2024 Collaborations Round Up
What an incredible year it has been for collaborating and building community through ceramics. I’ve always been a fan of collaborating; it helps me see my art in new and different perspectives, which keeps me from becoming stagnant in my solo work. The origins of this particular series of collaborations came as Mariana and I were collaborating on our own work and planning the community studio project. We thought- what better way to build and fund a new ceramics community than through creative collaboration? It takes so many ideas, and people to build such a thing, why not use collaboration as the foundation of it all?
I want to share all the collaborative pieces that have been so far this year, how much money they’ve raised for our project, and who won the pieces that have been raffled off so far (I like transparency and don’t want anyone thinking we aren’t sending the prizes out). And at the time I’m writing this (12/23/24) we have raised $14,337! Of course this does not account for taxes and fees, so in reality it’s about $4,000 less, but what a remarkable testament to our community showing up for us. Thank you!
We started the project with some of the pieces Mariana and I had been making together, but we went all next level with ombres and full surface carvings, and lusters and multiple firings, oh my! We made three pieces last summer, specifically for fundraising, and sprinkled them throughout all of the fundraising. The vase and bookends were made to match, and the large ombre planter took on a life of it’s own
This pair of bookends raised $1,341 and the winner was Ivana Posey. You can see the winning announcement here.
The vase raised $366.50 and the winner was Gretchen Mason. You can watch the winning announcement here.
This big ombre planter was a crowd favorite, raising $1,486.50 and selling 361 raffle tickets. The winner was Deana Geuther from Texas.
I looked at the next several collaborations as an opportunity to connect with artists I truly admired. Some with personal friends of mine, and other with artists I followed on Instagram and chatted with there but had never met in person. I was nervous about asking the artists I didn’t know personally, but every single one of them said yes! Enthusiastically even.
Ryan Rakhshan Vase/Bottle and Planter
I’ve been chatting with Ryan on Instagram since 2020 when I discovered his glaze company Midnight Ceramics. I tried Spiderwort and Boogeyman and I was hooked. Over the years Ryan has been a huge help and teaching me about glazes, and last summer (2023) I invited him out to Portland teach Nick and I a crash course in glaze chem. While he has there, he also threw two big pieces for me to carve and use for our fundraising.
The bottle raised $616 and the winner was Racheal Mock from Portland, OR.
At the time of writing this, the planter is still up for raffle but surprisingly the tickets are selling slowly. You can enter to win this big beauty through January 5
Alexis Mixter Bookends - Oregon
See more of Alexis’s work at alexismixterart.com or @alexismixter
Alexis’s bookends raised $1123.50, and sold 265 tickets. We did a live chat about working together and art making, if you’d like to see it. And the was Lani Santiago- winner announcement is here.
Cori Jacobs Bookends- Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico
Check out Cori’s paintings, pottery and natural dyed garments: https://www.corijacobs.com/ or @corijacobsgallery
We raised $963 and sold 234 tickets for these! The winner was Tisha Held, watch the winning announcement here (this is the same video as the mother of pearl vase winning announcement- we doubled up!)
Diana Adams (SampleHAUS) Bookend AND Monstera planter- Long Beach, CA
See Diana’s work on her website or @sample.haus
The Monstera planter raised and the winner was . The bookends raised and the winner was. Diana and I went live to for some long distance collaboration and to talk about the Com Fusion community project. There’s also a process video of making the Monstera planter and you can also watch the winners announcement here.
Lindsey Jenger won the bookends, which raised $714.00
Amanda Krug won the Monstera planter, which raised $947.00. you can watch those announcements here.
Adrienne Oates Bookends (our second collaboration)
See Adriennes work on her website or @adrienneoatesart
This was my second collab with Adrienne, and a totally different style for both of us. These bookends raised $641 and the winner was Christina Kaderly.
Tony Young (Riot Ceramics)
See Tony’s art on his website or @riot_ceramics These are also still up for raffle through January 5. Peek at the process of making them here.
Coming Soon…
There are still several collabs in process, and I hope to announce even more in 2025. I’ll be sharing previews of the new collaborations in January from artists in Portland, Oregon; Arizona; Colorado; and Germany! You can see current collaborations, and how we’re doing raising money for our goals (and donate) right here.
If there’s an artist you’d like to see me collaborate with, or see host a workshop or retreat in Portugal, let me know in the comments.
Thanks for reading!