Clay Riley: primarily B Clay (white stoneware) from Continental Clay Palmquist: custom-mixed black stoneware, porcelain, and high-flux stoneware
Primary forming method Riley: wheel throwing and altering, some slab-built wall pieces Palmquist: wheel thrown/altered
Primary firing temperature Riley: cone 10, neutral atmosphere in a 14-cubic-foot gas kiln Palmquist: cone 10/11, two-chamber bourry-box wood kiln and a small soda kiln
Favorite surface treatment Riley: multiple layers of underglazes, engobes, and glazes, with wax-resist decoration Palmquist: hakeme brushwork, glaze, wood-fire surfaces
Favorite tools Riley: natural-fiber Chinese calligraphy brush for wax Palmquist: Jack Troy’s throwing stick is at the top of the list along with Cynthia Bringle’s footing stick
Studio
Twenty years ago, we built a modern home and studio in rural southern Minnesota, near the artist-friendly community of Northfield (home of Carleton and St. Olaf colleges). Our first studio shared a space in an outbuilding that also housed Donovan’s kiln-building shop, but we soon realized we needed a separate space. We designed and built a 2000-square-foot (185.8 m2) stand-alone building, inspired by Matt Metz and Linda Sikora’s beautiful studio in Alfred, New York. The studio includes separate workspaces for both of us, a center flex space between our two workspaces, a small alcove that is used for display or guest working area, and a bathroom/sink/storage space. One-third of the space is closed off by double doors and contains two electric kilns, a small gas kiln, a glaze chemistry/mixing area, and a clay mixing area. Our soda kilns are in a grain bin (charming but not ideal) and the wood kiln is in a separate shed.
We both tend to tolerate a lot of clutter, so having distinct workspaces that aren’t too large helps us to stay on top of our messes before things get completely out of control. We use the flex space to host events and workshops and as additional space to spread out for larger projects. Our old workspace is slowly being converted into a gallery/display area plus a packing/shipping/photography area.
Our upfront investment in structural insulated panel construction (SIPs) keeps our Minnesota winter heating bills relatively low. In-floor heat and natural light keep it cozy in the winter and mostly cool in the summer.
Paying Dues (and Bills)
Palmquist: I took my first ceramics class in 1974 with Dick Schneider at UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I received my BA at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with Phil Powell. In 1988, I received my MFA from the University of Minnesota with Curt Hoard and Mark Pharis.
Riley: I first discovered ceramics several years out of college when I took three classes at the newly opened Northern Clay Center. Prior to that, I worked in marketing and design but had no formal art background. I have expanded my education by attending workshops and seeking out guidance from artists in the area. Kevin Caufield and Mel Jacobson encouraged me to pursue ceramics as a profession. Eye-opening workshops with Charity Davis-Woodard, Margaret Bohls, and Julia Galloway gifted me with “permission to fuss.” I am grateful for the vast network of ceramic artists’ generosity, talent, and experience right here in Minnesota.
Riley: Our studio schedules are mostly driven by seasonal in-person events. I function best with deadlines, but as I get older, my body and mind seek a healthier work-life balance. I am slowly making changes, such as limiting working at night and stocking up on bisqueware in the winter to focus on glazing/firing during the summer season.
Palmquist: My day job for the past 30 years has been building kilns across the US. I taught at Anoka-Ramsey Community College for six years before starting Master Kiln Builders (kilnbuilders.com). Since then, I have built 500 kilns in the US and beyond. Building kilns has allowed me to remain connected to the ceramics world without being directly involved in academia. I’ve loved traveling and meeting new people, seeing their studios, and soaking up inspiration. I have been fortunate to build kilns for many clay artists I looked up to when I began. Highlights in my career have been an anagama for Don Reitz, three kilns for Jack Troy, and a large car kiln for Warren MacKenzie. In 2022, I had the honor of working with a great team on Martin Puryear’s sculpture Lookout at the Storm King Arts Center in New York.
Riley: Most of my sales are through in-person events/art fairs away from the studio (50%) and events at our studio (25%). A smaller portion of my sales come through galleries, online sales, commissions, royalties, and teaching. Galleries through which I sell work include: Charlie Cummings Gallery (charliecummingsgallery.com), Northern Clay Center (northernclaycenter.org), and Seasons Gallery (www.seasons-gallery.com).
Palmquist: Almost all of my work is sold from our studio during the Cannon River Clay Tour and at the Minnesota Pottery Festival in Hutchinson, Minnesota. My recent emphasis is on larger vessels. As this work has a limited Midwest market, I’m exploring other ways of selling my work. Building kilns has taken up much of my time so my hours in the studio are more precious. I feel fortunate to make the pots I like and be continually challenged by the medium.
Marketing
Riley: I have built a local audience, taking advantage of Minnesota’s large population of clay enthusiasts. Taking my work to events reaches that market, and eventually, those customers make it down to our studio. I don’t mind schlepping my work to events because it helps keep me in shape and gets me out for socialization after the isolation of long hours in the studio. I believe cultivating a snail-mail customer list is still valuable and worth the effort. Info is collected at events and on our website via a sign-up sheet. Our spreadsheet data also includes the date/event, and if a purchase was made. This makes it easy to sort to a smaller mailing, if necessary. Up to four mailings per year are sent, mostly via the events in which we participate, at no cost to us.
We occasionally post work on our website. But since I detest packing and shipping, until I hire someone to manage that, I avoid using social media for sales. I use it more as a tool for engaging with my existing customers and the ceramics world, primarily posting images of finished work.
Mind
Palmquist: I make time for gardening, cooking, fly fishing, and fly tying. I took up swimming almost three years ago to get more exercise. I’m really addicted to it. I try to swim a mile every other day when I can get to the pool. It’s made a positive difference in all areas of my life. Lately, I’ve been reading Jim Harrison’s writing about food. After the summer season, we refresh and refuel by spending a week at my family’s cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Riley: Always, getting outside. I crave just about anything that involves movement: walking the dogs, cross-country skiing, running, biking, tending the flower garden. Lifting weights and mobility training are essential to offset my long days standing on concrete and keeping my bones healthy. I am currently studying to be a fitness-class instructor.
Pinterest is a library for inspiration, as are museum archive sites such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. I look less at ceramics and more at historic decorative arts such as silver overlay, contemporary prints, textiles, and botanical illustration. Sketching is an integral part of my creative process. I am a rabid glaze nut—test tiles go into every firing. I get most energized when exploring new possibilities of color, line quality, and surface. My challenge is to work within a limited set of ideas rather than trying everything all at once!
Most Important Lesson
Moving from the city to a rural area, we realized the importance of cultivating relationships in the local community. We are co-founders and hosts of the Cannon River Clay Tour, held in August in the Northfield area. Preparing our inventory, studio, and outdoor spaces is exhausting, but it’s a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend. We’ve loved getting to know the many artists who have participated. This has been a great opportunity to showcase the talents of well-known artists in our area as well as regional artists whose work deserves more exposure.
Riley: In 2009, I founded Minnesota Women Ceramic Artists. Although our mission is to promote and support area ceramic artists, perhaps the most valuable benefit is the camaraderie I enjoy with many of the members.
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Just the Facts
Clay
Riley: primarily B Clay (white stoneware) from Continental Clay
Palmquist: custom-mixed black stoneware, porcelain, and high-flux stoneware
Primary forming method
Riley: wheel throwing and altering, some slab-built wall pieces
Palmquist: wheel thrown/altered
Primary firing temperature
Riley: cone 10, neutral atmosphere in a 14-cubic-foot gas kiln
Palmquist: cone 10/11, two-chamber bourry-box wood kiln and a small soda kiln
Favorite surface treatment
Riley: multiple layers of underglazes, engobes, and glazes, with wax-resist decoration
Palmquist: hakeme brushwork, glaze, wood-fire surfaces
Favorite tools
Riley: natural-fiber Chinese calligraphy brush for wax
Palmquist: Jack Troy’s throwing stick is at the top of the list along with Cynthia Bringle’s footing stick
Studio
Twenty years ago, we built a modern home and studio in rural southern Minnesota, near the artist-friendly community of Northfield (home of Carleton and St. Olaf colleges). Our first studio shared a space in an outbuilding that also housed Donovan’s kiln-building shop, but we soon realized we needed a separate space. We designed and built a 2000-square-foot (185.8 m2) stand-alone building, inspired by Matt Metz and Linda Sikora’s beautiful studio in Alfred, New York. The studio includes separate workspaces for both of us, a center flex space between our two workspaces, a small alcove that is used for display or guest working area, and a bathroom/sink/storage space. One-third of the space is closed off by double doors and contains two electric kilns, a small gas kiln, a glaze chemistry/mixing area, and a clay mixing area. Our soda kilns are in a grain bin (charming but not ideal) and the wood kiln is in a separate shed.
We both tend to tolerate a lot of clutter, so having distinct workspaces that aren’t too large helps us to stay on top of our messes before things get completely out of control. We use the flex space to host events and workshops and as additional space to spread out for larger projects. Our old workspace is slowly being converted into a gallery/display area plus a packing/shipping/photography area.
Our upfront investment in structural insulated panel construction (SIPs) keeps our Minnesota winter heating bills relatively low. In-floor heat and natural light keep it cozy in the winter and mostly cool in the summer.
Paying Dues (and Bills)
Palmquist: I took my first ceramics class in 1974 with Dick Schneider at UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin. I received my BA at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with Phil Powell. In 1988, I received my MFA from the University of Minnesota with Curt Hoard and Mark Pharis.
Riley: I first discovered ceramics several years out of college when I took three classes at the newly opened Northern Clay Center. Prior to that, I worked in marketing and design but had no formal art background. I have expanded my education by attending workshops and seeking out guidance from artists in the area. Kevin Caufield and Mel Jacobson encouraged me to pursue ceramics as a profession. Eye-opening workshops with Charity Davis-Woodard, Margaret Bohls, and Julia Galloway gifted me with “permission to fuss.” I am grateful for the vast network of ceramic artists’ generosity, talent, and experience right here in Minnesota.
Riley: Our studio schedules are mostly driven by seasonal in-person events. I function best with deadlines, but as I get older, my body and mind seek a healthier work-life balance. I am slowly making changes, such as limiting working at night and stocking up on bisqueware in the winter to focus on glazing/firing during the summer season.
Palmquist: My day job for the past 30 years has been building kilns across the US. I taught at Anoka-Ramsey Community College for six years before starting Master Kiln Builders (kilnbuilders.com). Since then, I have built 500 kilns in the US and beyond. Building kilns has allowed me to remain connected to the ceramics world without being directly involved in academia. I’ve loved traveling and meeting new people, seeing their studios, and soaking up inspiration. I have been fortunate to build kilns for many clay artists I looked up to when I began. Highlights in my career have been an anagama for Don Reitz, three kilns for Jack Troy, and a large car kiln for Warren MacKenzie. In 2022, I had the honor of working with a great team on Martin Puryear’s sculpture Lookout at the Storm King Arts Center in New York.
Riley: Most of my sales are through in-person events/art fairs away from the studio (50%) and events at our studio (25%). A smaller portion of my sales come through galleries, online sales, commissions, royalties, and teaching. Galleries through which I sell work include: Charlie Cummings Gallery (charliecummingsgallery.com), Northern Clay Center (northernclaycenter.org), and Seasons Gallery (www.seasons-gallery.com).
Palmquist: Almost all of my work is sold from our studio during the Cannon River Clay Tour and at the Minnesota Pottery Festival in Hutchinson, Minnesota. My recent emphasis is on larger vessels. As this work has a limited Midwest market, I’m exploring other ways of selling my work. Building kilns has taken up much of my time so my hours in the studio are more precious. I feel fortunate to make the pots I like and be continually challenged by the medium.
Marketing
Riley: I have built a local audience, taking advantage of Minnesota’s large population of clay enthusiasts. Taking my work to events reaches that market, and eventually, those customers make it down to our studio. I don’t mind schlepping my work to events because it helps keep me in shape and gets me out for socialization after the isolation of long hours in the studio. I believe cultivating a snail-mail customer list is still valuable and worth the effort. Info is collected at events and on our website via a sign-up sheet. Our spreadsheet data also includes the date/event, and if a purchase was made. This makes it easy to sort to a smaller mailing, if necessary. Up to four mailings per year are sent, mostly via the events in which we participate, at no cost to us.
We occasionally post work on our website. But since I detest packing and shipping, until I hire someone to manage that, I avoid using social media for sales. I use it more as a tool for engaging with my existing customers and the ceramics world, primarily posting images of finished work.
Mind
Palmquist: I make time for gardening, cooking, fly fishing, and fly tying. I took up swimming almost three years ago to get more exercise. I’m really addicted to it. I try to swim a mile every other day when I can get to the pool. It’s made a positive difference in all areas of my life. Lately, I’ve been reading Jim Harrison’s writing about food. After the summer season, we refresh and refuel by spending a week at my family’s cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Riley: Always, getting outside. I crave just about anything that involves movement: walking the dogs, cross-country skiing, running, biking, tending the flower garden. Lifting weights and mobility training are essential to offset my long days standing on concrete and keeping my bones healthy. I am currently studying to be a fitness-class instructor.
Pinterest is a library for inspiration, as are museum archive sites such as the Victoria and Albert Museum. I look less at ceramics and more at historic decorative arts such as silver overlay, contemporary prints, textiles, and botanical illustration. Sketching is an integral part of my creative process. I am a rabid glaze nut—test tiles go into every firing. I get most energized when exploring new possibilities of color, line quality, and surface. My challenge is to work within a limited set of ideas rather than trying everything all at once!
Most Important Lesson
Moving from the city to a rural area, we realized the importance of cultivating relationships in the local community. We are co-founders and hosts of the Cannon River Clay Tour, held in August in the Northfield area. Preparing our inventory, studio, and outdoor spaces is exhausting, but it’s a wonderful whirlwind of a weekend. We’ve loved getting to know the many artists who have participated. This has been a great opportunity to showcase the talents of well-known artists in our area as well as regional artists whose work deserves more exposure.
Riley: In 2009, I founded Minnesota Women Ceramic Artists. Although our mission is to promote and support area ceramic artists, perhaps the most valuable benefit is the camaraderie I enjoy with many of the members.
Facebook: Eureka Pots of Minnesota
Instagram: @eurekapots and @masterkilnbuilders
Website: eurekapots.com
Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
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