Website
www.alidellabitta.com

She/Her

Studio Description

Small private studio located in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York

What type of clay do you use?

All the clay—it depends on the project: Lowlier, paper slip, mid-range stoneware and porcelain, high-fire stoneware and porcelain, slip

What temperature do you fire to?

Every range, from Cone 04–10

What is your primary forming method?

Handbuilding

What is your favorite surface treatment?

Layers! Starting with pigmented slips and an underglaze, numerous applications of glaze

Do you make any of your own tools?

Sometimes you need to invent a tool for a new process.

What one word would you use to describe your work?

Texture

What is your favorite thing about your studio?

It's my oasis.

What is the one thing in your studio you can’t live without?

My collection of ribs

What are your top three studio wishes?

A smaller kiln, a pug mill, and a sink

What’s on your current reading list?
Breath, This is Your Mind on Plants, Naming Nature

How do you save money on materials and supplies?

I use my clay waste to make paper slip for my sculpture, and glaze reclaim to make some funky surfaces.

How do you recharge creatively?

By traveling and researching

What challenges have you given yourself to overcome?

To have more play in my studio process by not overthinking.

What did your first piece look like?

I first learned how to throw on the wheel as a teen, but my first sculpture looked like fruiting bodies.

What ceramic superpower would you have and why?

The ability to balance moisture when I'm traveling or busy and away from the studio—mind-controlled moisture application.

What area of skill do you most look to other artists to learn?

Color and ingenuity in processes

Who is your ceramic art mentor and why?

I studied with Nikki Blair in the last years of my BFA. I learned and still learn so much from her.

What is on your studio playlist?

It depends on the day and the mood. Sometimes it's music or it can be a clay or science podcast.

Why do you create art?

I don't really have a choice....it's a need. I love learning and exploring and it's an outlet for that information and experience.

Who is your favorite artist and what do you admire about that artist?

I couldn't choose one...and I'm always adding to the list.

What is your best studio tip?

Keep it clean

If you could change one property of clay, what would it be?