Epic Studios: Rachel Warren

• I first touched clay in high school; I had been drawn to pottery for a long time and was really excited to be able to take ceramics 1 at GEHS during my freshman year. Tom Wilson was my teacher in high school, and he was an incredible mentor to me. Under his instruction I really fell in love with clay and knew at the time that someday I wanted my job to be teaching people how to work with clay in some capacity.  I continued seeking out clay in college and took more classes whenever I had extra space in my schedule while getting my degree in Illustration at the University of Kansas. The ceramics class I took from Alexander Thierry at KU really unlocked something for my skills and understanding on the wheel, and I still use some of the projects he taught for our beginners at EPIC. 
  
  

• I was always super interested in art growing up, I always had a sketchbook in hand and was always planning my next big project. I became drawn to clay when I started to want to bring my art into the 3d space. Creating art that you could actually eat and drink out of was so cool to me at the time, and still is! Growing up in Gardner, I also remember going to The Dolphin Song and seeing Danny Meisinger's work and how could you not be inspired by that?  
  
  

• I was really into mugs and miniature pottery in high school, so my first (successful) pieces were. Now, I'm still really into both of those things but I've added in my illustration side to my work through underglaze painting and wax carving/inlay. I really like my recent bird mugs, and I've been enjoying the pet portrait mugs I've made. I made an OKC Thunder mug for my husband and I'm super happy about how that turned out too! 
  
  

• EPIC Arts Clay Studio is a part of the Community Building and Engagement program at Build WyCo. Build WyCo's mission is to invest in the power of our neighbors to build communities that thrive for generations. Our CB&E programs exist to promote thriving communities through the arts, health, and neighborhood capacity. For years, an old storefront had sat vacant on the corner of 6th & Tauromee. In 2010, local community organizer & artist Steve Curtis brought local nonprofits and dozens of volunteers together to renovate the space and help cover utility costs, and the studio opened in 2011. I started working at EPIC in 2020 as a part-time instructor, and now I'm the studio manager! 

• My passion is teaching, I love introducing kids and adults to clay for the first time. Seeing how people grow over time is so rewarding, and the excitement when people center clay for the first time or get that shape just right for the first time is just so fun. Loading and unloading kilns is a close second, because it's fun for me to get to play Tetris with pots almost every day. 

• My days vary a lot depending on what's going on but a typical day includes tasks like answering emails, mopping, glazing student work, loading kilns, processing reclaim, washing aprons, packing student pots, etc. I also teach month-long beginners wheel classes, kids' wheel classes, run some open studio sessions. I also am the person who plans our class schedule and posts our classes on our website, and keeps our supplies in stock to keep up with those classes.  As a manager of a program for a larger non-profit I'm also in charge of keeping track and reporting data for grants, working with our grant writing team, and managing some (amazing) employees/teachers that keep the studio running seven days a week. Shout out to Caroline Meek @carolinemeekpottery and Adelaide Milligan @adelaides_artistic_endeavors for everything you do! 
  
  

• Work/life/art making balance is a challenge for sure. What helps me with that balance is having a mini studio space in my garage to do my own work. For me, if I start to mix my art making practice in with my studio upkeep tasks at EPIC I would never work on my own art. I'm also married to an artist who has a day job, so we both have dedicated time and space at home to our personal art practices. Having full support from someone who completely understands why I'm disappearing into the garage to draw butterflies on a million mugs is so helpful.
  

• We strive to be an accessible and approachable clay studio, EPIC stands for "Every Person Is Creative" and we want anyone who walks in the door to feel that and believe that about themselves. Art is for everybody! Right now, the biggest issue in the studio is time and space! We are currently trying to build out our second classroom space so that we can offer more seats in our highly sought after kids' wheel classes, month-long beginner's classes, and to help us increase open studio hours. We also have goals to increase our mobile clay classes where we bring clay classes to youth, seniors, and different community groups to keep spreading the joy of clay to our Wyandotte County neighbors. 

9. What is your preferred clay body and firing method?

•  For my work, I like to use the Kansas Clay Peppered Wheat, Laguna's Light Speckled Stoneware 606, and Kentucky Mudworks' Iceman. For my illustrations, I appreciate the predictability of our electric mid-range firings

10. What is your favorite glaze and/or tool?

• I love Dolan Tools trimming tools, diamond core styluses, and fine tip glaze applicators. For surface designs, I really like the Amaco celadon line of glazes because they stay where you put them, and for my detailed paintings Amaco's velvet underglazes are just the best.