Kate opened her studio in North Carolina after she received her BFA in Ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Prior to attending Alfred Kate was the youngest ever studio potter hired to work for the Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in Millville, NJ.

Kate and Daniel work in a rustic studio on their land. Built in a style similar to the local traditional tobacco barns, the cabin has a hard packed red earthen clay floor and the water that they use to throw, clean and mix clay is collected from rainwater from the cabin roof. The log cabin is set up to give each of them an individual working area while also allowing them to communicate and see each other. Using only locally sourced materials Kate’s work is single fired. This process is challenging in several ways, requiring the artist to be more in touch with the clay; slips and glazes cannot be added too soon or too late. Firing the work is also challenging as the ware must be taken more slowly through the earliest stage of the fire to allow for the piece to completely dry out and to avoid any cracking.

Johnston’s work is heavily influenced by traditional vessel forms. She decorates each piece with stylized motifs that originate from the flora around her studio and property. These motifs reference Art Deco imagery and she works to modify them to create beautiful and repeatable patterns. All of Kate’s work is made with local clays, after the forms are thrown and trimmed on the wheel a thick layer of colored slip is applied to the form. When the piece is leather hard she begins to carve through the slip creating the visual patterns and motifs that she planned. This process requires a sure hand as the slip cannot be replaced so each mark must be made with care and certainty.

Kate fires her large wood fired kiln three times a year. This process requires careful planning. Loading and making work to fill the kiln is a special kind of dance. Only so many of the large jars that she makes using a technique of throwing and adding coils can fit into each kiln. Smaller jars, pitchers, mugs and sugar bowls are loaded around the large jars. Using only three slips in her decoration, the packing of the kiln influences the finished pots and the placement in the kiln showcases the variation and diversity of what happens when a slip interacts with the path of the flame and ash.

We are pleased to have Kate join us this year for the Southern Crossings Pottery Festival. Kate will also be presenting a workshop at Indiana University Southeast the week after the Market. To see more of Kate’s work visit katejohnstonpottery.com