Inspiration. If we don’t actively conjure it, we are at the unforgiving mercy of our muse. Knowing there is always clay to be wedged – well – it gives ceramists a leg up. When our brains can’t find traction, when our hearts are numb or heavy with burden, the physicality of our craft is the first… Read More

In November Studio Potter ran the first half of a report summarizing a series of conversations between galleries and artists. The impetus for the conversation was to consider the existing relationship between the two entities. Not a new conversation and certainly not a conclusive conversation.… Read More

Welcome to 2021. At our home the black-eyed peas and greens were prepared and eaten. The closets were cleaned, out with the old in order to welcome the new. We released old obligations, acknowledging our short-comings as we embraced our humanity. We were grateful for the gifts of grace bestowed… Read More

Congratulations to the recipients of our 2020/2021 Grants for Apprenticeships. Each team of mentor and apprentice will receive $10,000 to support their one-year apprenticeship. Established in 2019 and funded by an anonymous donor, Studio Potter’s Grants for Apprenticeships Program supports emerging… Read More

2020 has compressed us. The forces of history and nature confronted us like the chaotically arranged molecules we tend to be and exerted their force, descending with unprejudiced pressure on multiple planes.  Instead of thinking about the year as a series of unfathomable random pressures, it has… Read More

Everything is in question right now.  As I contemplated how to introduce the November stories to Studio Potter readers, Portia’s speech from The Merchant of Venice came into my mind, especially the opening lines,  “The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven… Read More

There is a book I used when I was teaching foundations of art called A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech. It’s a book full of exercises to unlock creativity, to help you get out of your own way and quiet your brain while achieving flow in your process. One of my favorite exercises,… Read More

Jeffery Kleckner, studio potter from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 65 years of age, passed away late August, 2020 while at work in his studio. Born and raised in Allentown Pennsylvania, Jeff maintained a studio in Bethlehem since 1988. His pottery interest was piqued when he took a college level ceramic… Read More

  Our final Studio Potter Author Chat for September was with Erin L. Shafkind, Courtney M. Leonard, and Paul S. Briggs. We zoomed in to talk in depth about topics surrounding the content of Shafkind's article, "Reclaiming the Potter." Enjoy this thoughtful, open, flowing, and in depth consideration… Read More

Welcome to September everyone.  We’ve made it this far through 2020 – not unscathed, but we can see the year’s terminating horizon with a strange combination of trepidation and hope. I can’t imagine anyone would hazard a guess at this point about what lies around the corner, but we have been… Read More