Colour and Ceramics

SPECIAL EDITION: In this episode of the Colour & Ceramics Podcast, we explore the Surface Stories Collective, https://surfacestoriescollective.lovable.app/, a Toronto-based initiative bringing non-ceramic artists from equity-deserving communities into the world of ceramic surface design.
Through workshops, studio sessions, and a culminating exhibition at Gallery 1065 from July 24 to August 2, participants are expanding their creative practices, experimenting with clay, and building new connections across Toronto’s arts communities.
It is an inspiring conversation with Natalie Waddell https://claygirl.ca and Christina Leslie https://www.christinaleslie.com/ about access, collaboration, and the possibilities that emerge when artists step into unfamiliar creative territory.
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.
Produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.
#ColourAndCeramics #SurfaceStoriesCollective #CeramicArt #TorontoArts #ContemporaryCraft

My guest today is British ceramic sculptor Paul Smith, who has worked full-time from his studio in North Derbyshire since 1998. Paul is known for his bold, semi-abstract animal sculptures, combining simplified forms with expressive, richly layered surfaces.
Inspired by ancient sculpture and pottery, Inuit and folk art, and his lifelong fascination with the natural world, Paul is especially drawn to horses, cattle, wolves, bears, and big cats. His recent work uses layers of slips, engobes, oxides, and underglazes to create sculptures that feel like treasured objects, marked by age and history.
Alongside his studio practice, Paul now teaches his distinctive hand-building methods through masterclasses in the UK and internationally.
You can find him here on his website: https://paulsmithsculptures.co.uk/ and on his Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/paulsmithsculptures/

This week we're joined by Mary Fox, a self-taught BC potter who turned a lifetime of "learning at the school of hard knocks" into an acclaimed artistic career. Mary shares her journey from functional pottery to exploratory art, her approach to surface design and colour, and why she created the Legacy Project Apprentice Program — a rare two-year apprenticeship helping young Canadian potters become studio professionals. 🎧 Listen now!
See her work and all about her apprentice program https://maryfoxpottery.ca/

In this episode, Bob Acton joined by interdisciplinary artist Kristine Zingeler.
Kristine works across photography, collage, drawing, painting, and sculpture, creating subtle but powerful work that explores interconnectedness, time, and the constant state of change in both humanity and the natural world.
Her practice begins with close observation and collecting, giving new significance to rocks, feathers, nests, insects, plants, and other overlooked fragments of the everyday. Her recent work moves beautifully between image and object, ancient and immediate, tiny and monumental.
Listen in for a thoughtful conversation about attention, process, material, and the quiet power of noticing.
You can find her work on her website at: https://www.kristine-zingeler.com/ and on her Instagram page at: https://www.instagram.com/kristinezingeler/

This week on Colour and Ceramics, Bob Acton is joined by Sarah Pike, one of Canada’s top ceramic artists. Sarah is a full-time potter based in Fernie, British Columbia, where she makes functional slab-built pottery from her home studio. Her work carries a wonderful sense of movement and personality, shaped by the mountain landscape around her and inspired by antique tinware, textured metal, and old handmade objects. Sarah studied ceramics at ACAD in Calgary, and also studied at the University of Colorado and the University of Minnesota. It was a real pleasure to talk with her about clay, making, and the ideas that continue to shape her distinctive body of work.
Find her website and Instagram page here:
https://www.sarahpikepottery.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sarahpikepottery/