Women in Ceramics Vol. 45 No. 1

Winter/Spring 2017

In this issue: nine essays remembering the life of Karen Karnes, a deep investigation of the legacy of women in wood-firing, several narratives about artists' personal journeys in clay, essays on the lives of California artist Ruth Rippon and Swedish artist Hertha Hillfon, a dynamic discussion of contemporary motherhood, international perspectives from Canada, the United Kingdom, Turkey, and India, a look at fourth-wave feminism, and more. ***Print copies of this issue are no longer available. PDF downloads are available, and discounted for members.***

Read Issue

Articles

Women in Ceramics - Editorial

By Elenor Wilson

“Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.” ― Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Musing on Making and Motherhood

By Aysha Peltz

Occasionally, I have the opportunity to spend time with other ceramic artists who are also mothers . . . I always leave those conversations feeling stronger . . .

Ruth Rippon, Her Story

By Nancy M. Servis

Ruth Rippon's story parallels the rise of vessel-based ceramics in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, clay’s evolution into sculpture, and unconventional pluralism.

Celebrating Swedish Ceramist Hertha Hillfon (1921-2013)

By Faye S. Wolfe

Was Hertha Hillfon an artist who made pots or a potter who made art? Among the many messages to be derived from her work is that making distinctions between art and craft is beside the point.

Passing the Torch

By Lauryn Axelrod

Since the 1960s, women in the United States have been wood-firing against the odds. They have persevered through such challenges as discrimination, child-rearing, marriage, divorce, education, apprenticeships, aging, and the intense physical effort that it requires.

You're a Potter, and Potters Have Kilns

By Nancy Catherwood Magnusson

So, I built one! With the help of a long-time friend and mentor from Taos, we designed and built a two-chamber kiln with thirty-five cubic feet of stacking space; the front chamber is a “mini-anagama” for ash and flash, the back chamber is a single-arch noborigama, designed to use with soda.

Beginnings & Influences

By Shelley Schreiber

During college, I lived in Mexico, learned to speak Spanish fluently, and after I graduated, I was an intern on Capitol Hill. I then went on to earn a master’s degree in international studies. I kept my Soldner kick wheel in my dorm room, and brought it with me to wherever I was living from then on.

The Balancing Act

By Marion Angelica

In preparation for this article, I interviewed ten female ceramicists to learn more about the challenges they face and what they do to balance the different parts of their lives. Their challenges . . . might be applicable to your own lives and careers.

Nine Authors Pay Tribute to Karen Karnes

By Nine Authors

I drove down a long road through winter woods, and at the end found a simple wooden building with a kiln out back. In the doorway stood a woman in her forties, welcoming me, but also, it seemed, guarding her space. The potter was Karen Karnes . . .

I'm Tired of Studio Pottery

By Bech Evans

I asked Bunzy if I could buy one of her mugs as they were coming out of the kiln, and she was incredulous. “Why would you want one of my mugs?” she asked. I disappeared and returned, waving a twenty-dollar bill in front of her, demonstrating my seriousness.

The Mananthavady Women's Kiln Project

By Meaghan Gates

It would be considered socially inappropriate for the women to do business on their own with the male potter. They would need to bring a male relative along—yet another obstacle to their production and self-sufficiency.

Sallah Jenkins: Mother, Artist, Creator

By Sarah McCann

Sallah Jenkins has been working, making, and teaching in Baltimore communities for decades. Through her work, she not only earned money to support her children but also paid homage to her heritage as an African American.

One Vessel at a Time

By Kit Cornell

As I developed as a potter—slowly, while raising a family—I became aware that women in other developed western countries had access to state-sponsored child care and other modes of support for making career and family life sustainable.

On Collaborations

By Ashwini Bhat

The cooperative and social nature of wood-firing gives me plenty of access to community. Still, over the years, artistic restlessness has spurred me to collaborate with artists in other mediums...

Successful Women Do Have Children

By Leanne McClurg Cambric, By Elizabeth Robinson, By Kari Radasch

This is a conversation between Kari Radasch, Elizabeth “Beth” Robinson, and me, Leanne McClurg Cambric, who documented it. We [. . .] have had a running fifteen-year dialogue about our struggles to balance our personal and professional lives.

Elspeth Owen

By June Raby

Elspeth Owen is very much concerned with the tactile qualities inherent in her forms while she is making them. She is less interested in the finished pieces, and the idea of putting them behind glass so that they can’t be touched is an anathema to her.

Two Different Views from the Same Window: One to the Inside and the Other to the Outside

By Olgu Sümengen Berker & Elif Okur Tolun

As two ceramicists from a similar social and educational backgrounds, Korkmaz and I are creating works that question life from our individual perspectives.

Jessica Steinhäuser’s Kachelöfen

By Barry Gunn

Like most worthwhile journeys, Jessica Steinhäuser’s career as an award-winning ceramic artist began with a leap of faith.

Explicit Content

Rock-Hard Feminism

By Dani Sigler

Young females working primarily in clay and with feminist themes, are rare. Does this have something to do with younger female clay artists and their involvement with Fourth Wave Feminism?

Contributions of Women in the Development of Jaipur Blue Pottery

By Khushboo Bharti

By describing the historical development of this pottery tradition, and the women who have made contributions to it, I hope to provide a context for understanding the contemporary changes that women are bringing to this pottery technique.

So, You Want to Wood-fire . . .

By Kristin Muller

"Wood-firing is not just about what you want to get out of the fire, but rather, what you bring to it." Kristin Muller gives advice to aspiring and beginner wood-firers.

Architecture in the Ceramic Landscape

By Susan Zimmerman

Susan Zimmerman discusses her discovery of the interplay between clay and sunlight through photographing her work.

Being Both: Artist/Mother

By Kate Fisher

Kate Fisher discusses the challenges of being both an artist and a mother, and how it led her to develop her website, bothartistandmother.com.

Gunda Stewart Lives Her Dream

By Mary Ann Steggles

Looking at the work of Stewart and her knowledge of wood firing, it is easy to believe that she has been doing this for thirty or forty years. Stewart is quick to correct anyone who thinks so.

Mud Season

By Julie K. Anderson

In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the locals use this term to describe the period between winter and summer. Mud season is time to work in the clay studio.

Authors' Reading Recommendations

Authors from this issue recommend further reading on ceramics, feminism, anthropology, craft, history, and just about everything else.

PDF Product

Women in Ceramics Vol. 45 No. 1

Search form

Articles

Member Log in