Sarah Pike makes slab-built, functional pots on the edge of a little ski town in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. If you went to Fernie, you would probably find her in her studio, which is just off the highway, next to the beaver pond and under the Lizard Range. Unless, of course, she is out doing her other favorite things… playing in the mountains, eating food somewhere or digging in the garden.  Sarah studied ceramics at ACAD in Calgary, the University of Colorado, Boulder and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Her pottery is inspired by many things, including the landscape around her home, the crazy rich history of pottery, specifically Japanese and Islamic ceramics, but also by antique tinware, textured metal, and old things you might find in barns.

n 1993 Simon Levin fell in love with the movement of flame through a wood-kiln. Its sensuous quality is something Simon seeks to capture in his work. This quest led Simon to an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. Recently the work explores the deep, dark, primal connections between all of us. Simon owns Mill Creek Pottery in Wisconsin, where he and his apprentices work to advance the cause of wood-fired pottery.

This week I’m chatting with woodfire potter, Simon Levin. A self-proclaimed “evangelist of clay” who continually finds ways to bring educational resources outside of the traditional structure to the clay community.

After over 30 years working as a full-time studio potter, there were almost endless subjects we touch upon in this conversation that could be entire podcast episodes onto themselves - How to make what you want first, and market second, the difference between craft and art, and so much more.

As makers, we often envy others' seemingly polished creative lives without seeing the winding path they took to get there. AnnMarie Cooper's journey from gallery employee to pottery gallery owner, cohorts program manager, and shared studio founder reveals how real artistic careers evolve through countless iterations - from taking community college classes and working in an 80-square-foot backyard shed to finding her voice through unexpected owl designs. Her story reminds us that the current stage of any maker's journey was built on multiple transitions, space adjustments, and boundary-setting exercises that responded to both creative and family needs. Behind every Instagram-worthy studio or established gallery lies years of gradual growth, experimentation, and community-building that transformed initial passion into sustainable creative practice.