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For the Love of Pottery: A Valentine’s Celebration
Sarah Wells Rolland launches her new You Tube channel with a special Give-A-Way!
Happy Valentine’s Day Beautiful Potters and Pottery Lovers!
What a wonderful life we live as creative people. I am always looking for new ways to share my love for potters, clay and all things creative.
I hope you will join me on an even deeper creative journey where I hope to inspire creativity, nurture excellent skills and always have fun. For the last few months, we have been at work behind the scenes building my YouTube Channel platform into an exciting resource for potters to grow as ceramic artists and gain the skills to make whatever you want.
The newly updated channel will debut on Feb 14th Valentine’s Day. To celebrate, I will be giving away two pinky rib mugs made using techniques I share on my channel. Be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel to see my giveaway details coming soon. See my YouTube Link below.
Porcelain Mug in Satin Green Glaze 
B Mix Wood Mug in Satin Pumpkin Glaze On Valentine’s Day, I will also be sharing newly created instructional videos on my Youtube channel. We will continue to grow playlists that span from the fundamentals of throwing to the multiple techniques needed to make more advanced work like pouring vessels, platters, teapots, bigger pots, lidded forms, and guest artists too.
This channel will be a wonderful opportunity to experience my approaches to clay and be exposed to more in-depth teaching with me. Most of you know I teach in person workshops as well as online too. My Youtube channel is a great opportunity to get a real taste of what it is like to study with me. Go on over and subscribe to my channel, you won’t want to miss it. Click here to subscribe now!
I look forward to connecting with you!
Sarah
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The Creative Journey
Graduating ISM members, R-L: Cara Steinbuchel, Heather Taddonio, and Melissa Henry When we first started the Advanced Studies (Independent Study and Mentoring) Program at The Village Potters Clay Center, it was so difficult when students would complete the program. It meant they were leaving. Well, it is still difficult. We have accepted this, in fact we lean into it and celebrate what has been accomplished and the relationships that have grown from this time together.
Three wonderful potters, Cara Steinbuchel, Heather Taddonio, and Melissa Henry, have all completed the program. In that time each has developed their own body of work through a lot of exploration, experimentation and hard work. They are selling their work out in the greater art community. They are beautiful and wonderfully creative women.
At this point, we have so many former students that are across the country and here in Asheville, making pots in their studios, building professional careers in clay, and most importantly, living their dream. We are confident these three potters will, too.
We will miss them, it’s true. But we know we will stay connected because we are now friends for life and the creative connection is strong.
Heather, Missie and Cara we love you!
Check out their work on our Alumni Page and be sure to follow them as they continue in their journey and move into the greater creative community.
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We Love Ruth!
Ruth Fischer Rutkowsky As the leaves change their color and fall to the ground, and the chill in the air sneaks in, there is also change at The Village Potters.
Ruth Fischer Rutkowsky joined us for a residency here at The Village Potters exactly 2 years ago. We all knew her stay was only for a season but knowing this does not make transition easy when it comes.
Highly creative people often need change and new experiences to spark their creative energy. Ruth’s stay here with us was just that. She came on an adventure, living here during the week in her camper, lovingly named “Sweet Pea”, and then home to Burnsville on the weekends. During her season here she fully immersed herself in the community while maintaining her business with her husband Michael Rutkowsky in Burnsville, NC.
During Ruth’s residency she worked in her personal studio. She sold her beautiful work in our gallery. She was a mentor in our Advanced Studies Program and an instructor in our Teaching Center. She took a workshop with me “Pushing Your Pots to Another Level” and a sculpture workshop with Tina Curry, “Creative Animal Sculpture”. Her stay here opened doors for her to explore ideas for new directions in her work.
Ruth joined us for community, inspiration, collaboration, and purpose. Isn’t that what we all want? I believe Ruth found all these things here.
So, what’s next? Well, Ruth is going back to work full time at her home studio. Immersing herself in new directions in her work. I imagine her sculpting, and exploring low fired pots, two things she talks about a lot now. But we all will just have to watch and see.
We will miss Ruth, but we know our bonds now are established, rooted in love, and she will be a part of us, always.
Be sure to stay connected with Ruth.
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Firing Together: A Back History
Firing Team Introducing Wood Ash Firing together is the Best: A Back History
When we built this sweet kiln in 2016 I had no idea what joy and connection she would bring. We have fired her 23 times now and every time we have worked hard, shared meals, laughed, swapped stories and celebrated beautiful pots.
Kazie, as we fondly call our kiln holds about 150 pots. Thats close to 3500 pots fired so far in her short life. Currently, she is in the process of a rebuild because we decided to introduce soda at firing #16. We sure loved the results too. But we knew that the kiln was not built with materials that were able to withstand the corrosiveness of soda. So, we got 7 firings and it was time to rebuild and modify her for soda. We also knew we needed to build an awning for her so we were not required to wait for good weather to fire her.
Now she will be ready to fire in the spring. We are planning 2 test firings in in April.
Then our first weeklong firing workshop in May. This workshop will provide the funds for the kilns gravel pad and awnings. We are really excited to fire together with our greater community. That can be you!To register for May 6-10, 2024 Workshop Click Link
Sarah wadding pots 
Kazegama beibng loaded Kazie Team 2022 In the we small hours of the morning!
Left to right, Heather Taddonio, Missie Henry, Karen Dubois, Bryan Dubois, and George Rolland -
Spotlight on our Advanced Studies Program
Here at The Village Potters Clay Center, we are entering the 7th year of our Advanced Studies Ceramics Program. Currently, we have 15 potters who are dedicating 1-3 years studying with us in a program built upon independent study and mentoring. This unique program is a wonderful alternative to studying ceramics in the university setting. Our criteria for applicants is based on a potter’s personal goals, current skill level, and current work. We have a simple but efficient application process that helps us accept candidates that are a good fit for our program. Our deadline for application for our next session beginning November 1, 2023 is September 1st, 2023.
Members of our current group of potters in the Advanced Studies Program For the next 3 newsletters I will spotlight several potters currently in our program.
Amanda Bragaw of AB Goods, is a wonderful potter who studied with us for several years, taking classes and then 2 years ago applied for our advanced studies program and was awarded an apprenticeship as well.
Amanda has accomplished much in her 2 years, concentrating on her body of work and developing her own glazes. She has developed a beautiful body of functional pots in black, white, soft lavenders, and teals.
Amanda Bragaw with some of her bowls Close up of bowls Platter by Amanda Bragaw Pots in soft, lavender hues (Photography by Sarah Wells Rolland)
Another wonderful potter in our program is Diana Hoover of Knook Ceramics. She entered our advanced studies program in Nov 2022. She had been taking classes here at The Village Potters Clay Center for several years when she applied. In her year in our program Diana has developed her contemporary, colorful aesthetic and is now marketing her work. She explores shape, color, geometric pattern, and random pattern in her work. She makes stylized pottery for the contemporary home.
Diana Hoover, holding several vessels Bowls by Diana Hoover Vases by Diana Hoover Colorful, contemporary designs by Diana Hoover (Photography by Diana Hoover)
Chad Caldwell of Artfully Appalachian has been making pottery for several years now, first studying here at The Village Potters in our community classes, and for the last year in our advanced studies program. He has been an apprentice now for 2 years and works in our Advanced Studies Studio and at his home studio as well. Chad has developed a colorful body of work celebrating nature with color and imagery.
Chad Caldwell with Fern Bowl (Photograph by Sarah Wells Rolland)
“Oranges” bowls by Chad Caldwell Cups by Chad Caldwell Fern Plate by Chad Caldwell (photograpy by Chad Caldwell)
Working with emerging ceramic artists and sharing in their creative journey is an integral part of our mission here at The Village Potters Clay Center.
Links:
Amanda Bragaw of AB Goods: WEBSITE INSTAGRAM
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Welcome Keira Peterson: Operations Manager
We are delighted to announce that Keira Peterson has joined our staff here at The Village Potters Clay Center (TVPCC) as our new Operations Manager.
Keira Peterson, Operations Manager Keira brings her beautiful spirit, skill and professionalism to our community and she steps into this position with first hand knowledge and experience as to who we are, our core values and our mission.
Keira joined us over five years ago when she decided to become a professional potter. She immediately found a home here and we all care for her deeply.
Keira Peterson with one of her uniquely designed vases. Keira first studied here in our Advanced Studies Program and had an apprenticeship position for three years and also joined us on our teaching staff. She is a highly sought after instructor and during her time teaching here her organizational skills have made our teaching center even sharper.
Since then, Keira has had a personal studio in Second Story Potters, an incubator studio we created in our building in 2019. It is now a thriving community of potters with eight studios and a shared gallery.
We are blessed that she has decided to offer her organizational skill set to us here at TVPCC. There are many areas of operation here including our gallery, our clay supply company, and educational opportunities, to name a few. Keira will be handling the day to day operations and all of your clay needs. How will Keira manage a pottery business and also be our Operations Manager? Well, Keira is a structured and disciplined woman and she has mapped out a part time schedule where she will do both and I am confident she will do both well.
Rocks Cups by Keira Peterson Retro Modern Mug by Keira Peterson Textured Pitcher by Keira Peterson Keira’s work is available Online, Odyssey Gallery of Ceramic Arts and in the collective gallery at Second Story Potters here in our building.
You can contact Keira at keira @ TheVillagePotters.com
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Shapes of Summer: A Pop-Up Show
What are the Shapes of Summer? At The Village Potters Clay Center you can experience the shapes of summer as interpreted by 13 wonderful potters currently in our Advanced Studies Program. This is a one day pottery pop up show you don’t want to miss.
On Saturday, June 10th from 11-4 pm these diverse and skilled potters will display and sell their work just outside our center. You will see everything from bright colorful patterns, to intriguing imagery on functional pots, to woodfired pieces, and beautiful saggar fired vessels. Potters who study with us spend concentrated time from 1 to 3 years exploring and discovering their personal creative expression with clay.
Here is a glimpse into the 13 potters that will be exhibiting. Check out each potter’s unique expressions in clay.
Amanda Bragaw spends most of her days at the wheel making functional shapes that offer a smooth canvas for her rich palette of satin and gloss contrasting colored surfaces. She has been formulating her glazes for several years now and her work is lovely and very smooth to the touch.
Amanda Bragaw with Bowls 
Assorted Pots by Amanda Bragaw Chad Caldwell, aka Artfully Appalachian, is a mountain made artist. When he is not teaching art or making art he is either in the woods or on the river. Nature is everywhere in his work, from the mountain ranges to beautiful greenery. He has spent many hours exploring glazes and underglazes to create the color palettes that he loves, the colors of nature.
Chad Caldwell with Leaf Platter 
Bowls by Chad Caldwell Melissa Henry Makes beautiful earthy functional pots. Missie has explored with deep red clay, texture, matte and Shino glazes. Her aesthetic brings attention to the earth and warm neutral color.
Melissa Henry with Platter 
Bowls by Melissa Henry Diana Hoover is a potter who creates minimalist forms and then uses those forms as her canvas for bright color and shapes. Her work is controlled and specific, and she also makes pieces that incorporate the opposite, applying color in loose random motions.
Cup and Pitcher by Diana Hoover 
Diana Hoover with Mugs 
Vases by Diana Hoover Leah Mangum of Solita Designs crosses the divide of functional pots and sculpture. She uses multiple techniques from wheel throwing, handbuilding and sculpting. Her work celebrates women and draws inspiration from the female form.
Leah Mangum with Mug 
Covered Jar by Leah Mangum Kyra Pruitt has been on a journey of discovery with both functional pots and alternative fired vessels. Some of her most recent work is vessels and pots enhanced with deep brownish blacks with subtle sparkles. She embraces the beauty of simplicity and form.
Kyra Pruitt with Horse Hair Vessel 
Sagger Vessels by Kyra Pruitt Kat Reeves makes functional pots using familiar symbols in our lives. She explores with high fired reduction pots and mid range oxidation pots. These 2 very different atmospheres give her work very different color palettes from earthy rich color and bright clear colors.
Kat Reeves with Pots 
Star Pots by Kat Reeves Kristen Rust has been developing a body of work that is inspired by her two favorite places, the mountains and the sea. When you see her work you will find beautifully carved mountain ranges in amber greens and soft slips with silky cool blues. Kristen is also a professional photographer.
Carved Pitcher by Kristen Rust 
Carved Dinnerware by Kristen Rust Lindsay Rust is on a journey with porcelain and white stoneware. These claybodies give her the perfect surfaces for her designs and love for color. She makes work on the wheel and with handbuilding, too. When you see and touch her work you can see her eye for detail and recognize her love for nature and color.
Lindsay Rust with Covered Jar 
Fish Platter by Lindsay Rust Martha Savitzky is a handbuilder and sculptor. She loves to celebrate the mighty oak tree, creating many ways to look at its beauty. Using carving and sculpting techniques Martha creates pieces that unveil organic beauty and strong contrasting monochromatic designs.
Martha Savitzky with Oak Leaf Pottery 
Oak Leaf Lamp by Martha Savitzky Zulema (Zu) Seguel explores the woodfire aesthetic. She makes shapes that cause you to look closely at the form and discover how the atmosphere has created a changing surface on her pots. Her forms undulate and curve and the wood ash lights on the edges to create even more interest on the pot.
Zu Seguel with Wood Fired Vessel 
Wood Fired Pitcher by Zu Seguel Cara Steinbuchel is both a potter and a savvy business person. She makes pottery for everyday life. When you look at her pots with her she will show you the smallest details in the surface or form that many would miss but that she beams about it with delight. She finds joy in her process and her pots. She is also the founder and creator of Cara Mae Potters Skin Butter and Lotion.
Cara Steinbuchel with Bowl 
Potters’ Skin Butter 
Cara Steinbuchel at the wheel Jonathan Warner, he makes pots filled with imagery that celebrates life and you will most certainly laugh as you look closely. Jonathan spends many hours on the surface of each of his pieces. He is a graphic artist professionally and his eye for detail and intention are easily recognized in his work.
Jonathan Warner with Critter Pots 
Jonathan Warner with Banana Cups Saturday, June 10, 2023
From 11AM – 4PM at
The Village Potters Clay Center
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A New Village Potter Resident: Caroline Woolard, an Intentional and Intuitive Potter
All of us at The Village Potters Clay Center (TVPCC) are so excited to announce that potter and ceramic artist Caroline Woolard is now joining us as a permanent resident potter. Caroline has been an integral part of our community for several years now. She spent two years studying full time in our Advanced Studies Program while also serving as an apprentice on our team. She is a wonderful teacher, offering pottery classes for beginners on our teaching staff. Caroline is also my media technician when I am teaching online. She has spent the last year working on her pots in one of our eight incubator studios, and is building a thriving business in the arts. It has been my hope for some time now that she would delve in even deeper and join us permanently in our community, and now is that time.
Caroline is also a very intuitive person, sensitive and mindful. Caroline’s process is a balance of intuition or what she calls “flow”, and intention, which I define as purposeful discipline. This balance is an exquisite combination to become a master of your craft and a continually growing and evolving artist. She is one of those unique women that has intention fully engaged as a part of her life. She is intentional in her work, her relationships, her play, and rest. She lives an honest and empathic life.
Caroline makes work that comes from the deeper places of creativity, her spirit. Her work shares with others who she is: her loves, her joys and her pursuits. Those who are drawn to her work are connecting with her passions of color, texture, movement and nature. Caroline’s forms are celebrated in purples, teals, and soft whites on a clay of deep red earth. “I enjoy more vibrant colors as I feel they bring more life and joy to the work.”, Caroline says.
Caroline holding her colorful, textured bowls.“Texture not only adds a visual allure that I enjoy, but it has a very tactile experience to it that encourages more mindfulness with use.”
The vivid colors and textures on her pots are a natural expression of her treasured places. The surfaces of her pots are influenced by her love for her surroundings. When Caroline is resting you will likely find her deep in nature, by the sea, in the woods, by a river, or a waterfall.
“I grew up near water and often visited the river daily. Being near water or in the forest is a happy place for me that has always soothed me. The textures and elements of both water and the forest inspire my work a lot. Many of my creative ideas come to me while out enjoying the peaceful quiet in nature.”
Carved Vessel in soda and ash.Many ceramic artists use texture tools, they buy commercial texture tools and apply texture to their pots, but not Caroline. She carves each piece fully by hand or adds slip creating motion and beauty. Caroline finds her quiet meditative flow when working and the surfaces of her pots come to life.
Fairy House.
Sculptural vessels by Caroline Woolard.One quality that makes Caroline Woolard so special is that she is not only intuitive but also intelligent. She is thoughtful. She gives focus and consideration to each piece she makes. Is the size right? Does it fit your hand well? Does this sculptural piece evoke remembrance, emotion or thought? Caroline purports that the pots we choose to use to eat on are as important as the choices of what we eat. She believes we can create ceremony in the simplest of our daily routines.
“The routine of certain forms may not always be exciting, but I do appreciate the mediation of repeating forms. I also find motivation in knowing that more functional pottery such as plates, bowls, and mugs are being used daily to encourage people to hopefully slow down and appreciate the moment of the coffee, tea, food and the community they share it with.”
Caroline holding her very popular pasta bowls.
Vessel with wavy slip, soda and ash.“My textures tend to have movement. It is a part of the making process that I really encourage myself to let go of needing to be perfect or precise, yet allow them to still flow together.” Caroline says.
When I asked Caroline about her experiences here at The Village Potters Clay Center, and why she wants to join us as a professional resident potter on our core team, she said,
“I had not really experienced a true sense of community and belonging in my life before TVPCC. It’s amazing how much one can grow and flourish when they feel seen, supported, and loved. TVPCC is a very special place where you feel everyone genuinely cares and wants to support one another in every way possible. I felt that as a student who then moved into the ISM as an apprentice for 2 years and look forward to deepening that connection with everyone in a new way.”
Caroline Woolard is not only home here but she adds immensely to who we are. You will be seeing more of her work both in our gallery and in our online shop. Come by and visit and you can meet her. You can also follow Caroline on her social media platforms.
Find Caroline here on Facebook and Instagram.
Written by:
Sarah Wells Rolland
The Village Potters Clay Center -
Keira Peterson – ISM Class of 2022
“The ISM program at The Village Potters is truly an invaluable experience. My technique and confidence in my work has grown exponentially under the mentorship of the master resident potters and wonderful TVP community. I have not only honed my technical skills but was encouraged to go outside my comfort zone and explore new styles and ideas. In particular, the support and insight I received to explore glaze development, and the access to the materials and educational workshops to enable that exploration, was paramount in finding “my style” of work and vastly expanded my scientific knowledge of ceramics.
Looking back, I had no idea how truly limited my knowledge in the field was until now, after 3 years with The Village. I heartily believe the ISM program and TVP community as a whole offered everything I could dream of to transform me into a refined and knowledgable professional ceramicist and confident pottery instructor. I cannot thank them enough and, despite graduating from the ISM program, I know that I have found my pottery family– it’s not good-bye but see you later!”
Keira’s work can be found in person at our incubator studios, 2nd Story Potters, in Asheville’s Riverside Station, online at keiramariedesigns.com, or on facebook/instagram/tiktok @keiramariedesigns. She will also be at North Carolina Ceramic Arts Festival in Pack Square downtown Asheville on October 22nd 2022 from 10am-5pm, and continues to teach beginner classes Tuesdays at The Village Potters.
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Surrendered to the Mystery: Village Potter Judi Harwood
Village Potter Judi Harwood is a ceramic artist with many creative pathways. She regularly throws a variety of beautiful vessels, and every once in a while she departs into sculpture. But whatever Judi is doing she ultimately surrenders all her work to the mysteries of fire, flame, temperature, and atmosphere.
Most days you will find Judi fully engaged with the clay at her wheel. The rest of the world fades away and it’s just her and the clay. Her entire creative process is a spiritual one. She invites the Holy Spirit to be present and be fully engaged in her process.
When Judi prepares her pots to fire them, she is in explorer mode, creating a variety of oxides, mica, organic materials like banana peels and corn husks and even copper wire. All these materials are placed randomly on her pots to create varying and exciting mystical surfaces.
After Judi builds up her materials onto her vessels it is then that she surrenders the pieces to the fire. This is when mystery becomes beauty. Each pot tells its own story. Each vessel has its own random and varying surface. When Judi is studying her work as it cools, she discovers each one’s own magic. “The very mystery of alternative firing is what inspires me,” says Judi. “I love the ‘always trying something new part’, and not knowing exactly what will happen,” Judi says.
Not all of her pieces survive the extreme firing process, but the ones that do make it all worth it. No two pots are ever the same, and Judi fully embraces this. In fact she is captivated by all of it!
You can see and purchase Judi’s vessels during our Multi Kiln Opening Online Sale that begins Nov 16th on our website.
