scrumdidlyump's Profile

Bio

My name is Katie Elkins.

I come from the land of Dixie.
I lived in the land of weirdos.
I moved to the center of our nation, this summer.

I taught myself to sew at the age of five. I have been working in clay since the age of 7. Since then I have been obsessed with these two media. I attended Guilford College and got a BFA in Art. At Guilford I studied with my instructor Charlie Tefft. I studied abroad three times during my education- twice in Germany and once in Japan. It was in Japan, where I studied with my sensei Yoshio Inomata, that I decided to focus on ceramics. I apprenticed at Turtle Island Pottery in Old Fort, NC after graduation.

After graduation I had a major life detour: my son. So five years later, here I am with my first real studio.

I build most of my pieces by hand- no wheel or extruder, just me, a mallet and a BIG rolling pin.
Then I manipulate the clay while it is still soft, manipulate it again when its a little harder, let it dry, fire it glaze it, fire it again and voila!

As far as I know my designs are all original. I intentionally try not to mimic others' work. Having said that, I am sure that there are plenty of sub-concious influences that come through in everything I do.

I am very big on sustainability and making my art as green as possible.

Please feel free to convo me and ask any questions you have about my work. You, the customer, are my priority here.