Author Archive: Paul Blais

Scandinavian Potters Take to the Mic | Maud Andersson, Helle Bovbjerg, Daniel Gillberg | Episode 414

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Maud Andersson, Helle Bovbjerg, Daniel Gillberg | Episode 414

Maud Andersson

While at NCECA I had the privilege of sitting down with this group of Scandinavian potters to talk pots. Maud Andersson, Helle Bovbjerg, and Daneil Gillberg talked about how Scandinavian potters approach clay differently from American potters. It is an interesting conversation of differences. Maud practices her ceramics in Sweden, Helle does her ceramics in Denmark, and Daniel does his clay work in Sweden. Between the three of them, they represent the three countries that make up Scandinavian region.

Helle Bovbjerg

Daniel Gillberg

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Looking Into The Woodfire Community | Denise Joyal, Chris Landers, Lisa York, Tim Sherman | Episode 413

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Denise Joyal, Chris Landers, Lisa York, Tim Sherman | Episode 413

Denise Joyal

Chris Landers

At this year’s NCECA Pittsburgh I sat down with a group of potters that had put on a room show to talk about what it was like to put on a room show. Now a room show is not part of NCECA, but it is a side thing that happens during NCECA in a hotel room. So that was going to be the point of the conversation. As we got into this we ended up spending a significant amount of time talking about what it is like being a part of the woodfire pottery community. The participants were Denise Joyal, Chris Landers, Lisa York, and Tim Sherman.

Lisa York

Tim Sherman and his Firing Crew

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What Judges Are Looking For | Victoria Christian | Episode 412

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Victoria Christian | Episode 412

Victoria Christen is a studio artist and instructor of ceramics at the
University of Portland. Victoria uses mark making to infuse meaning into the objects she makes. All her work in this show—from the deconstructions of found objects to the functional and sculptural ceramic pieces—emphasize the potential of human gesture and touch to express memories, emotions, and moments. Using ink and brush, fabric and thread, glaze and clay, she captures the joy of a young boy’s bird egg collection, the melancholy of leaf stains on a sidewalk, the effervescence of blossoms floating on a pond, and the pattern and intrigue in a crimped metal garden fence.

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A Designer Takes to Clay | Shannon Holt | Episode 411

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Shannon Holt | Episode 411

Shannon Holt is a creative director exploring reductive form on a potter’s wheel in her Portland, Oregon workshop. Her work is created under the brand of ESO ESTO. Drawn to clay in 2014, Shannon immersed herself in its foundations and has been riding the tension between her design training and the expressive immediacy of this medium ever since. Typically a form is discovered while working on the wheel, then refined through iteration until it feels complete. Guided by the allied attributes of Form and Texture, ESO ESTO wares manifest an affinity for understatement, a deep respect for craft, and the desire to elevate raw material into the realm of beautiful objects.

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Find the Balance Between Protection & Exploration | Carol Barclay | Episode 410

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Carol Barclay | Episode 410

Carol Barclay is a self taught studio potter, selling since 1981. Carol entered an outdoor art show and was delighted to sell out within 2 hours. Carol is a former competitive volleyball player, teacher, and avid gardener. Working with clay is deeply satisfying for Carol because of the physicality of the process and the possibilities.

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Writing Without Language | Tom Kemp | Episode 409

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Tom Kemp | Episode 409

Tom Kemp is back for another appearance on The Potters Cast. Tom has been potting for six years and got really serious in June 2017 when he quit his job to work full-time with ceramics. Tom’s background is in lettering and calligraphy where he has developed the use of the ‘square-edged’ brush which Tom still teaches around the world. It’s also the tool Tom uses most to ‘write’ on his pots.

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The Early Startup Of A Clay Business | Hannah Lenhart | Episode 408

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Hannah Lenhart | Episode 408

Hannah Lenhart is a recent graduate of Fairmont State University where she both a BA in Ceramics and Sculpture and a BS in Business Administration May of 2017. Since graduation Hannah has been working and living in the beautiful hills of West Virginia in her home studio where she has been busy preparing her studio space, stocking inventory, and transitioning from being a student to starting a small business. Hannah’s ceramics career began when she took her first ceramics class her second semester of college, and since then ceramics has been the center of her life. Experimentation plays a huge role in Hannah’s studio practice. She enjoys learning and finding new ways to decorate and manipulate clay. Hannah currently works with a cone 6 white stoneware and uses colored slips and carving techniques to decorate her work.

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A Choice to be in Clay | Levi Yastrow | Episode 407

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Levi Yastrow | Episode 407

Levi Yastrow is a Chicago based potter who earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2012. He is currently a teaching artist, ceramics studio technician and member of the Teaching Artist Advisory Board at Marwen, soda monitor and teacher at Lillstreet Art Center and an instructor at Penguin Foot Pottery.

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The Importance of Exposure | Justin Donofrio | Episode 406

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The Importance of Exposure | Justin Donofrio | Episode 406

Justin Donofrio grew up in Santa Cruz, CA where he was introduced to pottery at Cabrillo Community College. Justin then joined the vibrant Colorado community of artist in 2013 in the Roaring Fork Valley where he continued his clay education with the support of Anderson Ranch, The Carbondale Clay Center, and The Studio for Arts and Works (SAW). Justin remained in Colorado to complete a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from CSU Fort Collins in 2016. Justin is nationally represented in galleries throughout the U.S. Justin was an exhibiting artist and tour manager with the Artstream Nomadic Gallery in 2017 and will be again in 2018. Justin will also be participating in Art of the Pot (Austin Ceramic Studio Tour) in the spring 2018.

Currently Justin maintains a full time studio pottery at Art 342 in Fort Collins. The diversity of the front range of the Rockies lends itself to a balance between Justin’s love of rock climbing, the outdoors, and the arts. Justin’s palette of color and form are drawn from the exquisite and enduring beauty of the alpine landscape.

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In Awe of His Scrimshaw | Ben Gaboury | Episode 405

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Ben Gaboury | Episode 405

Ben Gaboury, of Scrimshaw Pottery, is a New England artist who grew up in Massachusetts, and received a fine arts degree studying ceramics in Portland, Maine. After developing skills for wheel throwing, he began experimenting with combining the 2 dimensional with 3 dimensional by adding illustrations to his pieces. He began thinking of his vessels as a canvas rather than just functional objects. Immediately he began portraying imagery that told stories. Never living far from the ocean, Ben saw scrimshaw as an easy and appropriate art form to combine with his contemporary wares. His work follows a utilitarian necessity that is artistically refined to be elegant and present a sense of splendor to the user.

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