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This is the Ancestors’ Work – Jim McDowell
Randi O'Brien
Our ancestors were involved with every facet of that. They went and got the clay, and they processed the clay. They built the kilns, they cut the wood, they stacked the wood, and they dried the wood. They did everything. And so what I've done over the years is learn just about every facet of pottery to create this thing. This is also a part of the ancestors' work, where we remember that the information and the tools and things that they had were foundational, but now I can take that information and augment it and take it to the advances, take it to the highest level. Read More.
The Evolution of an Earthquake-Resistant Fast-Fire Wood Kiln
Euan Craig
On the afternoon of Friday, March 11th, 2011, around tea time, I was in my studio just north of Mashiko, putting handles on some vessels. The floor suddenly shifted under my feet as if I were riding a train. The house began to rattle and shake, pots began to fall from the shelves, and the vibration became a roar. I opened the door and rushed outside, turning back to look at the house as I went. It was swaying, like bamboo in the wind. I turned to see the kiln chimney swing left and right, somehow not collapsing yet, but widening cracks appearing up its length. When the tiles came sliding off the roof, I began to run; the children were still at school… Read More.
Orbiting the Vortex
Carey Nathanson
Being part of something much bigger, a speck in an ancient tradition, and contributing to an ongoing dialogue with the past. Propping up the people who came before me and helping those who come along with me and after. I see it as more than a vocation. Read More.
Courting the Flame
Tara Wilson
Somewhere in that chaos, a kind of intimacy forms – not just between potter and fire, but among all the people involved. There is something ancient and elemental about this process. From the slow, calm beginning with a small campfire-like flame, while watching a peaceful sunrise, to the crackling, raging beast that consumes wood by the wheelbarrow load as it reaches its final temperatures. It's communal. A ritual of patience and faith. Read More.

Latest News

August 1, 2025

The narratives that Studio Potter publishes shape how our field remembers itself. And like all good pottery, it carries the imprint of the hands involved. The first hands that shaped this month's publication came from generous support through donations to our 2024 year-end appeal. Readers wanted… Read More

July 1, 2025

In This Issue – Ron Meyers

We are proud to present our annual "Luminaries in Clay" feature – a series devoted to honoring the lives and legacies of those who have illuminated new ways of making, thinking, or living through clay. They are not only masters of material and form but also… Read More

June 11, 2025

Spring Fundraising Campaign

Here at Studio Potter, the non-profit journal for the clay community, we pride ourselves on offering what we think is a pretty luxurious publication. But behind what you see is a no-frills operation with two part-time staff positions, backed by a hands-on board of directors who… Read More

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