Instagram truly goes beyond being a social media time waster, it really has the power to change people’s lives. Noam is one such person whose life has been changed by the app. From opened doors, new relationships, opportunities, and more. To listen in on this conversation, click HERE.
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Kabir Syed | Episode 633
Kabir Syed started his ceramics practice 23 years ago, studying with Kirk Mangus and Eva Kwong at Kent State University, following a year teaching English and living in Gwangju, S. Korea. Kabir started throwing while simultaneously training in Mental Health Counseling. Dealing with painful trauma and the darker side of the human spectrum compelled Kabir to engage in the meditative and therapeutic process of making wheel thrown functional ceramic pottery, simple forms for use on the table/in the home. Kabir was introduced to wood firing and clay making at the same time and the immersion into atmospheric firing and ceramic exploration was established.
In 2004 Kabir attended a month long International Wood Fire Residency in Goshogawara, Japan, working with artists from the USA, Canada, South Korea, Greece, Spain, and Japan. While Counseling full time and teaching part time, Kabir found time to complete 2 week-long intensive summer workshops every year and managed to sporadically make pots and wood fire at least 2-3 times a year.
In 2011 Kabir decided to pursue an MFA in ceramics, which he completed in 2014. Also that summer he participated in a workshop at Peters Valley firing the large anagama there under the direction of Simon Levin and Bruce Dehnert. As full time Associate Professor in Pan-African Studies, he currently maintains a studio practice at Ohio Ceramic Supply and fires a local wood kiln with a group of Ohio artists at least 4-5 times a year. In the years since getting his MFA, he has moved into mold-making and slip casting as well as electric firing. The experience of seeing the commercial end of the ceramic process is slowly, but surely, becoming an area of intrigue and wonder.
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Maria Stone | Episode 632
Maria Stone is a Richmond-based artist focused on creating functional and decorative ceramic wares. Instead of throwing pottery on a wheel, Maria’s work is created using rolled slabs of clay or by pinching and molding by hand. Maria adorns each piece with intricate free-hand illustrations and carvings.
Maria has always sold her work face to face, but the covid challenge made her make a pivot to selling her work online. What we talk about is the challenges that she personally faced as she made this move. To listen in to this conversation, click HERE.
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Bojana Kolarevic | Episode 631
Bojana Kolarevic is a Montréal, Canada based ceramic artist focusing on creating simple imperfect objects for everyday use. Bojana’s background was in interior design, but pottery has become the light in her life and became her obsession.
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Caleb Zouhary | Episode 630
Caleb Zouhary was born and raised in northwest Ohio, where he first discovered his passion for clay in high school. After receiving his BFA in Ceramics at Ohio University, Caleb pursued post baccalaureate studies at East Carolina University and worked as an artist in residence at St. Petersburg Clay Company, primarily focusing on soda-fired functional pottery. Under the instruction of Elmer Taylor, Caleb received his MFA in Ceramics from the University of North Texas in 2014. Caleb’s graduate thesis explored the relationship between functional pottery design and food presentation, and it was during this time he began to experiment with layering glazes and resists, techniques which have persisted in his work and continue to be the foundation of his signature abstract surface designs. With support from his wife Casandra, Caleb owns and operates a community retail pottery studio and spends much of his time working in his personal studio in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Developing a dream is only slightly different from a pipe dream, but that slight difference is all the difference in the world. And it’s all about that not-so-secret ingredient called action. Taking action is the fuel for the dream engine. Caleb walks us through the actions he took to develop and grow his dream. To listen in the this conversation, click HERE.
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Avesha DeWolfe | Episode 629
As a die-hard ocean lover, clay provides a way to pay homage and respect to the source of Avesha DeWolfe’s inspiration and the place that refuels her. Through form and surface treatment, Avesha’s work reflects a life-long enchantment with the ocean and rocky beaches of Maine, where she grew up. In Scotland, where Avesha lives now, the enchantment continues. Avesha’s work is constructed out of soft slabs of red, mid-range clay. Building pots this way requires mindfulness and an active slowing down of the mind in order to examine every angle, curve, foot and rim. Nothing in the process of making a pot is taken for granted, every element of every piece is a considered choice. That consideration creates pottery which calls out to be held and offers space for mindful moments of self-care. Those moments add up to a life well-lived.
Taking care of yourself is as crucial to success as anything that you do. Avesha gives us her insights on how she cares for herself. I hope you find some golden nuggets to glean from her story so you can add them to your life. To listen to this conversation, click HERE.
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Justine Riley | Episode 628
Justine Riley is an artist exploring with thread, clay, paper, poetry, and books. Justine lives in the last house on a country road with her husband and son. Justine artistic path began in Florida when Justine signed up for a ceramics class at the local community college. There Justine met Josh, fell in love with pottery, and found the clay community. A few years later Justine and Josh moved to Kentucky, where they now have home studios, chickens, a garden and a creek where their son digs for rocks.
