Carly Slade grew up in “Big sky” Alberta, Canada. Carly’s work is influenced by her blue-collar roots and plagued by a concern for the precarious nature of the working class. Using a mix of materials (most often including clay, embroidery, and building supplies), Carly creates dioramas of real places in an unreal perspective. Carly received her MFA from San Jose State University and her BFA from the Alberta University of the Arts. Carly is currently an Assistant Professor and Area Head at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in Arcata, CA, USA.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Lorna Meaden. From her studio in Durango, CO Lorna makes functional pottery that is decorated with geometric patterns that contrast breaking glazes over crisp incised lines. In our interview we talk about developing a local market, refining forms through repetition, and the challenge of making complicated multipart forms. To see examples of her work, visit www.lornameadenpottery.com.

Lorna Meaden grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago. She received a B.A. from Fort Lewis College in 1994, and an MFA in ceramics from Ohio University 2005. She has been a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, and at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. Her work is represented my several national galleries. She has taught numerous workshops nationally and internationally, in addition to being featured as a demonstrator and lecturer at the National Council on Education in Ceramic Arts, and Utilitarian Clay V: Celebrate the Object. Lorna is currently a studio potter in Durango, CO.

New Adventures as an Art Business | Martha Grover | Episode 154

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Paul Blais

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Martha Grover | Episode 154

Martha Grover is a functional potter, living in Bethel, Maine creating thrown and altered porcelain pieces. She attended Bennington College in Vermont, where she received her undergraduate degree in Architecture. Martha received her MFA in ceramics from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She received the Taunt Fellowship at the Archie Bray Foundation. Her work can be found at galleries throughout the country. Her work has been published in Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, Pottery Making Illustrated, 500 Pitchers, 500 Platters and Chargers, and 500 Vases.

Carole Epp is a Canadian ceramic artist living and working in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She received her Masters Degree in Ceramics from the Australian National University in 2005 and has maintained a full time studio practice since.  Her ceramics branch off into two distinct bodies of work wherein she produces lines of sculptural and functional objects.

Due to a desire to expose her own demons as well as to investigate the social and political dis-function of contemporary society, Carole Epp creates figurative sculpture that presents humanity through a subversion of our utopic projections of ourselves. Her work pairs religious iconography with news headlines, pop culture with nostalgic kitsch, all through the subversion of the traditional genre of the collectible figurine.

Her line of functional work explores narrative and whimsy. Inspired by the chaos, the noise, the blur, the wonder, and the creativity of life with two small boys at home. She started making dishes for her first son as an aside to the functional pottery she was already making and now years later it plays a huge part of her studio practice. The dishes illustrate storybook images that can insight smiles and memories for young and old alike.

Her work has been exhibited throughout Canada; in Australia, Scotland and the United States. Her artwork and writing has also been published in the past few years in magazine publications, websites and books. She is editor of Musing About Mud an online blog that showcases information, calls for entry, exhibitions and artist profiles related to the ceramic arts.

Focusing on fragility and subtle strength, Rhonda Willers creates art with repetitive forms and markings reflecting on memories and nature through diverse materiality. Rhonda is the author of Terra Sigillata: Contemporary Techniques. Rhonda studied at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (BFA) and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (MFA). Rhonda is a studio artist, author, mother, and NCECA Board Steward located in Elk Mound, Wisconsin.

Adam Field is fascinated with antique artifacts, the way they can speak of mastery of lost peoples, places, and cultures. This inspires Adam to create works that both radiate history and capture his own place and time. Adam’s works toward a clean aesthetic that celebrates the masterful simplicity of antique Far Eastern pottery, while retaining the modest utility of colonial American wares. The surface of Adam’s pottery is meticulously carved with intricate designs that borrow from nature and incorporate the human touch. Much of the carving on Adam’s work is informed by the pattern languages found in indigenous fiber art, such as Hawaiian tapa, Incan cordage and Zulu basketry.

Born and raised in Colorado, Adam earned his BA in Art from Fort Lewis College. For two years he immersed himself in the culturally rich art scene of the San Francisco bay area, where he began his full time studio practice. From there, he relocated to Maui, where he established a thriving studio business. He spent most of 2008 in Icheon, South Korea, studying traditional Korean pottery making techniques under 6th generation Onggi master Kim Il Mahn. In 2013 he created and debuted HIDE-N-SEEKAH at the NCECA conference in Houston, TX. After maintaining his studio in Durango, CO for 5 years, Adam recently moved to Helena, MT where he is currently a long-term artist in residence at The Archie Bray Foundation. His works are included in private collections and kitchen cabinets internationally. 

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.

Lisa Orr is a professional potter and has been a student of ceramics for more than 40 years. After completing her MFA in 1992 at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, she received a Fulbright and an MAAA/NEA grant to continue her studies. Her work is shown in numerous public and private collections including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, and the permanent collection of WOCEF in Korea. A full-time studio potter, she also teaches, lectures, and shows nationally and internationally.

What happens when we approach our artistic development not as lightning-bolt inspiration but as intentional practice—exploring the minute details that fascinate us while carefully choosing which external voices we allow to influence our work? Throughout her 23-year career, Martha Grover has done just that, and the iconic look of her distinct thrown and altered porcelain vessels reveals how a pragmatic approach to the mystical journey of finding your creative voice can often be the most sustainable approach. In this episode, Martha shares the realities of being a studio potter in 2025 and how that actually looks like balancing her time between many different roles. Whether it be teaching workshops, running a community studio or maintaining her own making practice, Martha demonstrates how “success” for artists today often means deciding what is enough rather than giving in to constant growth. Even when you have a 101 person waitlist. Could the clarity to set these boundaries be what allows your unique artistic voice to thrive both creatively and financially?

We are back! Season 3 of the Maker’s Playbook podcast kicks off with Adam Field! In this episode, Adam and I dig into how he managed to say yes to a multi-year residency program at the Archie Bray with 2 kiddos in tow, how he integrates social media into his studio practice, and the vulnerability it takes to change the style of our work when also making a living from that work. This is a conversation I know I personally will be returning to frequently.

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.

Here on the podcast, we often talk about the delicate balancing act between creative fulfillment and business sustainability - a struggle that can feel overwhelming without guidance. What if finding the right mentor could be the pivotal moment that transforms your creative practice and career trajectory? When Lisa Orr sought out Betty Woodman as a mentor, it completely shifted her perspective on materials, giving her permission to pursue colorful earthenware despite the stoneware-dominated ceramics world of the 1980s. Through her journey from studying with established potters to international research and eventually becoming a mentor herself, Lisa reveals how these relationships provided not just technical knowledge but practical business skills alongside the confidence to challenge current assumptions. Could the difference between struggling in isolation as an artist and building a sustainable decades-long pottery career be found in actively seeking mentorship and finding your creative community?

We spend so much energy measuring success by how visible or "full time" our craft looks from the outside, but the version of making that actually sustains you might look completely different from what you think it should. Over the last 5 years, since we first interviewed Camille Beckles (of Camille at the Wheel), on our debut episode here at the Maker’s Playbook, Camille has had the opportunity to say yes to the most exciting, challenging, and community-driven ceramics opportunities of her career. And it's her full-time job that gave her the freedom to do it. When survival isn't on the line, your art gets to be whatever you want it to be. Could releasing the pressure to monetize everything (and leaning into what genuinely sustains you) actually be the most serious thing you can do for your creative practice?

Today on the podcast we have part one of a live episode to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the podcast. I was joined by Carole Epp and Britta Schroeder, as well as a live audience on Zoom. Many thanks to everyone who came to the taping and helped us celebrate. In this episode we talk about our favorite episodes and how making gives our lives meaning. To celebrate our anniversary, we are also having a fund drive. If you are able, please visit www.talesofaredclayrambler.com/donate to make a pledge through our PayPal portal or you can make a monthly pledge at patreon.com/redclayrambler.

Sarah Pike on Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Episode 380: touching clay with clarity and intent

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: 514: Lisa Orr on developing psychedelic low-fire glazes. Lisa Orr started working with low-fire ceramics decades ago, moving through majolica before developing a unique psychedelic color palette. In our interview we talk about matching thermal expansion of clay and glaze, side stacking glaze wares, and developing aventurine glazes

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler, Lisa Orr on the influence of Betty Woodman, color synesthesia