The Potters Cast | Pottery | Ceramics | Art | Craft

Liz Cohen first experienced working with clay while getting her undergraduate degree in Studio Art from Georgia State University. Liz moved to Denver, CO after school and has been slowly growing a small batch ceramics business outside of other full-time jobs. Liz currently works out of her home studio making functional ware with decoration inspired by mid-century modern design.

Direct download: Episode_663_Liz_Cohen.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Hana Karim grew up between painting studios and pottery wheels in the Western part of Slovenia where her parents encouraged her to see that ceramics could be a business, a passion, and a form of artistic expression. This sense of progression felt natural, as Karim uses jewellery-making techniques as a way of giving definition to the bowls, cups, and plates of her homeware line. Karim’s sensitivity to her creative process has taught her to work organically and in line with her feelings, rather than forcing herself to create something that she will come to dislike. Karim’s evasion of structured routine urges perpetual curiosity and exploration - in both her ceramics and in her personal life."

Direct download: Episode_662_Hana_Karim.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Amy Sunshine Burnham is a Pacific Northwest artist who works diligently to balance many roles in her life. Amy has built a career and a life navigating the triad of her roles as mother and wife, full-time high school ceramics educator, and potter. Amy's personal explorations in clay are always inspired by process. Amy's work is most often represented by colorful and functional explorations in agateware and the intensity of anagama woodfiring process.

Direct download: Episode_661_Amy_Burnham.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Born is Sioux Falls, SD, Britton Thorp is a ceramic artist and chef. He received his BFA (2008) from Ohio University and is currently a Graduate candidate at Syracuse University. In between, he was a resident artist at The University of Arkansas and Michigan State University. Britton’s current studio practice includes functional pottery, virtual design, photogrammetry and curated dining experiences.

Direct download: Episode_660_Britt_Thorp.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Lillie Turner is in love with clay - not a guy named Clay, as her husband's name is Jeremy, but clay, as in pottery clay. Lillie's first exposure to pottery was in 2015, at a community club taking 6 nights of wheel throwing classes. Throwing on the wheel did not come easy and is still a struggle somedays to center the clay, pull up the wall, and make pieces that match in shape and size, but she does not give up easily!   
 
The community pottery club in town allowed potters 24 hours access to the studio which was great for a newbie who was very enthusiastic. Many hours were spent at the wheel- but Lillie had a keen interest in learning all aspects of pottery, so she volunteered to load kilns, maintain kilns, which gave her great experience early on. The next big step was to learn about glazes, with the approval of the club Lillie organized a 3 day glaze workshop with John Britt from North Carolina, which was incredible, but quite advanced as Lillie had never even mixed a glaze before- but that did not intimidate her- she bought a kiln, and set up a small studio space in her garage- and started glaze testing. The more glazes Lillie made, the more she wanted to learn about glaze chemistry.  Lillie found a fantastic online workshop for cone 6 glazes taught by Matt Katz of Ceramic Materials Workshop, which is an in depth course of over 50 lessons to work through at your own pace. Lillie jokes that she is now trying to learn chemistry at the age of 41 years old- as she was homeschooled from grade 6 onwards and never took chemistry. 
 
Lillie's business is called My Lil Shop Canada- as she is not just a potter- she is an entrepreneur of many things, including soap making, and beekeeping which compliment pottery so well- the soap sells nicely with pottery soap dishes, and Lillie makes beeswax tea light candles for pottery candle holders, and honey pots as special gifts.  
Recently Lillie has started to focus on making serving trays and dinner plates as cooking is a huge passion of hers. In 2009 Lillie left her career in banking to go to Culinary school, as she had always wanted to learn the tricks of the trade and become a better cook, as she and her husband love good food!  
 
Lillie became a full time potter April 2020 after selling a wholesale skin care company she owned for the past 7 years, and is loving doing something she is really passionate about- being creative, and making pottery for people to enjoy for many years to come! She sells most of her work through ETSY, as well as sells her work wholesale to a handful of stores in British Columbia, and one in Nova Scotia. 
Direct download: Episode_659_Lilliie_Turner.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Jesse Golden owns and operates J.G Clay working to create ceramics to inspire. In 2019 he left his marketing career for a 5 month ‘Ceramic Sabbatical’ where he participated in residencies, home stays, and studio visits throughout Asia. He is a maker at heart and loves to inspire his student’s creativity.

Direct download: Episode_658_Jesse_Golden.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Lissa started her professional journey with clay working in the studio potteries of Kolonyama in Lesotho and Mapepe Craft in Henley-on Klip. Lissa has owned her own craft shop and worked in a non-profit organization giving therapeutic outreach pottery sessions to vulnerable people. Lissa sculpts figuratively, lately focusing on themes exploring her own childhood in South Africa. She is also a production wheel thrower and teaches pottery lessons to adults and children in her Hout Bay studio in Cape Town. Making for the film industry has been an exciting new departure. She recently made lamps and idols for the Troy series and ‘smashables’ for Warrior 2, both filmed in South Africa. She is now producing online workshops via private YouTube videos on different techniques to reach a worldwide audience. Lissa studied Social Anthropology and African Languages at the University of Cape Town and studied Ceramic Science at the Witwatersrand Technikon. She is a second-generation potter.

Direct download: Episode_657_Lissa_Claassens.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Chris Burch found clay, albeit by accident, back in the fall of 2013. Chris's mother used to do slip casting and always referred to her work as ceramics. When Chris enrolled in Ceramics I in college, he thought that’s what he'd be doing. To his utter surprise, Chris had actually registered for a wheel throwing class. It was all over once Chris had his hands in the clay!

Direct download: Episode_656_Chris_Burch.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Hamish Jackson is a potter from England, started potting at Winchcombe Pottery in the Cotswolds. Hamish got married to his lovely American wife Lauren and moved to the states six years ago. Since then Hamish has completed a four year apprenticeship under Mark Hewitt and now is now headed off to USU for grad school.

Direct download: Episode_655_Hamish_Jackson.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT

Donna Gardner Stiar  fell in love with pottery at age 57 when she signed up for a wheel throwing class.  Seven years later, Donna now handbuilds and hand paints fun, happy, and whimsical pieces that focus on making people smile!

Direct download: Episode_654_Donna_Gardner_Striar.mp3
Category:Pottery -- posted at: 3:00am PDT