When I was new to Philadelphia, The Clay Studio became a conduit to a creative community for me - there, I met inspiring, talented individuals and got to experience the inner workings of another urban ceramics center (after working in ceramics in Washington, DC for nearly a decade). Jennifer Martin, who was the manager at the time, was certainly a role model for running a clean, cohesive studio while also maintaining the time and space for her own art practice. She, and many other at TCS, taught me the importance of showing up every day, doing your best, and doing the work.
The Clay Studio was essential for a significant shift in my own work - I moved from primarily sculptural forms and installation art to making largely functional ceramics. This shift was marked by an embracing of the idea of the quality of doing - and the quality of using hand-made objects. Instead of searching for meaning in building out large installations, I instead found it in making every piece the very best that I could, learning as much as I could, and embracing the hard work that often accompanies ceramic production - loading kilns, mixing glazes, pugging clay. In the nearly ten years since I have worked at the studio, these ideas are still very much a part of my current art practice.
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