We are excited to feature a wonderful local artist that provides works of art through her gifts and love of ceramics, Allie Ro. Ceramics Co. Collaborating and designing a collection together enables us to provide for our client projects beautiful clay pieces that also function in everyday life. Though we helped guide Allie in what we desired in these pieces, we were also inspired by her previous work and wanted her unique creativity to shine through.

This color palette of blue ranges from the different depths of water with the warm white clouds above and these wonderful ceramics pieces are now available in our Shoppe.

We also had the chance to sit down with Allie and hear a little bit more about her business. Keep scrolling to read our conversation!

“There’s a science behind it, a lot of guessing, a lot of patience, and hoping the piece turns out okay.” -Allie Ro.

1. How long have you been working with Ceramics?

Well, in college I took my first ceramics class. Then, after college, I didn't have any way to do it. There were no open studios around me. One day I was like, “I miss ceramics and I want to do it again.” So I bought a cheap wheel, did some research, and started doing ceramics in my parent’s spare bedroom, which was in the spring of last year.

2. Is this full-time or part-time for you?

Right now part-time, because that is literally all I have time for with my full-time job. So right eventually I want my ceramics to be full-time, it's just going to take a while to get there. Which is fine.

3. What education do you have in this field? Schooling, certifications? If not in this field what other education do you have?

I'm not certified in anything. I only took 2 college ceramics classes as part of my Fine Arts minor, but I majored in Psychology. Outside of those two classes, everything else has kind of been self-taught. So watching YouTube videos, reading books and blog posts have been inspiring to my work.

4. Why ceramics and not other mediums?

My aunt who lives in Tennessee does ceramics. For a lot of holidays, like Christmas, she would end up giving our family pieces she had made, which I thought was awesome and so practical. In my college classes, I was always either drawing or painting and I really liked those mediums, but I feel like ceramic is just different. With the kinds of ceramic that I create, which are functional pieces, I can say I spent all this time making this one mug and now I can use it every single day.

Also, with glazing, you can use the same glazes and it could look different every time you fire it. You never know what you're going to get out of the glaze, so it can be so exciting and frustrating at the same time. There’s a science behind it, a lot of guessing, a lot of patience, and hoping the piece turns out okay.

5. What inspires your work?

That’s a great question. Well, I belong to two different FB groups that have to do with ceramics and glazing. Looking at other people's work gives me more ideas for what I want to do. There are just so many possibilities that you can create, I always have a million ideas going through my head. On my website, I name pieces after places I've been and experiences I've had, so those two and seeing other creative people’s work is inspiring to me.

6. Do you have a favorite clay mix?

I like my speckled clay that has some grog in it. Grog basically means it has really small particles like rocks that add texture and interest. I think it makes it easier to work with and creates a cool texture and finish.

7. Do you have a favorite piece that you like to make? Do you have an overall favorite?

Are mugs too basic of a thing for me to like making? Haha I really love making mugs because there are so many different options, especially with handles, or the size of the mug, etc. But since I'm in a coffee shop 40 hours a week and I drink a lot of coffee. Therefore, I think about what I would like to drink coffee out of and then I just make it.

Also, I would like to get better with larger pieces, such as baking dishes for the oven with lids. Though, I have not had the greatest luck with lids and bases fitting together.

8. How many pieces can you create in a day?

That’s a hard question to answer because it depends on what you’re making. I can probably create about 20 mugs in a sitting. I could create more in a day, but I never spend an entire day doing just ceramics.

Photos by Gabby Mae | Instagram: gabbymaephoto

Shop the collections:

Our Collaboration with Allie Ro. Ceramics