Shaylise Sylvester is an artist who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she was born and raised. Shaylise discovered her passion for ceramics during her undergraduate studies and has been honing her skills for three years now. Shaylise is currently exploring and studying the history of ceramics, looking at historical artifacts, and finding her voice through her work. Shaylise tends to focus on wheel throwing but also enjoys the freedom of form that hand-building allows. Shaylise work is primarily functional at the moment, and she is interested in the development and history of functional pots. She also enjoys the idea of creating a functional pot that is unique and beautiful in shape. Shaylise had taught ceramics in California and now teaches at a local community studio in Fairbanks. Shaylise is currently a ceramics student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is preparing a portfolio for graduate school.

https://ThePottesCast.com/1084

From her earliest memory Natalie Miller has loved making art. As a young adult Natalie took a break from art, focussing more on working with horses. In her mid 30's Natalie was hit with an overwhelming drive to create again. Natalie started with pen drawings and painting, before taking her first pottery class at Station Gallery in Whitby. From the very first class she was hooked. It was everything I'd ever hoped it would be. Natalie is very much inspired by Mid Century Modern, Scandinavian design, clean lines, and bold colour palettes. Natalie lives with her partner and their two cats in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1083

Craig Britton & Brittany Whitaker are ceramic artists currently residing on San Juan Island, WA. Craig and Britt's collaborative work is inspired by nature and often includes hand-painted flora & fauna motifs. However, Craig's current body of work explores texture, materiality, and the creation process.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1082

Morgan Peck is a ceramicist living in Los Angeles. Morgan's namesake ceramic company, started in 2011, includes mirrors, lamps, sculptures, and vases all made in her backyard studio. Peck’s work continues in the footsteps of the studio potters that preceded her and she makes note of numerous styles, hinting at the Memphis Group, the Bauhaus, and Art Deco. Sometimes reproducing the forms of Venetian glass and the splotchy surfaces of 19th century spongeware, she moves through these references with a modest, considered, and decidedly modern touch.

https://ThePottersCast.com/1081

Clark County Open Studios is a juried show that takes place throughout Clark County in Southwest Washington. Each year 50 artist are chosen to participate along with 3 emerging artists. This year my wife, Jennifer and I were accepted into the show along with a number of other ceramic artists. Jennifer and I hosted an "after party" with a few of the other ceramic artists to talk about the event. 

https://ThePottersCast.com/1080

Today we are talking with Melissa Weiss. She has been on The Potters Cast twice before- Melissa's second appearance was in episode 624 in which we talked about her book she had just released, and  her first was in episode 183 where we got to hear her story of setting up a community studio. In today's episode we now hear her story of going through the hurricane, Helene through which she lost her studio. In the picture below you will see a photo from her Instagram feed  where you can see the roof of her studio circled in red and the waters completely engulfing the building.

https://ThePottersCast.com/1079

Hurricane Helene was devastating for so many people. Many potters were hit very hard with the storm. Mudtools, founded by Michael Sherrill, was hit so hard that their building was swept away as the waters rose. In todays episode, Michael tells his story of the storm.

https://ThePottersCast.com/1078

Tamara “Solem” Al-Issa is a Syrian/Filipina Toronto-based sculptural artist with a focus on conveying preservation of time. Solem’s work pulls from memories of the architecture and practices within SWANA and Southeast Asia through exploring familiar shapes, colours and textures from these regions.  The Deep Blue series presents hand-built traditional shapes in a custom mixed cobalt blue which is a colour that evokes a familiar sense of nostalgia and wistfulness. In the SWANA region, the colour blue (particularly turquoise) is known to have mystical and protective qualities.

http://ThePottersCast.com/1077