Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: A pottery and ceramic art podcast

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Tina Byrne and Elaine Riordan. Both are talented ceramic sculptors that are dedicated advocates for Irish ceramics. In our interview we talk about their recent bodies of work, the development of the Ceramics Ireland magazine, and how Irish ceramic artists are gaining more visibility in the global ceramic world.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Isobel Egan. Her geometric forms are constructed from porcelain slabs that appear both fragile and immense. Her recent work spans multiple feet in diameter and is made by combining modular box forms that are arranged in patterns that reference cityscapes and architecture. In the interview we talk about her porcelain hand building process, pricing work that is labor intensive, and exhibiting at large art fairs.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Darien Johnson. In his most recent body of work he uses digital and manual mark making to create complex surface imagery that shifts as the viewer moves around his sculptural forms. In the interview we talk about how a computer glitch changed his creative practice, his experience living in Denmark, and how he gives visual form to the foggy business of remembering the past. www.talesofaredclayrambler.com

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a rebroadcast of a 2015 interview with an icon of the American studio pottery movement, Warren Mackenzie. After an early apprenticeship at the Leach Pottery in St. Ives, Cornwall (1949-1952), Mackenzie became a ceramic professor at the University of Minnesota (1953-1990). In the interview we talk about his time at the Leach Pottery and his thoughts on what makes a good pot. Warren passed peacefully in his Stillwater, MN home on December 31st, 2018.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Liz Zlot Summerfield. Her hand-built pottery is created in small groups, or collections, using color and pattern to create visual interplay between the forms. In our interview we talk about the psychological impact of color, building a bisque library of forms, and establishing work-life balance.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Marty Fielding. His ceramic vessels live at the scale of domestic pottery, but often feel monumental with their architectural volumes and angles. In our interview we talk about his love of Frank Gehry’s architecture, building up layers of underglaze to create abstract fields of color, and how music has shaped his creative practice.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Amy Sanders. Her hand-built pottery is decorated with stamped patterns and layers of terra sigillata that refer to her love of vintage clothing and fabric. In our interview we talk about developing low fire surfaces, using the 80% rule in the studio and the value of an artist’s group. Amy is a member of Thrown Together, a group of four artists who exhibit their work together and provide feedback on each other’s work.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Ronan Peterson. The surface of his pottery is decorated with colorful terra sigillatas and bright glazes that reference the cycle of growth and decay in the natural world. In our interview we talk about the influence of comic books, learning to critique his own work, and pushing a body of work until it lives in its own reality. www.talesofaredclayrambler.com

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a live episode featuring Liz Zlot Summerfield, Ronan Peterson, Amy Sanders and Marty Fielding. Our wide-ranging conversation includes advocating for handmade through arts education, creating engaging low fire surfaces and why potters seem to dress like their pots. This episode was taped in front of a live audience as part of the Red Handed Symposium at the Clay Lady Campus in Nashville, TN. www.talesofaredclayrambler.com

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have a lecture by noted potter and educator Linda Arbuckle on the merits of low fire terracotta. She delivered this talk as the keynote speech at the Red Handed Symposium, held in May of 2018 in Nashville, TN. In her lecture Linda talks about her introduction to terracotta at the Cleveland Art Institute, historic traditions who worked with low fire materials, and how to make a functionally sound low fire glaze.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Richard Stratton. He uses late 19th century industrial ceramic techniques to make sculptural vessels that are steeped in the aesthetics of modernist architecture. In our interview we talk about how mud larking on the banks of the Thames reignited his interest in English industrial ceramics, the importance of research on aesthetic development, and selling ceramics in the NZ fine art market.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Nicole Kolig. Nicole’s studio and farm are nestled into the side of an extinct cinder cone volcano that rises above the surrounding Otago Peninsula outside of Dunedin, NZ. In our interview we talk about harvesting local ceramic materials for sculpture, the history of the Ceramic Association of New Zealand, and her time working with indigenous artists in the Kimberly region of Australia in the early 1970’s.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Cheryl Lucas. In 2011 multiple earthquakes hit her home area of Christchurch, devastating the city and creating a turning point in Cheryl’s work. In our interview we talk about making art as a way to make sense of tragedy, transitioning between the technical and conceptual aspects of making, and helping to rebuild the city by making large scale chimney pots used on historic buildings.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Tatyanna Meharry and Gwen Parsons. Tatyanna is the head of the Christchurch satellite of the Otago Polytechnic's Diploma in Ceramic Arts program, where she facilitates a two-year program guiding students through the ceramic’s curriculum. In the interview we talk about the history of ceramic education in New Zealand and rebuilding Christchurch after the 2011 earthquakes.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Chris Weaver. After rediscovering his grandmother’s Iron, he started making teapots that referenced its angular form. This has led to twenty-five years of exploring the form through a variety of firing techniques and forming methods. In our interview we talk about incorporating wooden parts into his functional ceramics, keeping the teapot form fresh, and making tools to create specific marks in clay.