Heather Knight opened Element Clay Studio in Asheville, NC in 2007, after running a retail studio in Asheville's popular River Arts District, Heather moved her growing family to Savannah, Georgia.Though the business has grown greatly over the years, the backbone of the studio has remained the same. Heather is committed to remaining a craft based business, and all of the porcelain dishes, tiles, vases, and decorative objects are 100% handmade and don't use any means of mass production. Adhering to these values allows Element Clay Studio to continue to produce only the finest, heirloom quality work. Heather's work has been featured in many art & design publications, including Interior Design, Elle Decoration, Rue Magazine and American Craft. She works with designers across the globe to place custom art installations, and provides custom tableware for celebrity chefs like Eric Ripert, Jose Andres and Gordon Ramsey.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1021

Rachel Vitko discovered ceramics early on in Highschool where she was introduced to wheel throwing and surface decoration, combining her two loves of illustration and clay. For college Rachel went to MCAD (Minneapolis College of Art and Design) to further her illustration and explore graphic design. Rachel now pulls from those skills when creating her whimsical but functional pieces. Rachel currently resides in her home studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

http://ThePottersCast.com/1020

Toprak Sencer is a ceramist living in the Aegean region of Turkey, specializing in primitive ceramic methods. Toprak is recognized as a pottery artist by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. Toprak aims to popularize the primitive methods of pottery.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1018

Bill Schwenzer, a BS Mechanical Engineering graduate, transforms clay into art as a full-time potter. Bill's pieces, a fusion of technical expertise and creative intuition, tell stories of balance and beauty. With work in galleries and private collections, Bill's ceramics showcase a unique blend of engineering precision and artistic expression.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1010

Dustin Johnston was born and raised in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada where he graduated from Thompson Rivers University with a visual arts diploma and eventually moved into Emily Carr Institute where he completed his BFA and graduated with a major in Ceramics and Painting in 2007. From there Dustin's journey took him through many jobs and summers working as a tree planter.  Eventually Dustin's started his own construction company with a focus on tile installation and up until last year had been operating his own company for nearly 15 years. While working full time running the construction business Dustin still managed to paint and draw and make art whenever he had time. Most recently Dustin has swung back toward his passion for making art and opened an art studio and boutique shop in Peterborough Ontario with his wife where Dustin makes functional wares and ceramic art full time. Dustin is excited to continue on this journey of artistic exploration and see where it takes him.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1009

Missy Graff Ballone is the author of Wellness for Makers: A Movement Guide for Artists! Missy's mission is to motivate and empower creatives, like you, through education, mindful-living, and movement! Missy combines her unique backgrounds as an Artist, Yoga Instructor, and Licensed Massage Therapist to make information about the body accessible to artists everywhere.

http://ThePottersCast.com/961

As a self-taught artist, Sondra was not able to truly devote time to her creative journey until after retiring from her life in the business world. Her journey has taken her to study with Spanish, Austrailian, English, and American ceramic artists to develop her skills. With her pottery, her chosen medium is porcelain because its strength and delicacy learn to live in harmony. It is her perfect canvas to display the beautiful zinc-silicate crystals that can only be created through normally destructive fire. These naturally occurring phenomena inspire her never-ending desire to artistically harness their capability on the backdrop of her forms - which equally exude both capability and femininity.

http://ThePottersCast.com/957

Kilnjoy Ceramics is owned and operated by Denise Joyal. Denise is the adjunct Professor of Ceramics at Wilson College and a graduate of Hood College with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramic Arts. Like sunlight passing over the landscape, fire and soda vapor flow across the wares of Denise's work adding warm colors and permanently illuminating the vessels’ surfaces. 

http://ThePottersCast.com/955

"Hello Strong Human", is the message from Danielle Williams. Danielle is the face, hands, and heart behind Strong Roots Pottery. Graphic Designer by day and potter by night, Danielle resides in Dallas, TX, where she makes small batch ceramics as strong as Danielle's roots.

http://ThePottersCast.com/853

Em Piscopo stumbled into ceramics nearly 2.5 years ago in an attempt to discover my creative side after letting my analytical side take the reigns for too long. The connection was instantaneous, and Em fell in love hard and fast with the medium of clay. Em could never in her wildest dreams have anticipated making pieces that would someday be passed from her hands to those of family and friends, old and new, all over the map. The heart of Nightshade is, and in some ways has always been, finding the intersections between art and science, style and function, and to bring a bit of magic into everyday life.