The Kiln Sitters – Details, episodes & analysis

We are back from our hiatus to bring you a live recording that happened at the 2023 New Clay Conference in Ottawa, ON. Carole and Marianne talk with presenters Martina Lantin, Zoe Pinnell, Marina Lespérance Lopez, and our co-host Ben Carter (Tales of a Red Clay Rambler). We discuss the high-risk high-reward nature of ceramics, finding work/life balance as a parent, and the vibrant state of the Canadian ceramic community. A big thanks to Kaitlyn Brennan for organizing the conference and to the Richcraft Theatre tech crew for recording this evening.

Today’s episode is brought to you by the following sponsors:

Bray Clay www.archiebrayclay.com

To wrap up season 2, Brendan Tang talks with Toronto based artist Natalie Waddell. They make functional work and describe themselves as a maker of things. In the interview they talk about working across mediums and developing their signature darted and folded forms. Today’s Kaolin Crushes are Elissa Barber, Goyer Bonneau, and Natania Nurenburg.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

The Bray is actively committed to promoting, celebrating, and sustaining the ceramic arts through its residency program, education center, and gallery. www.archiebray.org

Brendan sits down with visual artist KC Adams, during the Canadian Clay Symposium held at the Shadbolt Centre in Burnaby British Columbia. In their conversation they talk about traditional ways of knowing and contemporary art practices. Before the chat, the gang got together to unpack how they are looking at decolonizing their own practices in the studio and in the class. Today’s Kaolin Crushes are: Joël Brodovsky-Adams, Karine Giboulo, and Sarah Leckie. Robin Wall Kimmer and her book Braiding Sweetgrass are also mentioned in the episode.

We are collecting questions for a future episode about making a life and career in the arts. Please send us a voice memo of your question about professional practices before June 1st and we will gladly feature you on the podcast. You can email your questions to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

The Bray is actively committed to promoting, celebrating, and sustaining the ceramic arts through its residency program, education center, and gallery. www.archiebray.org

On this week’s episode Carole sits down with Susannah Montague, to discuss her incredible career as a sculptor utilizing the clay medium to visually travel through time to associate historical vanitas with contemporary themes of life and death through a strong pop surrealism lens. Confronting as well as inviting, her work explores the depths of the human condition or as she states, “a frenetic celebration of the divine comedy of existence”. From her studio on Bowen Island, she shares the stories behind the symbolism found in her work. For any lover of ornamentation and the macabre this episode will be right up your alley. 

Today’s Kaolin Crushes are: Cybel B. Pilon, Borum Kim, Andrew Tarrant.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

The Bray is actively committed to promoting, celebrating, and sustaining the ceramic arts through its residency program, education center, and gallery. www.archiebray.org

On today’s show Brendan co-hosts a panel with Virgil Ortiz and Justin Paik Reese (The Shot Callers), and special guest P. J. Anderson on the influence of Sci-Fi, game play, and world-building in art. They talk about inclusive landmarks in Sci-Fi and how they have been influenced by the genre. The discussion was recorded live in Cincinnati as part of this year’s NCECA conference.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

The Bray is actively committed to promoting, celebrating, and sustaining the ceramic arts through its residency program, education center, and gallery. www.archiebray.org

On today’s show Marianne co-hosts a panel with Ben Carter (Tales of a Red Clay Rambler), and special guests Julia Galloway and Ché R. Ochtli on taking an environmental approach to making. We talk about practical sustainability and the ways you can lessen your studio’s environmental impact. Julia and Ché are members of NCECA’s Green Task Force, which has many resources on this topic posted on their website www.ncecagtf.com. The discussion was recorded live in Cincinnati as part of this year’s NCECA conference.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

On this week’s episode, Marianne talks with the multidisciplinary artist Ito Laila LeFrançois. They discuss how their relationship with natural spaces inform their practices, and their shared love and influence from the artist Ana Mendieta. Ito also talks about her creative process and how motherhood has influenced her work. For this week’s Kaolin Crush the gang talk about Léopold L. Foulem, an icon of Canadian ceramics, who recently passed away.

Just a heads up that most of today’s episode is in French. Marianne thanks all of you for giving this inclusive space to connect with French listeners. This episode honors all the French speaking people across Canada and abroad. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

Brendan and Clint sit down next to Clint’s two cubic foot wood fired test kiln to chat about his path in the world of ceramics. They cover topics ranging from Ford flat tops, being introduced to the extended family of ceramics, working with the amazing Rebecca Belmore, and his time in the military. Before the interview the gang chats about the pros and cons of working in a rural versus urban setting, and its effects on their art practice. 

Today’s Kaolin Crushes are: Christopher Reid Flock, Behnaz Fatemi, and Makiko Hicher Nakamura.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

Carole sits down this week with Toluwalope to chat about his contribution to the field of ceramic art and his extensive research of materials. His impressive large-scale throwing skills pull together age old African and Asian pottery techniques with contemporary themes and references in particular to African textiles. Today’s Kaolin crushes are: Jen Wicks, Roger Akasadjuak and Atelier Make.

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

For the past 100 years, AMACO Brent has been creating ceramic supplies for our community ranging from underglazes to Electric kilns, ...and they have no plans of slowing down. www.amaco.com

This week on the Kiln sitters, Marianne sits down with the amazing Québec city artist Amélie Proulx. They dive into material transformation and Amélie's relationship with the medium of porcelain. She also shares her experience working on large scale projects within Québec’s Integration of Art in Public Spaces program and her new research into local raw ceramic material. To learn more visit www.amelieproulx.com. 

Today’s Kaolin Crushes are Bad MOOD design, Rebecca Ramsey, and Patrick Leblond.