that the back of the studio has large doors that look out over beautiful Skaneateles Lake. Running a teaching and retail business does make it harder to have a consistent personal work schedule, but I really enjoy working in the same spaces as my apprentices and students in the studio.
I have been working in clay seriously since college, and every studio, potter, painter, and art center that I have had the honor of visiting, knowing, or working with has provided me with inspiration for what I want or don’t want in my studio. My studio is an exercise in the economy of space, trying to find the right balance between functional space, storage, equipment, and occupancy is always a juggle that shifts and evolves with time. Practically everything in the studio is on wheels so things are able to shift as needed for cleaning, special events, or rearranging.
The scaling of the business and the studio is always on my mind, and trying to think both long range and short term in regard to future plans is key in how I operate. I would love to have a stand-alone building at some point, one that would provide space for members, semi-private studios, private resident studios, funded apprenticeships, more kiln variety, and alternative learning spaces. I always keep in mind the prospect of a space large enough to have a small skateboard ramp in my personal studio space.
Paying Dues (and Bills)
I found ceramics in high school and went to Syracuse University to receive my BFA in ceramics. I did a year-long apprenticeship at Bennington Potters in Bennington, Vermont, post undergrad, and then went on to receive my MFA from the University of Florida in 2005. Teaching has always been a focus—I taught both as an adjunct and a non-tenured full-time professor from 2005–2019, as well as continuing my studio work/teaching as a studio potter.
Currently, I am in the studio five to six days a week, from 6–8 hours a day, it is my full-time job. Most of that is teaching, studio administration, meetings, prep, etc., but I work in at least some aspect of my own work each day. The reality of being a studio artist is that, oftentimes, alternative sources of income are necessary in order to have the time, ability, and support for making. At one point, I taught six classes a semester adjuncting between two colleges, worked retail and construction during the summers to supplement, and even drove a school bus as a way to have health insurance. I knew at the time that all of these things, as much as they took time away from the studio, afforded me the ability to be an artist and a maker.
Marketing
I have spent the better part of twenty years trying to figure out the best outlet for work. I really do feel that the multi-pronged approach is best for me, as one option has never been the only option for success. I have sold work through galleries and art shows and spent from 2010–2016 doing wholesale shows and taking orders for work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland. I have done a number of high-end retail shows from the mid-Atlantic up the East Coast as well, and I have always felt that I enjoy selling directly to customers to be the most fulfilling. Taking orders directly from gallery owners for wholesale, as well as customers looking to take my work into their homes, is a really fulfilling avenue and has helped build many lasting collectors to this day from those events and relationships. Social media has been a slog for me, and always seems like another full-time job to cultivate and maintain. But, social media does bear fruit, and I have had more success with website direct-to-customer sales over the past few years. I do find that socials allow people following along the ability to see things in process, see the failures, and see a glimpse into the artistic process, which makes the work more relatable to people on the other side of the screen. Workshops at colleges, art centers, and community studios have also been a really wonderful way to share my process and ideas and adds another income stream to the overall flow.
Mind
I have always been one to gravitate to non-fiction for my reading focus, primarily focusing on craft and art theory/psychology. Glen Adamson has always been a go-to, and the human relationship to making is deeply profound. I am always looking around me for situations that catch my creative attention. Surface, pattern, color interactions, or structures have always been an energetic source of inspiration. I find that taking working breaks from the studio in order to turn my attention outward to process and think is always a counterpoint to the studio. The most important lesson that I’ve learned is that I need to follow my ideas first and foremost. I find great reward and uncertainty while working through uncharted territory, allowing space for that exploration, and making thoughtful mistakes in order to make informed decisions. As much as I am figuring out the successes and failures of new methods and materials, the results that I am uncovering seem to keep me more engaged and wanting more. My favorite ways to use my non-studio time are fly fishing, playing old-time banjo, stumbling through learning Italian, and spending time making really good food with my family.
Most Important Lesson
I think one of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that there are many barriers to working, so your studio should not be a barrier to that process as well. Give yourself enough space and keep that space clean—exceptionally clean—as that will allow you to make your work longer while being in good health. Put as many things on wheels as possible so it is easier to clean, as well as make it adaptable for multiple uses. Give yourself time to explore, play, and experiment, and always know your worth, keep making, keep thinking, and keep being engaged. Art is an exploration and has no defined answers.
Find a mentor. Either someone who is already in business or someone who is business minded, like your roommate from college that got a business degree or a consultant that you can ask tough questions. I hate the idea that someone should experience the pitfalls that are inevitable just for the sake that “everyone goes through that.” Let someone point those out to you, how they overcame those pitfalls, and how to avoid them. A creative business or a creative practice shouldn’t be a gauntlet, and there are enough people out there that will share their experience and expertise as a resource that truly want to help you to succeed.
Find your community. This can be like-minded creative individuals, a guild, a book group, a business partner, whatever. These are people that you can bounce creative ideas off of and get weird. Find people that are open to your mindset, but also aren’t afraid to tell you when an idea may be a dead end. They are also the people that will be in your corner, help you move, restructure, recruit, and champion you for being you.
www.papaverostudio.com
www.jeremyrandallceramics.com
Bluesky: @randallceramics.bsky.social
Instagram: @randallceramics
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