MINH SINGER

Name: Minh Singer

Location: New York (for now)

How did you get started in ceramics and a few words about your practice?

I got started in ceramics in 2012. I took a class out of curiosity to pick up a new hobby. It took a while for me to get into the craft though - it was a hard medium to master. I didn’t love to throw or work on the wheel, but once I realized I could lean into hand building pieces I started to find it more exciting. It didn’t hurt that I started dating my ceramics teacher, which definitely persuaded me to stick with it. Right before starting this class, I happened to have read the book “Wabi-Sabi; for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers,” which ended up majorly influencing me and my work. I gave myself permission to make mistakes and not be perfect. I think that’s how my style was born. My pieces lean into the mistakes - the imperfections that actually make a thing more beautiful. All my work goes in tandem with that philosophy.

Tell us about the vase you made for Afternoon Light:

This vase is made with Spanish paper porcelain. It’s a translucent white paper clay. I normally work in shallower dimensions - plates, bowls, and things slightly lower to the ground. This piece went vertical. It’s tall and amorphous. I glazed this vase in the design of my Prism collection, which predominantly features rainbows and watercolor-like effects. I started this collection a few years ago. I had stepped out of my day job feeling a bit tired and disconnected, and noticed strangers on the street all stopping to look up at a sudden rainbow. If a rainbow can make New York City strangers stop and talk to each other, it must be a pretty powerful thing. That’s how the Prism collection was born. The addition of 22 karat gold luster and mother of pearl lusters add to the luminous and iridescent qualities of this vase.

What’s your favorite flower?

Cosmos

ARC

Name: Daniela Jacobs

Location: Mallorca, Spain

How did you get started in ceramics and a few words about your practice?

I took my first ceramics class when I was 5, an afterschool class for kids that I loved from the start. It wasn't until my studies at Parsons, though, that I started experimenting with slip casting, which is the method I still employ now with ARC. I believe that one's creative practice is the expression of one's own visual language, and for me ceramics is a means to communicate through and experiment with this. Throughout the years, ARC has been an ongoing project dedicated to exploring the relationship between form and function, texture and shape, simplicity and boldness.

Tell us about the vase you made for Afternoon Light:

The vase I made for Afternoon light is inspired by oblong curves found in nature, like those of planetary rings and rocks smoothed over by centuries of waves. The rectilinear opening at the top offers a contrast from the rounded edges, incidentally an ongoing visual theme I find myself always coming back to.

What’s your favorite flower?

Eucalyptus (which is technically a flowering tree), for the smell, soft color, and form.

Name: Karen Tinney

Location: Proctorsville, VT

How did you get started in ceramics and a few words about your practice? 

I got started with ceramics after taking an introductory handbuilding class in 2014. I had learned the basic principals in college but this class opened me up to a much more fluid/creative way of approaching ceramics. Almost immediately I started experimenting with combining the pieces I was making in the class with fiber work that I was making at that time. My technique has been progressing since then into the work that I make today.

Tell us about the vase you made for Afternoon Light: 

This is a design that I've had in my back pocket for a while now but it is a little tricky for larger batch production. I've actually had the original sample on display in my own home for a while now, and when I was approached by A.L. for an exclusive vase I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share the design with the world. The color on this piece is quite special as well as it is the result of layering glazes. Due to its unpredictability and the extra time in production it is a glaze technique we reserve for special pieces such as this.  

What’s your favorite flower?

Tulips

STUDIO SACHI

Name: Anais Franco

Location: Los Angeles, CA

How did you get started in ceramics and a few words about your practice?

I began working with clay when I was a kid because my dad is a ceramic tile maker. My practice continues this tradition of tile and functional ware but is conscious of design and history. Studio Sachi was created to produce artful, functional work that coexists with my studio practice.

Tell us about the vase you made for Afternoon Light:

The vase I created is a simple flat form that has a lot of texture. I wanted the piece to be minimal with color so that the flowers placed in it would be the focal point. I use a clay technique called nerikomi, which is layering colored clays together to create a pattern. This is how I achieved the spiral flowers.

What’s your favorite flower?

My favorite flowers are the ones that can be found in Art nouveau and Arts and Crafts design.