Studio Potter – The Podcast

This audio was summarized by Gerry Williams and published under Grace Hampton's name in Volume 10, Number 2, June 1982. The title of her entry was “Black Crafts,” a section of the series “Mississippi Trace,” which highlights several ceramists living and working in Mississippi.

In this episode of Studio Potter – The Podcast, listeners travel to Bakersville, North Carolina, to visit Rock Creek Pottery and hear the voices of Douglass Rankin and Will Ruggles. Rooted in the rich clay traditions of western North Carolina, Rock Creek Pottery is both a living archive of regional knowledge, experimentation, and mentorship.
Rankin and Ruggles reflect on their individual paths into clay and how they evolved as a partnership with a shared practice shaped by place, labor, and a long-term commitment to craft. The conversation explores wood firing, material sourcing, and the rhythms of making that come from working in a close relationship with the land. We share this episode in remembrance of Douglass Rankin, who passed away after the recording in 2022. Her generosity, depth of knowledge, and dedication to the field continue to resonate through her work, her teaching, and the many lives she touched.

For this episode and contemporary audio, I sat down, remotely, with Richard Notkin on November 13, 2025, for an extended conversation about his life in clay and the principles that have fueled his practice.
Notkin, who has spent nearly sixty years making work that confronts war, challenges the failures of human leadership, and probes humanity’s fragile relationship with the environment, speaks with the clarity of someone who has never separated his artistry from his ethics. With characteristic frankness, he traces the events that shaped his worldview – from Cold War tensions, to the Vietnam era, to today’s global instability. What follows is a masterclass about art as conscience and craftsmanship as conviction. This interview captures an artist looking backward, forward, and unflinchingly at the present.

In this special episode recorded during the Archie Bray Foundation’s 50th anniversary, panelists and trailblazers of American ceramics, including Ken Ferguson, Rudy Autio, and Peter Voulkos, reflect on the foundation’s origins and evolution. The conversation explores the challenges of its early years, the vision and influence of Archie Bray and colleagues, and pivotal moments such as visits from international legends like Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada. Moving between personal stories and historical insights, the panel illustrates how a dream and a community’s dedication transformed the Foundation into a renowned center for ceramic arts, shaping generations of artists and preserving a vibrant creative legacy.

Cover Art: Robert Harrison, Potters Shrine, at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Photo Credit: Robert Harrison.

As one of the five Black Los Angeles artists featured in Studio Potter (Vol. 9, No. 2, 1981), Stanley Wilson's insights and experiences continue to resonate, inspiring new generations of makers and scholars. His dedication to ceramics, mentorship, and advocacy has built a lasting legacy – one that bridges the past, present, and future.